Return of the Living Dead Part 2 (1988)

Written by Happywax on April 20 2011

 Rating 4 1/2 out of 10

 Director   -   Ken Wiederhorn

 Cast
 Michael Kenworthy   -   Jesse Wilson
 Thor Van Lingen       -   Billy Crowley
 Jason Hogan             -   Johnny
 James Karen             -   Ed
 Thom Mathews         -   Joey


"HEY, Ken Wiederhorn I have a question for you, about this movie you wrote and directed, WHAT THE F**K WHERE YOU THINKING" , ok , now that I have that out of my system let me continue by ripping this movie apart.
This sequel to one of the most entertaining, hilarious and engaging horror-comedies of all time is a staggering disappointment. Gone is the tension, the sly humour, the wonderfully camp performances and cracking dialogue. Instead, we have a relentlessly tiresome chase movie that offers absolutely no horror at all, only incompetent bufoonery, shrill acting and no atmosphere.

Those nasty tanks filled with zombies are let loose again, this time by a wasted truck driver who doesn't realise that the supplies he's carrying in the back of his vehicle have flown off and into a nearby sewer. Three kids, two of whom are odious bullies, the other a weakling who gets forced to tag along, discover the stray tank and accidentally release another of those ghastly 'tar-men', not to mention a potent spree of toxic gas, which results in yet another cemetery's worth of dead bodies coming back to life. The wimpy child, his older sister and some cable-repair kid must escape from the undead menace, and as a result bump into a couple of gravediggers who have accidentally inhaled the toxic gas and are slowly turning into zombies. The only interesting thing about this sequel is that these two grave diggers are played by James Karen and Thom Matthews, who played those similarly ill-fated characters Frank and Freddy in the first film. Despite the fact that neither character made it to the end of the original, both actors are back in new roles.

This is a pretty cheap production, with the special effects failing to impress and looking pretty poor next to the original.  Ken Weiderhorn clearly doesn't know what to do with actors except let them run around screaming: Thom Matthews, who gave an amusingly dorky performance in the first film, is really wooden second time around, while his girlfriend character has to be one of the most annoying actresses I've seen in a film for a long time! Only James Karen's reliably traumatised performance guarantees amusement, a scene where he's attacked by a decapitated head is pretty funny.

So, overall, no suspense, no laughs (except for the aforementioned 'head' scene), no terror, no plot, no point. One of the worst films I've seen in ages, this is a shameful follow-up to a magnificent cult classic. Again I have to say , how could you take the sequel to one of the greatest zombie movie ever made, and absolutly butcher it, Ok im done , im gonna go soak my head in a barrel of acid now, and i bet you'll want to join me after you check the trailer out below   Happy 4: 20.