House II: The Second Story
00:33:00
About
It’s weird sequel time, and there’s few that come weirder than “House II: The Second Story”. A film in which we learn that portals are a common problem in old houses (a bit like dry rot, but with more murder); that old cowboys don’t die (they just get rat-arsed in the basement); and that Bill Maher is an oily heap of shit. Whilst an anthology film franchise should endeavour to make each entry as different to what has gone before as possible; it is still is a hell of a whiplash to view this after the first “House” film. Certain things remain - the humour, marvellous practical effects, and a guest star role for someone from “Cheers”, but the differences are far greater. Whilst the first film is definitely a horror, this falls much more into the category of family adventure; and could be an entry level horror film for kids, with nothing too scary, a set of goofy, likeable characters and amusing puppets. This family-friendly spookiness was possibly influenced by the huge success a few years earlier of the likes of “Ghostbusters”, “Gremlins” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark”. After this, the franchise went into more obvious horror territory, but, unfortunately, never quite achieved the inventive potential displayed in the first two entries. Watch (or re-watch) to avoid spoilers and join us.
Adam's research
Verbatim lifts from Adam's own words in the episode. Click a timestamp to hear him say it.
- John Ratzenberger's casting
On that on that subject, so that's that's probably the most famous person in the film because that's John Ratzenberger who was in Cheers for years. And I didn't mean that to be rhyming. And yeah, he plays uh Bill uh Bill the electrician and slash adventurer.
- Anthology nature of the House franchise
Which kind of in a way adds to the idea that like it's not it's totally blank it's totally fresh start from the first house. It is a completely different house, completely different characters. And the but in house the premise is the same where it's like the house becomes portals to the past of the main character's via Vietnam experience. And I like the idea that this is just a general problem that houses have. So Bill sees enough of them. You know what I mean? He he actually probably sees some work at that place. And met and met his mate from Cheers as well. You know, when for a drink with Norm. At the same time, but yeah, it's it's weird that it adds to that sort of anthology shared universe of like, oh, well, you know, there's a few houses like that. This is a slightly more benevolent one than the um than the first one.
- Origin of the House franchise as an anthology
Hmm. Because I think, because the first film. That's where the first film came from is they wanted to make an anthology film. It was Sean S Cunningham who obviously did the Friday the 13th franchise. And uh Fred Decker who wrote Die Hard and he's he did uh like Night of the Creeps and you know just where's where's where's the list? The Monster Squad as well. … Monster Squad, that's what I was thinking. Yeah, I'm just thinking it's like such a it's a good little he's got an excellent little rap sheet. Yeah. Um, and wrote oh sorry, no, wrote The Predator. That's what I'm thinking of. Um, and um, yeah. But so him and Ethan Wiley wrote the first House film. And they were like, oh, originally it was going to be they made they were going to make an anthology movie and then they just took the one story that they'd written and expanded it to make the film house. So it's weird cuz I think yeah, it's almost like, well, we can still do the anthology idea. Now we just do it across the series rather than within a feature length film. And um, so this is directed by Ethan Wiley who was co-writes it with Fred Decker and had co-written with Fred Decker the first one. … And um, yeah, it's uh.
- Cameos and casting of character actors
Yes, he's the because the gorilla who gets knocked out by the cave man. And um and obviously you've got Bill Bill in there. Yeah, playing a smarmy shit, so that's that's great quite spot on. I think that's that's the weird thing as well is that you've also got um Royal Dano, who we have seen twice before now because he's in Killer Klowns from Outer Space, he's the farmer. Uh, with a fringe jeans or whatever it is who gets who gets killed right at the start. And he was also in The Dark Half. And he's I believe he's the guy who gets beaten to death with his own false leg. … Yes. … And he's um obviously he was the judge in Twin Peaks, the one who comes up when uh Cooper's in stuck. I can't remember quite what the which the point is, but like he comes in for a couple of episodes and he's just a sort of basically it's like. oh, well, John Huston won't do it, so we'll get Royal Dano and he'll he'll bring off the same sort of gravitas. But him as Gramps, I think I think that's possible.
