Ethan Wiley, in his directorial debut after having penned the script for House, issues Disney-quality scares with House II: The Second Story. Though the subtitle suggests a potentially fun romp which streamlines Steve Miner’s indecisive direction in the original, Wiley’s film somehow manages to be more disorganized than its predecessor, even after replacing House’s Vietnam War motif with that of a Wild West theme as the filmmakers bypass the potential for social commentary in favor of distilled laughs at the viewer’s expense.
Upon discovering that his great-great grandfather, loving referred to as “Gramps” (Royal Dano), took the mystery of a crystal skull which reputedly holds the key to immortality with him to the grave, Jessie McLaughlin (Arye Gross) and his friend, Charlie (Jonathan Stark), exhume the deceased only to find the 170 year-old man still alive and in possession of the precious artifact. However, after replacing the relic in its rightful place in the McLaughlin mansion, a barrage of ancient peoples–including Aztecs, warriors, and Gramps’s gun-slinging archenemy–begin appearing in hopes of obtaining the skull.
Things of note pertaining to House II: 1) Wiley’s film–aside from being set within the confines of a house–has nothing whatsoever to do with the original. 2) Alas, the aforementioned assessment of the production is erroneous in that Gross sports a V-neck t-shirt, albeit briefly, thereby aligning the horrid fashion of the original with Wiley’s newest installment. 3) Alas, alack, the original assessment of the film is erroneous twice over in that House II sports a cameo by John Ratzenberger, thereby paralleling the motif of the 1980s sitcom “Cheers” within the franchise after Ratzenberger’s buddy-in-crime, George Wendt, appeared as George in Part I.
Aside from the naïve notion that the film’s wry double entendre subtitle is a hint of the laughs to come, we are left shaking our heads in disappointment at the closed door that is the would-be scathing social commentary provided after Wiley establishes a theme of yesteryear confronted with modern day society via the appearance of a 170 year-old character. Granted, Gramps sits in a recliner, fascinated and befuddled over the seeming infinity contained within a box of Kleenex. However, this–atop his sentiment that Ronald Reagan wouldn’t have lasted ten minutes if confronted by the authentic West–is all we’re given in respect to potential (and I use that term graciously) substance. Sadly, the viewer is forced to reconsider one’s initial–now perhaps haphazard and overly critical–assessment of Steve Miner’s original in that the paterfamilias at least issues us a handful ideas, however confused and cumbersome, while Wiley spends the remainder of the film replaying the same scene. Yet, unlike a fugue, instead of reinforcing a theme, Wiley lapses into uninspired redundancy.
After the “skull of immortality” finds its rightful place upon the McLaughlin mantle, drove after drove of otherworldly minions appear and snatch the sacred relic, thus obligating Jessie and Charlie to set out to retrieve it for the sake of all humanity. Outside of a brief reprieve involving an electrician who carries a saber along with his soldering iron–due to the fact that he’s seen alternate universes amid the confines of faulty wiring before–little of interest, comic or otherwise, is given the viewer outside of all-too-cute-to-be-scary creatures, as an adventure story continues, much to the audience’s chagrin, only to unfold time and time again.
What can be said of a film which houses a Pugerpillar (pug/caterpillar hybrid) where a completely expendable subplot occurs in which Bill Maher plays a less than truly vile antagonist as the concept behind what brought us back to the horror series is left for dead? It can be offered that Ethan Wiley’s fault with House II: The Second Story is his misstep in shifting the narrative, not from horror to comedy, but from horror comedy to adventure narrative. However, this would preclude the theory that Wiley doesn’t belong anywhere around a camera to be the overriding impetus behind House II’s failure.
-Egregious Gurnow
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
