Return of the Living Dead Part II
Encyclopedia
Return of the Living Dead Part II is an American zombie
horror comedy film that was released in 1988. It was written and directed by Ken Wiederhorn
. The film was released by Lorimar Motion Pictures
on January 8, 1988, and was a minor box office success, making over $9 million at the box office in the United States against its $6 million budget. It is the first of four sequels
. Though this film and its predecessor shared the same rating ("R"), this film had a lighter tone as it was partially aimed at a teenage audience; however the misleading trailer suggested it was darker. The main protagonists, Jesse and Lucy, share the last name 'Wilson', giving the cult fans a clue that they are the children or nephew and niece to Burt Wilson, the main protagonist of the first film.
Jesse returns home and watches his older sister Lucy doing aerobic exercises to a work-out video, she tells Jesse to do his homework or he will be grounded.
Later into the night a cable technician arrives at the Wilson house to install cable TV, as he enters Jesse manages to sneak out the backdoor and heads to one of the bullies' houses (Billy) upon arriving Billy's mother tells Jesse of Billy's illness and allows him in briefly. Jesse is shocked to see the effects of the Trioxin that is making Billy ill. Billy whimpers to Jesse not to tell what they've found but is interrupted by his mother who asks Jesse to leave. Jesse makes his way to the sewer drains again to further examine the Trioxin tank, he finds a phone number for the military but is attacked by a zombie covered in tar who has escaped from the tank. Jesse flees to the cemetery and witnesses a hand reaching from one of the graves, he runs home before they climb from their graves. At this time Ed and Joey are still inside the Mausoleum and when they witness a zombie awakening from its tomb they club him with a crowbar which has no effect. Outside in the dark a worried Brenda enters the cemetery unaware of what is going on she is spooked from a zombie approaching her and tries to flee only to be stopped by a zombie that has creeped up on her from behind, she punches him, crushing his face and runs deeper into the graveyard. Brenda meets up with Joey and a frantic Ed and they escape to the streets where they meet Billy's Parents and warn them of the zombies before fleeing. Jesse returns home to an angry Lucy who chases him into their parents bedroom. He locks the door, calls the military for help and is placed on hold.
Outside Joey, Ed and Brenda steal Tom's van and accidentally knock over a zombie into a telephone pole disconnecting Jesse's call, they are threatened with a gun by Billy's father who is then attacked by the supposedly dead zombie. The streets are now flooded with zombies and the traumatized group run to the Wilson house for refuge. After they enter an argument occurs over what is happening, Joey and Ed show symptoms much similar to Billy. Jesse assures everyone that they are zombies and that Dr Mandel (neighbor) can help them all escape. Billy's mother leaves her house and sees her husband being eaten by a group of zombies she quickly returns to her house removing her glasses and is then killed by a now zombified Billy. Jesse and his group make their way to the Doctor's house and get trapped in his garage. Zombies break their way in but they escape with the doctor in his car. Tom drives through a horde of zombies knocking one right onto the car roof. During there journey the zombie reaches in through the open window only to have his hand cut off. They are attacked by the zombie's hand before it is thrown from the window.
Arriving at a deserted hospital Joey and Ed's health worsens. Jesse, Lucy and Tom leave to get more ammunition and guns from their uncle's home after realizing there is no help. Dr Mandel tells Brenda that Joey and Ed are more or less dead, she disagrees heavily with this and calls him a "Quack" and leaves with a dying Joey, Ed however follows much to Brenda's annoyance. They are stopped by three military men wielding guns. Ed attacks one eating his brains and the two remaining soldiers drive off leaving a helpless Brenda. Ed is occupied with eating his victim so Brenda uses this opportunity to ditch the zombified Ed and escapes with Joey.
In the car Joey transforms into a zombie, Joey confesses he wants to eat Brenda's brains and attacks her, she escapes unhurt from the car and bumps into a dazed zombie she manages to get her hand trapped in his mouth and rips his jaw from his face. Joey runs towards her and chases her into an empty church explaining that he wants her spicy brains, Brenda retaliates by saying "I'm not into dead guys!" Joey explains that he loves her and seeing no other option Brenda allows him to eat her.