- Shift in tone for House 2 and its cultural context
And then the sequel is 87 and it's, you know, it's pretty much. almost rolls immediately into it. They've like, right, we've made this first film, we'll do a second film and and possibly because of that thing of just like, well, we we haven't got any more story to tell of that first film, you know. Cuz they were like and so they've made the decision, no, we'll we'll just write a new story and everything. And um, yeah, I wonder if also. Cuz I was like, but how do you go from house to essentially what I would describe as certainly a kid-friendly a family film. This is a family horror vaguely film. It's I don't I would not consider it a horror film. It's a family-friendly horror film. That's like like Ghostbusters or something like that. And I do feel that they did have after the first one came out, obviously you've got Gremlins and Ghostbusters. And they were like, shit, maybe we could get like You know, we can get you can get a family audience to this stuff. Where it's like effects heavy and adventure and sort of cuz that's what it is, it's an adventure film.
- Special effects and Phil Tippett's involvement
Oh, it's amazing. Yeah. They called in all favors, that's like the stop motion, I think that's like Phil Tippett who was like who did Mad God and Star Wars. And ended up having to be called in when they were doing Jurassic Park because they still needed someone to do a stop motion dinosaur to for them to teach the computer how to do a dinosaur, you know. That's sort of level of um yeah, so you got a lot of and I think there's some cuz like when you watch the making of cuz the arrow Blu-ray is what I watched it on. And um, so I watched the making of afterwards and it was uh it was really good. Um, but a lot of the time they're all like oh, well, we know the effects aren't all that and we know this and I was like, I think this pretty much stands up. And I think because of its nature, it doesn't matter that your Terradactyl is is a muppet.
- Casting and behind-the-scenes for the 'virgin' character
And also there there's another person that we've seen before cuz the um the girl who's going to be sacrificed who I think who is literally credited as virgin. Yes. … Um, that's um she was in society. She's like the they're Well, that's a bit different. She's the the main girlfriend in Society. Yes, so apparently because she it's um. Devin De Vasquez and she is at that point was a Playboy model and this was her first film. And she saw like, right, I'm a sacrificial virgin. you know, like on an altar and assumed she was doing it naked and then they were like and then she turned up and she was like really surprised that she was going to be clothed. Because and I that I totally get. You told you're doing a horror film and you are a former playmate. You know, you sort of like. Yeah, you you assume you've been hired for that. But also some did drop a prop skull on her head so and she had to go, she had to go to hospital. So. Um, yeah, and and let's face it, that is a that is a thankless fucking role.
- Analysis of 'weird sequels' and production teams
And I I think also again, like we've we've dealt with a lot of weird weird sequels, there's sort of but like total change but from the same team essentially, you know, is quite something. Cuz like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, like the difference between the first and second of those where one is grueling and the second one is hilarious. And but but it's still the story of Leatherface. It's not like they came up with a, you know, it is a there're still continuing the story. Whereas this was just like, no, slam it, fuck this. probably the nearest would have been would be Halloween 3. And again with Halloween 3, we always we said if they'd have done it as the second film, probably people would have taken it was only cuz you did two Michael Myers films and then say, oh, it's an anthology. that people didn't wouldn't have it. But yeah, I think if they'd have done if Halloween 3 had been Halloween 2. probably Halloween with Michael Myers would have just been the very successful start of a uh anthology franchise. … Yes, actually, yes. Oh, yeah, that is a very good analogy. Also, I'm going to have to put in a vote that we do it at some point, but we've got to do obviously we'd have to do the first film first um is The Howling and Howling 2. They are remarkably different films. … but in fairness with with with the Howling, I don't think it's I don't think that's the same team doing the second one. Not I might be way off, but I'm pretty sure it's like different director and different writers and so on. … Well, cuz it the first one based on is that Whitley Strieber? Is that The Howling or is that Wolfen? I can't remember. But it's yeah, but I no way on God's earth is Whitley Strieber right howling 2.
Highlights
Transcript
Show full transcript
LeeGood evening and welcome to horror. I'm Lee.
ChrisI'm Chris.
AdamAnd I'm Adam.
LeeAnd we are here this evening with a sick Chris, but he is soldering on, so if he sounds croaky, it's not that we're
ChrisNot as sick as Gramps.
LeeYeah.
LeeYes, but we are here as promised this evening, with spoilers and swearing to cover 1987's House 2: The Second Story.
AdamAnd just just full stop under that. Excellent.
ChrisExcellent work.
AdamThe second story, perfect.
LeeIt is a fantastic.
LeeSo just a quick rundown for anyone who hasn't seen it, it's a completely, it is a completely new story, so it's just another story about a different haunted house effectively.
LeeA young man inherits his his family home, once owned by his great, great-grandfather who's an explorer, who he who he discovers was once buried with a mystical crystal skull and decides to dig it up and see if it's worth some money.
