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“Return of the Living Dead - Part II (1988) directed by Ken Weiderhorn.
(Proposed Title: “Deja Pee-uww”)
Starring Michael Kenworthy, Thor Van Lingen, Jason Hogan, James Karen, Thom Mathews and Suzanne Snyder.
Zombie Film Rating:

“Uh, a little close to the toxic substance for guard duty, no?”

Teaser: Meddling kids trip across a misplaced barrel of 245 Trioxin, releasing the now all too familiar clouds of gas over a nearby cemetary and causing the dead to rise in the suburbs of the town of Westvale. A small band of survivors must escape the undead, avoid the army cordon surrounding the city and come up with a solution to their dilema.

An uninspired sequel to O’Bannons “Return of the Living Dead”. Even the reappearance of Ed and Joey from the first movie can’t save this film from itself. Only occasionally entertaining, this film lacks the humour and tension that made the first so enjoyable.

“Get a hold of yourself. You’re an American soldier. We got a firefight on our hands, and the enemy is already dead. Beautiful!” - Sarge

“Safety Tip: Keep hands and feet away from zombies mouth!”

Plot Summary: The movie opens with the following;

“In the fall of 1969 the Darrell Chemical company under contract to the U.S. Army conducted a series of secret experiments with a new biological weapon called 245-Trioxin. According to reports the chemical was a catalyst in genetic reactification. What this meant and why Trioxin was useful has never been revealed. But one thing is certain. Trioxin was soon considered too dangerous and volatile even for experimental use.

Interest in the lethal compound was abandoned several years ago. The army will not comment other than to say all Trioxin has since been destroyed.”

“We’re going to do a biopsy” - Doc Mandel
“Is it cancer?” - Brenda
“If we’re lucky…” - Doc Mandel

Naturally as this voiceover finishes the tail truck in an army convoy hits a pothole and three barrels of Trioxin-245 spill out of the back, two falling by the side of the road and the third splashing dramatically into the river below. We then jump to little Jessie Wilson who is buying off the local bullies (Billy and Johnny) with one of his comic books. The bribe it seems has bought him membership into their club, and they drag him to the local cemetary, where they try to lock him into a mausoleum as part of his initiation. He flees instead, and hiding in a drainage tunnel finds the missing barrel of 245 Trioxin with the bullies on his heels.

“A cute couple if you get to know them socially.”

The bullies having cornered Jessie in the tunnel, now lock him in the mausoleum and return to tamper with the barrel hoping it contains “combat stuff”. Predictably gas spills forth, the bullies flee and Jessie is released from the mausoleum by graverobbers Ed and Joey.

The gas, in staggering quantities, spills forth across the neighboring graveyard and in a scene almost precisely like that in the first film, is soaked into the ground by conveniently timed rain (wasn’t it sunny a few minutes ago?). Jessie sneaks out of the house and returns to the sewer tunnel finding the barrel openned and a less convincing “mud man” zombie lurking in the corner, he runs home and is entirely disbelieved by his sister Lucy and the local cable-guy Tom. Meanwhile back the cemetary Joey, Ed and Brenda have been somewhat spooked by the refusal of the dead to stay buried and flee on foot into the subdivision where Jessie and Lucy live.

“Joey, I am not into dead guys!” - Brenda

“Damn Uppitty Zombies!”

The characters collide at the Wilson residence, and soon Joey, Ed, Brenda, Jessie, Lucy and Tom are locked inside trying to come to terms with the recently risen dead. A feeble effort at barricading the residence is abandoned in favour of commandeering the vehicle of the Wilsons neighbor, Doctor Mandel.

Mandel is naturally sceptical about their reports of the zombie hordes, but quickly converts as the undead attempt to gain entry to his garage. In his car the group flees, and in response to Brendas complaints about the deteriorating health of both Joey and Ed, the group attends the local hospital finding it, like the majority of the town they have passed on the way, abandoned.

The group splits up at this point, with Doc Mandell tending to Joey and Ed, and Tom, Lucy and Jessie leaving in the doctors car to explore the town in an effort to find help. Finding the police station locked and the town occupied entirely by the living dead, they stop at grandpa Wilsons to raid his firearm collection, then return to the hospital where Doctor Mandell has pronounced both Joey and Ed Dead.

“When in doubt, spray and pray!”

Unhappy with the Doctors diagnosis Brenda steals the Doctors car, dragging Joey with her, Ed tags along for the ride. The remainder of the group takes a nearby ambulance and decides to just drive out of town, a plan which is foiled when they are fired on by the army troops manning a cordon around the city.

Their only escape blocked, the group decide it is up to them to end the zombie menace. Reflecting on the electrical demise of a zombie they had caused earlier, the group decides to lure the towns zombies to the electrical station where they can be electrocuted en masse.

With just a few hiccups the plan is successfull, and the zombies are vanquished leaving Tom and Lucy free to pursue a life of religious fulfilment.

Critique: The original had a certain chemistry to it that made it an enjoyable zombie romp. The zombies defied what had become conventional lore, and could not be killed at all. The first movie ended giving the impression that the spread of the trioxin had only been exasperated by the use of tactical nuclear weapons. This film, therefore, fails to fit neatly into the frameword established by the first. Even if we assume for a moment that the events in this film run parallel to those in the first, the “destruction by electrocution” is a new and convenient out for the characters.

“Thriller?”

The effects are good, the acting is fine, but this film never gets funny enough to be a comedy, and never sustains any level of tension long enough to be a thriller. It seems parked solidly in no-mans lands, unable to decide which it wants to be. It does, however, feature lots of zombie goodness, and is certainly an inoffensive film once you set aside its shortcomings.

Perhaps it’s the fact that all the elements appeared to be in place for a good sequel that this effort causes me such grief. Suffice to say if you enjoyed the first, this one is bound to disappoint.

The Final Word: If you’re a fan of zombie films, you’ve really got no choice. This franchise has now spawned 4 sequels, you’re pretty much going to have to sit through this sooner or later. I recommend you rent it however to mitigate the pain somewhat.

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