FRIDAY NIGHT FRIGHTS: HOUSE II: THE SECOND STORY (1987) “Nerds, We Can Do Whatever We Want: Run Around in Our Underwear, Watch HOUSE II.”
It’s an unusually overcast and brisk day here in the bay area, so by my guess and if the several Halloween decorations that have managed to strategically place themselves around the house are any indication: We have officially entered the spooky season! My plan this year is to post something horror related every Friday leading up to that greatest holiday of holidays. This doesn’t mean that other creepy content won’t be posted on other days over the next 2 months, just that each Friday until October 31st, you can count on some kind of trick or treat to read, watch or even listen to! Beginning right now with yep, House II: The Second Story.
Let’s dig in.
In addition to sporting an incredibly clever subtitle, House 2: The Second Story is a movie that you couldn't tear me away from as a kid. Seriously, I have no idea how many times I've watched this flick during my lifetime but if there’s some kind of galactic pie chart out there in the universe, the answer is likely nothing to be proud of. Set in a completely different home and featuring a totally new set of characters from the (also entertaining) first installment, this one definitely goes for laughs more than scares.
In fact, the story really comes off as respectably ambitious special effect fueled adventure that just happens to have some creepy elements. Our protagonist Jesse has inherited his parent's mansion (who were murdered trying to escape the joint when he was just a baby in a wonderfully atmospheric opening sequence) and decides to move in along with his girlfriend. Once there and after his close friends come and crash the place on his birthday, weird shit starts to go down. Y'know, stuff like digging up the hundred year old corpse of your grandpa only to find that he's undead…
Stumbling into bedroom doors that lead to monster riddled prehistoric alternate worlds…
The zombiefied cowboy responsible for the death of your parents now hunting you down while searching for an all powerful ancient crystal skull…
And most terrifying of all, Bill Maher trying to swoop in on your sweetheart.
House II really is a great slice of 80's horror/comedy and it even takes place during Halloween so of course, I can't recommend it strongly enough.
Oh and If you don't finish the movie wishing you had a caterpuppy to call your own then please send along a quick email to let me know how it feels to have no soul.
House II: The Second Story is available to stream now on Tubi - Free Movies & TV, Pluto TV - It's Free TV, Spectrum TV, Shudder, Prime Video, Vudu or Apple TV on your Roku device.