LeeOnly to discover that in fact it has kept his grandfather alive, but buried for the last 70 years, and now the skull is back out, people are coming across time and space to try and steal it for nefarious purposes.
AdamBecause somehow the skull opens up dimensions in rooms within the house.
LeeYes.
LeeYes, so the reason I wanted to cover this is because we were discussing last time about Batshit sequels and this is one of the batshitest sequels ever, I think, it's fair to say.
LeeIt just, it just gets wackier and wackier and weirder and then, and then Bill the electrician turns up, who's just one of my favorite characters in anything ever.
ChrisYeah.
LeeYeah, and it's just crazy.
ChrisBill the electrician slash adventurer.
LeeYeah.
AdamOn that on that subject, so that's that's probably the most famous person in the film because that's John Ratzenberger who was in Cheers for years.
ChrisYeah.
AdamAnd I didn't mean that to be rhyming.
AdamAnd yeah, he plays Bill Bill the electrician and slash adventurer.
AdamAnd is it, I mean John Ratzenberger obviously we've seen him in loads of stuff and you know him from Cheers and things like that. Just watching it the other day, he is a real Nick Frost performance.
LeeYes, it is very. Yeah, you're right.
AdamDo you know what I mean? I was like, I've it's not a connection I'd ever made before, but yeah, it's it's a very
AdamI could see Nick Frost if you were to remake this for whatever reason.
ChrisHe would be perfect. Yeah.
AdamYeah, he would that's that's who you'd.
Chriselectriciang going on, mostly adventuring and.
Chrisin quite a nonchalant way he's like, yep, I'm just I'm good at this.
AdamYeah, it's he's obviously happened regularly enough.
ChrisYeah.
AdamYou know, it's not this isn't an outlier for him, you know.
AdamWhich kind of in a way adds to the idea that like it's not it's totally blank it's totally fresh start from the first house.
ChrisYeah, wait, so is it a completely different house then?
AdamIt is a completely different house, completely different characters.
AdamAnd the but in house the premise is the same where it's like the house becomes portals to the past of the main character's via Vietnam experience.
AdamAnd I like the idea that this is just a general problem that houses have.
LeeYeah.
AdamSo Bill sees enough of them. You know what I mean? He he actually probably sees some work at that place.
AdamAnd met and met his mate from Cheers as well. You know, when for a drink with Norm.
AdamAt the same time, but yeah, it's it's weird that it adds to that sort of anthology shared universe of like, oh, well, you know, there's a few houses like that.
AdamThis is a slightly more benevolent one than the than the first one.
LeeYeah, and then the of course the next film, House 3 is just shocker. There isn't even a house in it as far as I remember.
AdamYeah, I think I think that one's I I can't remember whether it's that one or the last one, but one of them is a film that was developed and then they said, oh, we can call it house.
LeeYeah, so I'm guessing that was the third. And then the fourth one is actually back to the original guy in the original house, but I don't understand why the original house is now in the middle of a desert.
AdamYes and.
AdamYeah, that's.
AdamYeah, let's just say for anyone curious, I think that I think you can watch house first one, excellent. Second one, excellent. Don't even necessarily have to bother with the other two. They're just like not.
AdamI can't you remember them far better than I do, Lee.
AdamBut as you're saying it, I'm like, oh yeah, that is what happens.
AdamBut if you'd asked me 10 minutes ago, I could not have told you what happened in three and four.
ChrisI mean, third one is always going to stick out in my mind just because I watched it like it was one of those that we watched very young and there was a group of us who was like sleepover and you know, and it and the bit where he's turning up the voltage was just like, oh my God, I've never seen anything like this. What is going on? This is insane, you know, so.
ChrisYeah, that's always going to stick in my head.
AdamSo you've got house experience as well, that's how.
ChrisThat was that was it. So that's how I just imagined all of them to be and then when we saw number one, I was like, okay, that's a bit different than this.
ChrisI mean, really this for a for a film that has pretty stupid dialogue, pretty stupid story, pretty stupid characters, it's surprisingly fun.
AdamOh, it's absolute fun.
ChrisIt shouldn't, it shouldn't has no right to be as good as it is.
AdamI mean, the two the two the two main guys who aren't Gramps. So obviously it's it's Gramps's great, great, great, great grandson or whatever it is.
ChrisSo so Jesse and Charlie.
AdamYeah.
