Return of the Living Dead Part II (1988)

Joining up with friends in a cemetery, a kid's discovery of a long-lost barrel of military-test chemicals finds that the release of the chemicals brings the dead to life and stalking their home-town forcing them to hold off the creatures as they find a way of stopping them.This here was a pretty descent sequel with some fun stuff about it. Among the better features here is the really exciting and enjoyable opening here, which features some nice action and some creepy visuals together for a fun time here as the sprawl through the cemetery and being chased by the bullies where he gets backed inside the mausoleum where he encounters the dead bodies in their caskets and leads into the fantastic resurrection scenes as the billowing cloud slowly works out from the drainage pipe into the cemetery where the gnarled hands break free from the heaving earth in the middle of the pouring rain. The later scene where he confronts the tar-man in the tunnel before the bigger mass-grave exhumation filled with hilarious gags and cheesy music makes for a great blend of suspense and cheesy action, which leads nicely into the race to get out of the cemetery as the swarming hordes of zombies overrun the graveyard in a really enjoyable time here. Even the suburbia scenes here are quite fun with them initially driving around and meeting with the two, the house attack which leads to their hilarious escape attempts and finally sneaking through the neighborhood to escape in the car which has some really fun and enjoyable moments here. Likewise, the film has a really enjoyable and exciting finale here with the soldiers confronting the zombies in a massive shootout before they begin chasing the group through the streets in several different attack scenes while they lead the creatures to the power-plant which has some fantastic action in the mass swarming on the truck that locks them inside, the eventual escape and chasing around the facility both inside the truck and out on foot before utilizing a comically cheesy yet oddly creative and effective disposal method of the zombies that really ends this on a high note. Along with the great zombie make-up and fun cheese, these here make for a really fun time here against the film's few flaws. The film's main problem here is the convoluted and clumsy mid-section here, built entirely around the absolutely tired ploy of nobody believing anything he says here without any reason why which continually leads them into encounters with the zombies when a fair bit of smartness would've prevented endless running around. That would've avoided the time-wasting scenes in the hospital, dealing with the infected friends and their adventures through town which are just unnecessary here and ruin the flow of the film. The other problem here is the rather overbearing sense of cheese here from the jokes, the goofy situations and non-threatening nature of the zombies in their actions here. While it makes the film fun, this one does come off more of a cheesy version of the genre.Rated R: Graphic Violence, Language, children-in-jeopardy and questionable child activities.

Ignoring the loose connections to 'Night of the Living Dead,' the original 'Return of the Living Dead' was also a classic in its own right. It didn't have the darkness, or social commentary of George A Romero's work, but it had a lot of fun, gore, shocks and humour. It was a good B-movie. I guess it was only natural that it would get a sequel.I read online that – apparently – the script that eventually went on to become 'Return of the Living Dead: Part II' wasn't actually anything to do with the original. It was just a generic zombie movie that was tinkered with to fit the events of the first film – loosely. And, having watched it, I can believe that. It – sort of – follows on from the events of the original, mentioning a few events, but also bringing back a couple of actors who died in the first as new characters in the second – why, I'm not entirely sure, but they're quite funny. Plus the Censors were going to award 'Return of the Living Dead: Part II' a PG13 rating if a single scene was toned down. I can believe that. It's hardly the most frightening or tense horror film ever made. It's not even that gory. But, despite its many flaws, I can't bring myself to hate it.I look at it like 'Slapstick of the Living Dead.' It's – almost – a zombie movie for kids. The dialogue is as cheesy as it comes and makes no attempt to be serious, leaving the audience never that scared for the characters or their plight. You also have to be okay with the lead actor being a young boy. Kids get a bad ride when it comes to films and it is unfair to try and make one carry a whole film. The 'star' who plays the boy 'Jessie' is okay. In some ways that's actually a compliment when you consider how bad some child actors are. Hopefully, you shouldn't hate him.That is more than I can say for the soundtrack. I watched this film in the late eighties on VHS and the soundtrack was a million times better. It's been almost completely rescored and even some extra dialogue dubbed in (where the characters don't actually move their lips!). If you can find it on VHS I would recommend that version.Overall, if you've seen the original, don't expect a great sequel. Be prepared for a much lighter tone from the film. And, if you haven't seen the first one, watch it – it's very good. There's nothing wrong with Part II, just treat it as a Saturday morning type zombie film that you can sort of half watch and half do something else.

While transporting drums of the dangerous Trioxin gas, one of them falls from the army truck into a river. In the morning, the boy Jesse Wilson (Michael Kenworthy) is bullied by the older Billy (Thor Van Lingen) and Johnny (Jason Hogan) and he hides himself under a bridge nearby the cemetery. The two bullies find Jesse and they see the barrel. Then the bullies lock Jesse in a mausoleum and they decide to open the barrel, releasing the Trioxin and breathing the toxic gas. Meanwhile the grave robber Ed (James Karen) hires Joey (Thom Mathews) to help him to pillage the graves and they go to the cemetery in a van with Joey's girlfriend Brenda (Suzanne Snyder). Ed and Joey go to the mausoleum and Jesse is released and runs home. His sister Lucy Wilson (Marsha Dietlein) tells him to do the homework. Then the cable guy Tom Essex (Dana Ashbrook) arrives to fix the television and he recognizes Lucy from the high- school. Soon the Trioxin awakes the dead in the cemetery and the town is crowded with hordes of zombies. Ed, Joey and Brenda run to Jesse's house and team up with Lucy and Tom trying to survive to the brain eaters. "Return of the Living Dead: Part II" is a funny zombie cult movie. This sequel is a comedy with action, with good special effects and creepy zombies. There are the usual stupid attitudes from the characters but it is highly entertaining. My vote is six.Title (Brazil): "A Volta dos Mortos Vivos - Parte 2" ("The Return of the Living Dead: Part II")

This movie does not deserve some of the harsh reviews it has garnered here imo. It is a much better horror film than ROTLD 3 and you can totally write off ROTLD 4+5 which were horrendous and I don't mean so bad they were good, I mean god awful! This movie centers around what looks to be a new suburban area ( so new 1/2 the houses are partially constructed). The hero here is a young boy and his sister. The characters are OK and make no mistake this film in no way approaches the original. However I did like the introduction of electricity as a means of destroying the "living dead". It has a certain sci-fi plausibility to it. Electricity essentially fry's the cadavers reanimated cns as well as every other nerve system as well in effect finally eliminating the zombie. Electrical current would also have the effect of dehydrating the reanimated tissue-so like I said sci-fi plausibility. This film is better than average and worth a look if you liked the 1st one. Again, don't expect the same quality though.