The others return to the hospital and collect Dr. Mandel they devise a plan to lead the zombies with frozen brains to a power plant and electrocute them all. After arriving at the plant they place brains into puddles of water with electrical wires in each puddle, zombies manage to ambush them after Billy opens the large entry gates. Lucy and Tom hide into the back of the truck and zombies begin breaking their way through the truck's door. Jesse who is now inside the plant is attacked by Billy and stabs him with a screwdriver. Jesse activates the power, killing all of the zombies, at this point Billy walks in holding the screwdriver and pushes Jesse onto a control panel. While this is happening, a large transformer falls through the roof, Dr Mandel distracts Billy by telling him his fly is open, at which point Jesse kicks Billy into the transformer and electrocutes him as well. As Jesse, Lucy, Tom and Dr. Mandel leave the plant, the military arrive to clean up the bodies with flamethrowers.
in 1988.
in 2004, containing a heavily altered soundtrack. The only way to watch it with the original soundtrack is when one watches the film with the French
audio track.
Zombie
Zombie is a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft. The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli...
horror comedy film that was released in 1988. It was written and directed by Ken Wiederhorn
Ken Wiederhorn
Ken Wiederhorn is a film and television director, known mainly for the horror films Shock Waves and Return of the Living Dead Part II. Other features include Eyes of A Stranger, Meatballs II, and A House In The Hills. He also directed multiple episodes of 21 Jump Street, Dark Justice, and...
. The film was released by Lorimar Motion Pictures
Lorimar Productions
Lorimar, later known as Lorimar Television and Lorimar Distribution, was an American television production company that was later a subsidiary of Warner Bros., active from 1969 until 1993...
on January 8, 1988, and was a minor box office success, making over $9 million at the box office in the United States against its $6 million budget. It is the first of four sequels
Return of the Living Dead (film series)
Return of the Living Dead is a series of five films beginning with the 1985 film The Return of the Living Dead.- History :The series came about as a dispute between John A. Russo and George A. Romero over how to handle sequels to their 1968 film, Night of the Living Dead...
. Though this film and its predecessor shared the same rating ("R"), this film had a lighter tone as it was partially aimed at a teenage audience; however the misleading trailer suggested it was darker. The main protagonists, Jesse and Lucy, share the last name 'Wilson', giving the cult fans a clue that they are the children or nephew and niece to Burt Wilson, the main protagonist of the first film.
Plot
The story begins with a military truck transporting barrels of Trioxin, the soldiers occupying the vehicle who were smoking marijuana driving the vehicle through a downpour are unaware when a barrel breaks loose and falls into a river. The next morning a young boy called Jesse Wilson is at the cemetery with two local bullies, the trio investigate the Trioxin tank they find at which point Jesse tells them they should not tamper with the tank. They trap Jesse in a derelict Mausoleum and leave him. The bullies then return to the trioxin tank and manage to release the toxic gas. At this point a van pulls up to the graveyard introducing the characters Ed, Joey and Brenda. Ed explains to Joey they are here to rob graves of their valuable possessions, Brenda expresses her fears for Cemeteries but Joey assures her it will be worth their time and leaves Brenda in the van and heads into the cemetery with Ed. Deciding that they will rob the loot from the Mausoleum they open the locked doors releasing Jesse who immediately runs home.Jesse returns home and watches his older sister Lucy doing aerobic exercises to a work-out video, she tells Jesse to do his homework or he will be grounded.