AdamAnd Charlie who's the best, who's the sort of best mate who's turned up. Just just about a friend, really. Who to start with, you're like, cuz when we were watching it, Clare went, does he get killed? Because she was just like, he's really But oddly enough, one of the most endearing, bumbling sidekicks of very very almost very similar to the burbs.
LeeYeah.
LeeYeah.
LeeYes.
AdamThe way that relationship sort of plays out.
ChrisThe the way you just just creates a, you know, a party and invites everyone. Oh, yeah, I've forgotten about this.
ChrisJust.
AdamYes.
LeeIt's that it's that level of obnoxious friend that you only see in 80s movies.
LeeThey don't exist in real life or any other type of film.
AdamThey don't exist in real life cuz they'd get murdered very early.
AdamYou know, it's like the the guy who organizes a party at your house and forgets. He's said he'll have been punched a few times before now.
Leeand we have actually seen him before. I don't know if you remember Chris, so Jonathan Stark who plays Charlie, was also the day dwelling helper in Fright Night.
ChrisOh, okay.
AdamYes.
LeeYeah, he's the one who looks after Chris Sarandon while he sleeps.
Chris-huh.
ChrisYeah, I mean, he's he does play the character well, you know.
ChrisHe does a good job.
LeeHe is great.
ChrisI like that he was the first one to knock over the the post as well.
ChrisI mean, that's that's a funny bit, isn't it?
LeeJust. Yeah.
ChrisAnd who who keeps fixing it as well?
LeeYeah.
ChrisYeah.
AdamYou know, it's you know it's poor Jesse that he's just like.
AdamBut yeah, so you so Chris, you said to us that you watch this with your son.
ChrisYeah, well.
ChrisYeah, I mean, I'd seen a little bit of it and then I watched the rest today, so I'd seen like the first 20 minutes or so yesterday and
ChrisThen yeah, put it on on our main TV, which normally I definitely can't do, but I was like, there's nothing so far. I'll just put it on and he just heard some of the, you know, some of the talking. He was like, what is going on?
ChrisAnd then he he started watching it. I said, this could be bad. I said, I was trying to remember. I was like, what references does he know? So I said, in the first one, they did have a Cronenberg type monster, so be prepared just in case and no, there was nothing.
ChrisThat's completely fine.
LeeYeah, the big bad in this one is the placeholderly named Slim Razer, which is Yeah.
LeeYeah, which I'd completely forgot about and I was like, how can I forget?
LeeBut I loved, I've got to say, I have very vague recollections of coming downstairs, while I think my dad must have been watching this film.
LeeAnd I wasn't old enough. I'd have been nine at the time, I'm guessing.
AdamYeah.
LeeAnd I remember coming down and it was one of those, oh, I come down to get a drink of water, and it was, go to the kitchen, don't look at the television, and I just remember it had obviously been paused on a scene with Slim Razer and it's stuck in my head for years.
LeeAnd I I couldn't find out what it was. I never spotted it.
LeeAnd then one day I put on House 2 unexpectedly and went, oh, that's what he was watching that night.
ChrisYeah, quite iconic looking.
LeeIt's a great look.
LeeBut yeah, and and I've got to say the anthology idea of this of not carrying on the story and just having a separate house is a really good idea.
LeeI mean, it it fell apart very much after three.
LeeAnd then they did the Halloween thing of trying to go back to bring the old characters back to rekindle it.
LeeAwful, but yeah, the idea of having a separate haunted house each time but in the same as you say Adam, wacky dimensions opening up and stuff is a really good idea.
AdamBecause I think, because the first film.
AdamThat's where the first film came from is they wanted to make an anthology film.
AdamIt was Sean S Cunningham who obviously did the Friday the 13th franchise. And Fred Decker who wrote Die Hard and he's he did like Night of the Creeps and you know just where's where's where's the list? The Monster Squad as well.
Lee
LeeThe Monster Squad as well, I think.
AdamMonster Squad, that's what I was thinking. Yeah, I'm just thinking it's like such a it's a good little he's got an excellent little rap sheet. Yeah.
Adamand wrote oh sorry, no, wrote The Predator. That's what I'm thinking of.
Adamand yeah.
AdamBut so him and Ethan Wiley wrote the first House film.
AdamAnd they were like, oh, originally it was going to be they made they were going to make an anthology movie and then they just took the one story that they'd written and expanded it to make the film house.
