Absolutely awful follow-up to a cult classic. This movie lacked everything that made Return of the Living Dead so enjoyable. In that movie, there was suspense, horror, comedy, good effects, restricted content, etc.. this lame sequel had none of that. It was more like an Ernest film with characters constantly looking at each other and fake-screaming, before running off in every direction as if they were in a screwball comedy. Horrible, just horrible. The acting was terrible, the effects were lame, but by far the worst was the constant "Home Alone"-type action. This movie was made for 5-year olds! Just about as bad as a sequel can possibly get.
R.
Return of the Living Dead II
1988
Action / Comedy / Horror / Sci-Fi

Return of the Living Dead II
1988
Action / Comedy / Horror / Sci-Fi
Director
Cast
Tech specs
720p.BLU 1080p.BLUMovie Reviews
Ernest meets a Zombie.
Run ! Here Comes The Sequel !
Did we really need a sequel ? We have nearly the same plot, some of the same actors, definitely some of the same lines and practically the same actors. Yet, right when Thom Matthews was about to be type-cast in horror movies, he said, "Sure, I'll do it." Later, you know he screaming, " They drove up to my house and dumped a truck load of money on my front porch......" I mean, what are the odds that two idiots who look exactly alike will befall the same fate ? Admittedly, Thom and James Karen could make a very funny comedy team, but not in the same roles saying the same things like some asinine Martin and Lewis series. That said, this movie is a lot funnier than the first. Phillip Bruns replaces Don Calfa and has some very funny lines. A sub-plot involves juvenile delinquency and acceptance as the zombies horse around, steal the scenes and get in the way. One in particular in a dark suit and a few others just keep returning in other scenes as if that wasn't really obvious. I guess there was a shortage in extras. Mitch Pileggi of the X-Files has a very obvious role and I'm sure I recognized the zombie on the hospital phone as from an old episode of the original Twilight Zone. If I had written the script, I would have tossed in a vampire to spar with the zombies because he sure would have been immune to that bite of their's.
'Return of the Living Dead Part II'
In this sequel to 'The Return of the Living Dead', three neighborhood kids stumble upon one of those army drums and accidently release the gas that revives the dead. What follows is basically the same horror mayhem as its predecessor. Zombies rise from the graveyard and remarkably manage to eat the brains of everyone except for the few people within which the movie revolves around. The two movies are pretty much similar in terms of content, but what is lacking this time around is freshness.
The first movie took a satirical approach to George Romero's 'Night of the Living Dead', and it worked in terms of humor and creepy fun. In this film, which is basically a carbon copy of the first, it is not quite as much fun. Rather, it seems to be more silly than funny. The script strains for humor throughout the movie, particularly in a scene in which the movie mocks Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' video. But its flaws don't really matter because this is not the kind of movie to be taken seriously. I guess that it can be a decent movie to watch on a Halloween night.
Rating: (5/10)