Later into the night a cable technician arrives at the Wilson house to install cable TV, as he enters Jesse manages to sneak out the backdoor and heads to one of the bullies' houses (Billy) upon arriving Billy's mother tells Jesse of Billy's illness and allows him in briefly. Jesse is shocked to see the effects of the Trioxin that is making Billy ill. Billy whimpers to Jesse not to tell what they've found but is interrupted by his mother who asks Jesse to leave. Jesse makes his way to the sewer drains again to further examine the Trioxin tank, he finds a phone number for the military but is attacked by a zombie covered in tar who has escaped from the tank. Jesse flees to the cemetery and witnesses a hand reaching from one of the graves, he runs home before they climb from their graves. At this time Ed and Joey are still inside the Mausoleum and when they witness a zombie awakening from its tomb they club him with a crowbar which has no effect. Outside in the dark a worried Brenda enters the cemetery unaware of what is going on she is spooked from a zombie approaching her and tries to flee only to be stopped by a zombie that has creeped up on her from behind, she punches him, crushing his face and runs deeper into the graveyard. Brenda meets up with Joey and a frantic Ed and they escape to the streets where they meet Billy's Parents and warn them of the zombies before fleeing. Jesse returns home to an angry Lucy who chases him into their parents bedroom. He locks the door, calls the military for help and is placed on hold.
Outside Joey, Ed and Brenda steal Tom's van and accidentally knock over a zombie into a telephone pole disconnecting Jesse's call, they are threatened with a gun by Billy's father who is then attacked by the supposedly dead zombie. The streets are now flooded with zombies and the traumatized group run to the Wilson house for refuge. After they enter an argument occurs over what is happening, Joey and Ed show symptoms much similar to Billy. Jesse assures everyone that they are zombies and that Dr Mandel (neighbor) can help them all escape. Billy's mother leaves her house and sees her husband being eaten by a group of zombies she quickly returns to her house removing her glasses and is then killed by a now zombified Billy. Jesse and his group make their way to the Doctor's house and get trapped in his garage. Zombies break their way in but they escape with the doctor in his car. Tom drives through a horde of zombies knocking one right onto the car roof. During there journey the zombie reaches in through the open window only to have his hand cut off. They are attacked by the zombie's hand before it is thrown from the window.
Arriving at a deserted hospital Joey and Ed's health worsens. Jesse, Lucy and Tom leave to get more ammunition and guns from their uncle's home after realizing there is no help. Dr Mandel tells Brenda that Joey and Ed are more or less dead, she disagrees heavily with this and calls him a "Quack" and leaves with a dying Joey, Ed however follows much to Brenda's annoyance. They are stopped by three military men wielding guns. Ed attacks one eating his brains and the two remaining soldiers drive off leaving a helpless Brenda. Ed is occupied with eating his victim so Brenda uses this opportunity to ditch the zombified Ed and escapes with Joey.
In the car Joey transforms into a zombie, Joey confesses he wants to eat Brenda's brains and attacks her, she escapes unhurt from the car and bumps into a dazed zombie she manages to get her hand trapped in his mouth and rips his jaw from his face. Joey runs towards her and chases her into an empty church explaining that he wants her spicy brains, Brenda retaliates by saying "I'm not into dead guys!" Joey explains that he loves her and seeing no other option Brenda allows him to eat her.
The others return to the hospital and collect Dr. Mandel they devise a plan to lead the zombies with frozen brains to a power plant and electrocute them all. After arriving at the plant they place brains into puddles of water with electrical wires in each puddle, zombies manage to ambush them after Billy opens the large entry gates. Lucy and Tom hide into the back of the truck and zombies begin breaking their way through the truck's door. Jesse who is now inside the plant is attacked by Billy and stabs him with a screwdriver. Jesse activates the power, killing all of the zombies, at this point Billy walks in holding the screwdriver and pushes Jesse onto a control panel. While this is happening, a large transformer falls through the roof, Dr Mandel distracts Billy by telling him his fly is open, at which point Jesse kicks Billy into the transformer and electrocutes him as well. As Jesse, Lucy, Tom and Dr. Mandel leave the plant, the military arrive to clean up the bodies with flamethrowers.
Soundtrack
Released on Island RecordsIsland Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
in 1988.