AdamSo it's weird cuz I think yeah, it's almost like, well, we can still do the anthology idea. Now we just do it across the series rather than within a feature length film. And so this is directed by Ethan Wiley who was co-writes it with Fred Decker and had co-written with Fred Decker the first one.
AdamAnd yeah, it's
LeeDid you Did you I don't think I've spotted it before, but watching it this time. Adam, did you spot Kane Hodder?
AdamYes, he's the because the gorilla who gets knocked out by the cave man.
ChrisYeah.
AdamAnd and obviously you've got Bill Bill in there.
ChrisYeah, yeah. That's surprise.
AdamYeah, playing a smarmy shit, so that's that's great quite spot on.
AdamI think that's that's the weird thing as well is that you've also got Royal Dano, who we have seen twice before now because he's in Killer Klowns from Outer Space, he's the farmer.
Lee
Adamwith a fringe jeans or whatever it is who gets who gets killed right at the start.
AdamAnd he was also in The Dark Half.
AdamAnd he's I believe he's the guy who gets beaten to death with his own false leg.
LeeYeah.
LeeAnd my favorite role of his though, it's got to be says it's got to be said is something Wicked This Way Comes.
Leewhere he plays the Lightning salesman.
AdamYes.
LeeYeah, he's so good in that.
AdamAnd he's obviously he was the judge in Twin Peaks, the one who comes up when Cooper's in stuck.
LeeYes.
AdamI can't remember quite what the which the point is, but like he comes in for a couple of episodes and he's just a sort of basically it's like.
Adamoh, well, John Huston won't do it, so we'll get Royal Dano and he'll he'll bring off the same sort of gravitas.
AdamBut him as Gramps, I think I think that's possible.
ChrisI mean you do feel for him when he when he realizes he doesn't look quite as good as he used to.
LeeYeah.
AdamYeah.
AdamIt's weirdly enough, I think you've Lee, I when as we were watching it, I was like, you really hit on a lovely pairing with Bubba Ho-Tep because you've got the sort of obviously the Western theme in this is much more pronounced than it is in Bubba Ho-Tep because this is you are dealing with the old West and sort of stuff from that.
Chris
AdamI have also discovered that on the soundtrack, it's a bass harmonica, which is a sound that I've now discovered that's what it is, but it's a sound that I love it turns up on loads of sort of library music and bits from the Twilight Zone and stuff like that where it's just that really deep. sort of thing on the soundtrack, which is just pure sort of like, right, it's the Wild West. That's right. So.
LeeYeah.
LeeI love how Jesse enters the Wild West as well.
LeeSo he's in his house, he sees a window at the end and through it he can see the Wild West. Instead of looking for a latch or an opening, he just throws himself through it like he's been chucked in a bar fight for no reason whatsoever. There must have been a better way of getting to the other side of that glass.
AdamAlso, that's I think that's going to be Kane Hodder cuz he did all the stunts on this.
LeeYeah.
AdamAs well as the as well as like being the the gorilla cameo.
AdamBut but yeah, no, I just think Gramps is just such a it's a brilliant creation, like the performance, the look and the story, you know.
AdamI think there is just and this again falls into that category.
AdamCuz I hadn't seen this until very relatively recently, last few years or whatever it was was the first time I saw it.
AdamAnd the one thing I don't like about it is that I didn't watch it when I was younger and have like this really great film and plus that sort of love of if you'd have discovered it at the time, you know. Cuz this is this is a great, this is a great kids film.
ChrisYeah.
AdamYou know, and I'm pretty I'm pretty certain I'm probably cuz Ted has been saying he wants to watch a proper horror film because obviously he's on YouTube.
AdamAnd he hears talk of that's the thing cuz it's children friendly YouTube.
Adamdon't actually see anything. They're not going to put clips in or whatever like that.
AdamBut he knows the name Chucky. He knows the name of Ghostface or whatever like that.
AdamAnd it's sort of yeah, so he's been like, you know, I'd like to watch a horror film.
AdamAnd there was I'm trying and I was trying to think of something that was up to date enough.
AdamYou know, there was no way actually a best way of describing it, Ghostbusters. He loves Ghostbusters.
ChrisWell.
AdamSo it was like, you know, that we're we're.
AdamAnd I suddenly realized actually that when this came out was obviously just after cuz you watch house and house is like, I know I've got my date down.
AdamYeah.
AdamSo house is 85.
Chris
AdamAnd then the sequel is 87 and it's, you know, it's pretty much.
Adamalmost rolls immediately into it. They've like, right, we've made this first film, we'll do a second film and and possibly because of that thing of just like, well, we we haven't got any more story to tell of that first film, you know.
LeeYeah.
AdamCuz they were like and so they've made the decision, no, we'll we'll just write a new story and everything.
AdamAnd yeah, I wonder if also.
AdamCuz I was like, but how do you go from house to essentially what I would describe as certainly a kid-friendly a family film.
LeeYes.
AdamThis is a family horror vaguely film. It's I don't I would not consider it a horror film.
ChrisNo. Yeah. But it could it could be if they'd really wanted to.
AdamIt's a family-friendly horror film. That's like like Ghostbusters or something like that. And I do feel that they did have after the first one came out, obviously you've got Gremlins and Ghostbusters.
AdamAnd they were like, shit, maybe we could get like You know, we can get you can get a family audience to this stuff.
AdamWhere it's like effects heavy and adventure and sort of cuz that's what it is, it's an adventure film.
LeeYeah.
AdamYou know, really.
Adambut yeah, I just I so I.
ChrisI mean they got some pretty good stop motion creatures in there.
AdamOh, it's amazing. Yeah.
AdamThey called in all favors, that's like the stop motion, I think that's like Phil Tippett who was like who did Mad God and Star Wars.
AdamAnd ended up having to be called in when they were doing Jurassic Park because they still needed someone to do a stop motion dinosaur to for them to teach the computer how to do a dinosaur, you know. That's sort of level of yeah, so you got a lot of and I think there's some cuz like when you watch the making of cuz the arrow Blu-ray is what I watched it on.
AdamAnd so I watched the making of afterwards and it was it was really good. but a lot of the time they're all like oh, well, we know the effects aren't all that and we know this and I was like, I think this pretty much stands up.
ChrisYeah.
AdamAnd I think because of its nature, it doesn't matter that your Terradactyl is is a muppet.
ChrisYeah.
AdamNo. Do you know what I mean?
AdamIt's a character. Yeah.
ChrisI mean, when when you get him to sit down to dinner, like you don't need to worry too much.
AdamVery much. Thank you, Chris. There you go. That is exactly the thought I needed. Yes.
AdamIf you're having the puppy or pupperpillar or dog a pillar or.
LeeIt's the only thing I don't like about this film. It is too twee and it's just.
AdamIt is too cute.
AdamBut fortunately it's but then in a weird way, it's like that sort of thing of again with a kids film or it's like Uni in Dungeons and Dragons, but unlike Uni in Dungeons and Dragons where they forced the little fucker into everything and there's a pain in the ass and you want to slap her and Bobby fucking senseless because you're like, you're just fucking trouble, the pair of you.
ChrisYeah.
AdamWhereas I think the dog just turns up, is a dog, Gramps feeds it beer, and you know.
LeeIt.
LeeBut it is funny. So a bit like yourself, Adam, I saw this for the first time probably four or five years ago. and I've only seen it the once. Yeah, and all I remember is Bill the electrician. It was the bit I remember and I was like, that is I I just remember how out of place it was and how it takes such a sudden turn when he turns up. And I was like, I I remember having very fond memories of it, so I wanted to go back and revisit it and I thought it's. I did think it'd probably be a very good companion piece. But I was surprised just how well it.
ChrisYeah.
AdamYeah. Well, especially because it's also got that sort of it's got a nice little heart to it.
Adamthat you do sort of it's Gramps sort of, you know, realizing these well, not just old, but dead and maybe it's time to move on, you know.
ChrisHas a right in Halloween party though.
LeeYeah.
AdamThis is the thing as well we've done weirdly, weirdly for October, we've got a film with a Halloween party in it and we didn't even plan that.
AdamWe we usually just rattle through October. It's kind of like, well, of course we're watching horror films.
AdamWhat do you mean? Oh, Halloween. Oh, oh, yeah.
LeeYeah.
AdamYeah.
AdamYeah, so yeah, I think it's nice that we've we've coincided with a bit of Halloween there.
LeeYeah.
LeeYeah, absolutely. even if it was unintentional.
LeeBut yes, and again, this is another one of those films. It's only an hour and a half like it's a nice quick. and it feels like a film of various parts.
AdamYeah.
LeeThe first bit, yeah, is like a sort of the bits with Gramps are it's like a buddy comedy bit and then you've you know, towards the end you've got your adventure and then after your adventure with Bill, then you get your going back to the Wild West and fighting a ghost of a yeah, a ghost of an old cowboy.