- "Space Hopper" by Julian CopeJulian CopeJulian Cope is a British rock musician, author, antiquary, musicologist, poet and cultural commentator...
- "High Priest of Love" by Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction
- "I'm the Man (Def Uncensored version)" by AnthraxAnthrax (band)Anthrax is an American heavy metal band from New York City, formed in 1981. Founded by guitarists Scott Ian and Danny Lilker, the band has since released ten studio albums and 20 singles, and an EP featuring Public Enemy. The band was one of the most popular of the 1980s thrash metal scene...
- "Big Band B-Boy" by MantronixMantronixMantronix was an influential 1980s hip hop and electro funk music group founded by DJ Kurtis Mantronik , and rapper MC Tee...
- "Monster MashMonster Mash"Monster Mash" is a 1962 novelty song and the best-known song by Bobby "Boris" Pickett. The song was released as a single on Gary S. Paxton's Garpax Records label in August 1962 along with a full-length LP called The Original Monster Mash, which contained several other monster-themed tunes...
" by The Big O - "Alone in the Night" by LeatherwolfLeatherwolfLeatherwolf is an American heavy metal band that formed in Huntington Beach, California in 1981. The group is also nicknamed the 'Triple Axe Attack' for pioneering the use of a 3-guitar line-up in heavy metal...
- "A.D.I./Horror of It All" by AnthraxAnthrax (band)Anthrax is an American heavy metal band from New York City, formed in 1981. Founded by guitarists Scott Ian and Danny Lilker, the band has since released ten studio albums and 20 singles, and an EP featuring Public Enemy. The band was one of the most popular of the 1980s thrash metal scene...
- "Flesh to Flesh" by Joe Lamont
- "The Dead Return" by J. Peter RobinsonJ. Peter RobinsonJ. Peter Robinson is a composer whose works include Nightmare Cafe, Wes Craven's New Nightmare, Return of the Living Dead Part II, Vampire in Brooklyn , The World's Fastest Indian, and The Bank Job.He also composed some music for the English version of Godzilla 2000...
Cast
- Michael Kenworthy as Jesse Wilson
- Marsha DietleinMarsha DietleinMarsha Dietlein Bennett is an American actress best known for her role as Lucy Wilson in the 1988 zombie horror film Return of the Living Dead Part II.-Films:...
as Lucy Wilson - Dana AshbrookDana AshbrookDana V. Ashbrook is an American actor, perhaps best known for playing Bobby Briggs on the cult TV series Twin Peaks and its 1992 prequel film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me.-Personal life:...
as Tom Essex - James KarenJames KarenJames Karen is an American character actor of Broadway, film and television.-Life and career:Karen was born Jacob Karnofsky in Wilkes-Barre, in northeastern Pennsylvania, the son of Russian-born Jewish immigrants Mae and Joseph H. Karnofsky, a produce dealer. As a young man, Karen was encouraged...
as Ed - Thom MathewsThom MathewsThom Mathews in Los Angeles, California is an actor who is perhaps best known for his appearance in the horror films Return of the Living Dead and Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives.-Career:...
as Joey - Suzanne Snyder as Brenda
- Philip Bruns as Doc Mandel
- Thor Van Lingen as Billy Crowley
- Jonathan TerryJonathan TerryJonathan Terry is a television and film actor. He is best known for his role as Starker in Halloween III: Season of the Witch and Colonel Glover in The Return of the Living Dead and Return of the Living Dead Part II.-Filmography:...
as Colonel Glover - Allan Trautman as Tarman
- Mitch PileggiMitch PileggiMitchell Craig "Mitch" Pileggi is an American actor. Pileggi is known for playing FBI assistant director Walter Skinner on the long-running popular series The X-Files. He also had a recurring role on Stargate Atlantis as Col. Steven Caldwell...
as Sarge
DVD release
The film was released on DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
in 2004, containing a heavily altered soundtrack. The only way to watch it with the original soundtrack is when one watches the film with the French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
audio track.