Leeyeah, and it's just it slots together really well.
AdamAnd you you fight very Indiana Jones.
AdamI'm not even going to offend anyone by claiming to know what ancient people they might be in that tent.
LeeYeah.
ChrisYeah.
LeeOh, I've no idea. They're very not.
ChrisThey're not the best fighters. We know that.
AdamThat's true. That's true.
LeeThat's true.
AdamAnd also there there's another person that we've seen before cuz the the girl who's going to be sacrificed who I think who is literally credited as virgin.
ChrisYeah.
AdamYes.
Lee
Chris
Lee
Chris
Adamthat's she was in society. She's like the they're Well, that's a bit different. She's the the main girlfriend in Society.
ChrisWell, that's a bit different.
AdamYes, so apparently because she it's
AdamDevin De Vasquez and she is at that point was a Playboy model and this was her first film.
AdamAnd she saw like, right, I'm a sacrificial virgin.
LeeYeah.
Adamyou know, like on an altar and assumed she was doing it naked and then they were like and then she turned up and she was like really surprised that she was going to be clothed.
LeeYeah.
AdamBecause and I that I totally get. You told you're doing a horror film and you are a former playmate.
LeeYou would assume.
AdamYou know, you sort of like.
LeeWouldn't you?
AdamYeah, you you assume you've been hired for that.
AdamBut also some did drop a prop skull on her head so and she had to go, she had to go to hospital.
LeeYeah.
AdamSo.
Adamyeah, and and let's face it, that is a that is a thankless fucking role.
AdamBoth as a character and as a as a performance cuz it's like.
Adamthat's the only bit where you're like, yeah, I think that's that's just you've gone because you're going down the adventure route.
AdamOf course he has to get the girl.
LeeYeah.
AdamAnd it's like, yeah, but under the circumstances, this just is very sudden this film, you know.
LeeYeah.
Leebut yes, it just to spoil the end for anyone who hasn't seen it.
LeeI do like that end where they basically just decide their lives are crap where they are and it's fuck much more fun to just go into one of these other dimensions and live there, which is.
AdamYeah.
ChrisYeah.
AdamYeah.
LeeYeah.
AdamI I think it's also probably because it's also because it relates back to cuz I love that bit where.
Adamthey're just listening to pops telling his stories.
AdamAnd Gramps, sorry, not pops, they're listening to Gramps telling his stories.
AdamAnd it is almost like, well, what should we do now? You know.
AdamWell, Gramps made that sound fucking brilliant.
AdamShould we go and do that?
LeeYeah.
LeeYeah, it is that is a good scene as well.
LeeAnd the fact that it shows you how much, you know, every time it cuts away and comes back there's more and more beer cans to show you just how long they've just sat listening to him all day basically and got through a whole case of beer.
LeeIt's Yeah, it's it's yeah, there's just so much about this that I really like.
LeeI think it's really.
AdamIt did put me in mind of Abe Simpson, no, I was thinking. No, Homer, no, Homer, Homer Simpson from my youth with the style at the time.
LeeNo, Homer, Homer.
ChrisHomer, yeah.
LeeAnd I liked his relationship with Charlie as well, despite the fact Charlie isn't the descendant of him.
LeeThe two of them just going, you know, waiting until Jesse goes to bed and then taking the car.
ChrisYeah.
LeeJust going and sitting on a hill and drinking whiskey until they're both drunk and then driving home.
AdamYeah.
AdamAnd that and also, I mean, I just love the fact that all the way through it, Gramps remains wonderfully disreputable, but but is, you know, he's he's I keep going to say he's older now.
AdamYeah, he's dead, so he's pretty that's that's as fucking old as you get, really, you know.
AdamWell, he's undead, that's really as old as you get and but I still love the thing like where the two guys take the like the two.
Adamwhatever cultists take the skull and they find him on the floor and he's like, oh yeah, there was about must have been 20 or 30 of his whole bullshit.
LeeYeah.
ChrisYeah, yeah.
LeeYeah.
AdamAnd and and oddly enough, one of those is one of those films where it's like of. oh, they're going to have the whole thing where that No, the wife turns out to be a bastard.
LeeYeah.
ChrisYeah.
AdamShe is just like, yeah.
ChrisYeah.
AdamNo.
LeeYeah, they all do. They all kind of abandon.
LeeAnd again, you know, that whole thing is yes, so it's his friend who he hasn't seen in ages comes in and gives him a kiss.
LeeAnd then she walks up, slaps him in the face and then starts kicking him when he's down.
LeeYou're like, well, I mean, I.
Leethat's you know, that's slightly over the top, but secondly, she didn't even see it.
LeeIt was just the, you know, the producer told her.
ChrisYeah.
AdamHe pointed to her by slimy Bill Mayer.
LeeShe immediately believes it and just attacks him.
ChrisTo be fair, his his explanation did sound a little bit far-fetched.
AdamThe delay as well, where it's like he opens the cupboard and reveals a pterodactyl.
LeeYeah.
ChrisYeah.
AdamSee.
LeeBut yeah, just a good fun film all around really.
LeeIt's as you say, it's very family-friendly, it's a nice rainy afternoon film, I think, really.
AdamYeah.
LeeYeah.
AdamVery very comforting in its own sort of way.
AdamAnd I I think also again, like we've we've dealt with a lot of weird weird sequels, there's sort of but like total change but from the same team essentially, you know, is quite something.
AdamCuz like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, like the difference between the first and second of those where one is grueling and the second one is hilarious.
LeeYeah.
AdamAnd but but it's still the story of Leatherface.
AdamIt's not like they came up with a, you know, it is a there're still continuing the story.
AdamWhereas this was just like, no, slam it, fuck this.
Adamprobably the nearest would have been would be Halloween 3.
LeeYeah.
AdamAnd again with Halloween 3, we always we said if they'd have done it as the second film, probably people would have taken it was only cuz you did two Michael Myers films and then say, oh, it's an anthology.
ChrisYeah.
Adamthat people didn't wouldn't have it.
AdamBut yeah, I think if they'd have done if Halloween 3 had been Halloween 2.
Adamprobably Halloween with Michael Myers would have just been the very successful start of a anthology franchise.
LeeWhereas what we got here was Troll and Troll 2, effectively.
AdamYes, actually, yes.
ChrisOh, yeah.
AdamOh, yeah, that is a very good analogy.
AdamAlso, I'm going to have to put in a vote that we do it at some point, but we've got to do obviously we'd have to do the first film first is The Howling and Howling 2.
LeeYes.
AdamThey are remarkably different films.
LeeYeah, oh yeah, 100%.
LeeAgain, they definitely sits in the same the same sort of.
Adambut in fairness with with with the Howling, I don't think it's I don't think that's the same team doing the second one.
LeeNo.
AdamNot I might be way off, but I'm pretty sure it's like different director and different writers and so on.
LeeYeah.
LeeI I think you're right. I'd be very surprised if it wasn't.
AdamWell, cuz it the first one based on is that Whitley Strieber? Is that The Howling or is that Wolfen?
LeeI'm not sure.
AdamI can't remember. But it's yeah, but I no way on God's earth is Whitley Strieber right howling 2.
LeeNo.
ChrisNo.
Adamso yes, so we're going to be back in a fortnight's time.
Adamwe went to an event, which we will discuss when it when we discuss the film on the next episode.
AdamBut we all went and together on a lovely little day out and we saw what did we what's Oh, my God.
LeeWhat did we what's Oh, my God.
AdamVirgin Witch.
LeeYeah.
LeeBut the one that we're going to be covering is.
ChrisBlood on Satan's Claws.
LeeI just couldn't remember the title for some reason. I just completely escaped.
LeeYes, so Blood on Satan's Claws will be covering next.
Lee
LeeYeah.
ChrisNot not quite as family-friendly.
LeeNo.
LeeAbsolutely not.
LeeBut again, well, again, we'll discuss it at the time, but that anthology connection again.
AdamYes.
ChrisYes.
LeeBut yes.
LeeSo we will be back for that in a fortnight's time, so go and check out House 2.
LeeShout out to your kids, it's fine. Apart from the, you know, the cowboy getting his head shot off at the end.
LeeBut even that is.
AdamThat I think's fine. The only bit I'm worried about is I'm just thinking maybe the early bit.
AdamLike when you just see him in silhouette in the I might I might dive in when they arrive at the house.
LeeYeah.
AdamYeah, when Jesse turns up, yeah.
LeeYeah, when Jesse turns up, yeah.
AdamYeah.
Leebut yes, so go and check that out.
LeeGo and check out Blood on Satan's Claw.
LeeAnd we'll be back in a fortnight's time to discuss that.
LeeThanks very much for listening. Good night.
ChrisGood night.
AdamGood night.
LeeStay awesome, Chris.
ChrisThank you.
