Customer Reviews

House of the Dead 2

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Of all the horror movies that deserves to have a sequel, Uwe Boll's House of the Dead would've been the last on the list to need one. But it seems that someone thought the first film made enough money that a sequel was greenlit to be produced and made. So, House of the Dead 2: Dead Aim got made and it pulled off that rarity amongst other sequels. It proved to be better than its predecessor.

This direct-to-cable sequel didn't have Uwe Boll at the director's chair and I believe that was one reason why this sequel was a much better (though this film stretches the limit of what constitute as a better film) than the first House of the Dead. Michael Hurst does the directing duties for this sequel and he seems to understand that what he's making could only be seen as low-budget fare. It helps that Hurst has experience directing movies based off godawful scripts. And the script for this sequel is just a tad bit better than the first film. Written by Mark A. Altman, House of the Dead 2 adheres much closer to the classic Romero zombie movies. In fact, it actually uses the secret zombie hunting group from the game franchise which helps it tie into the game much better than the first film without having to insert game footage like Boll did.

This time around the setting is a fictional Southern California university campus that's become zombie-central. The opening scenes detailing how this place of higher learning became feeding ground for the zombies is really told through flashy, music video editing-style scenes interspersed with the opening credits. From there we move on to a crack team of government special units led by a a pair of scientist-hunters to find the source of the outbreak and use it to find a cure to zombism. Emmanuelle Vaugier plays Alex, one of the leads, and to say that she cuts a different look for a scientist who moonlights as a zombie-killer would be an understatement. Ms. Vaugier looks stunning and she does so even while covered in blood and being manhandled by zombies wanting to eat her. I'd be on her too so I couldn't fault the zombies. The rest of the cast was pretty much made up of unknowns and/or veterans of the direct-to-video and cable movies. Victoria Pratt and Sid Haig being the two most noticeable in the group.

Really I couldn't complain much from the acting since there's barely a story to use to emote. Every quiet scene was pretty much set-up to get to another zombie attack and kill or to scenes that was suppose to be suspenseful and terrifying. It all boiled down to being funny and hilarious. Something I'm sure the filmmakers weren't aiming for but did well anyway. This was something this sequel had over the original. The cast seemed to be having fun with the crap they were cast in.

The special effects and gore for House of the Dead 2 was pretty good for a low-budget sequel. It actually had quite a few scenes of gore and zombie mayhem. Something that Day of the Dead 2: Contagium could've done better. There's some scenes where zombies were on a feeding frenzy that I was surprised even basic cable like Sci-Fi Channel actually allowed it. I'm sure the dvd would be a few seconds longer, or even minutes longer with gore and splatter scenes unedited. Even in these scenes this sequel surpasses what Boll did with the original. There's no kung-fu fighting from the zombies and there wasn't a bullet-time effect used anywhere. Also, I gave this film abit more points for keeping game footage in the game itself and not in the film. Uwe Boll truly was an idiot without the savant part when it came to coming up with cool ideas. Hell, Dead Aim even had a somewhat good ending with the mission not coming together as planned and news radio reports of things becoming abit crazy in the cities outside the campus.

In the end, House of the Dead 2: Dead Aim was a sequel that was only better than the original for the fact that the first film was just godawful bad. Dead Aim had nowhere else to go but up and they barely surpassed the bar set by Uwe Boll's first film. I have to admit that the creators and cast of this sequel seemed to have had a better tim from the look of the movie and for that I gave this movie two stars.

A disappointing zombie thriller, House of the Dead 2 aims to deliver the sort of grim action, gore, and violence horror fans have come to expect from the videogame series that inspired the film. Maintaining a suspension of disbelief throughout this constant carnage proves difficult even for hardcore fans as House of the Dead 2 is a constantly self-contradicting film that diminishes or dispatches with the themes and threats that drive most successful representations of the genre. Whilst the plot follows a specialized squad of zombie hunters--it's implied that the United States military has become accustomed to such scenarios, and zombification is regarded as an almost regular threat--few if any members of the team seem trained, equipped, or qualified to handle their assignment. Indeed, few of these characters are believable and none of them are likable, even when the script endeavors to provide them with inventive motivations. Only Emanuelle Vaugier, the bold and beautiful heroine, stands out and shows talent. House of the Dead 2 cancels an expected sense of scope and suspense simply because the spreading contagion that reanimates corpses is depicted not as an apocalyptic threat to humanity's very survival but as a lesser disease destined to be contained and cured--although, again, these assertions are later contradicted. Of course, this doesn't keep character after character from falling victim to the sizable zombie horde, which looks great thanks to some better-than-average make-up effects. As the non-stop action is set on a contaminated college campus, the opportunity for the sort of social commentary traditional to zombie stories is here but sadly all-but ignored. Instead, the film's setting is used only to set-up opportunities for cheap titillation and crude punch lines. Ultimately, this is all that House of the Dead 2 truly concerns itself with: sick satiation and even sicker jokes.

--Brian A. Dixon
Revelation Magazine

Many reviewers have already said that `House of the Dead 2' is better - or marginally better -- than the awful original. I agree, but at the same time I actually thought while watching this sequel that this could be MUCH better than Uwe Boll's first one. Well, that feeling soon disappeared, however, about 20 minutes after the film began. Yes, the second `HOTD' is not good, if not worse than the original.

But what's wrong with the new one (this time directed by Michael Hurst)? `House of the Dead 2' does not take itself seriously, and you know that when it starts with `American Pie'-like silly antics by college students. Or how about `The Professor' plated by Sig Haig!? And the film says he is responsible for the zombies prowling in the university campus!

The film shows several ideas, and one of them is `zombie virus.' Of course, that's what Danny Boyle was doing in '28 Days Later' and this film clearly knows it, but the filmmakers gave a twist to that. That is, special forces are sent to the place in order to get a sample of the blood of the first `patient,' by which the scientists may make a serum, or anti-zombie vaccine. The basic plot is promising, but the film forgets it as it unfolds.

One sad thing is that thre are some nice touches in this film, but they need more budget or imagination. Special make-ups and actors' performances (including those of zombies) are decent, but the film as a whole looks like a series of familiar set-pieces borrowed from other better films. After all we have seen these soldiers shooting zombies in the head before getting bitten one after another so many times before, and we need something more than one sadistic guy taking a photo with a female zombie. There are some good ideas such as `geek' zombie or `librarian' zombie, which are few and far between in this half-baked film.

Probably the most damaging thing is the weak direction that makes the film's each scene neither intense nor comic enough. There are gores, but not much enough. Even nudities didn't impress me because of the lukewarm efforts to make us care. Surely this is far better than the original, but that is not saying much.

I'm not sure what made me want to sit down and spend an hour and a half of my time with House of the Dead 2. The nifty cover art? My endless addiction to bad zombie schlock? It certainly wasn't for wanting to see a sequel to the original "House of the Dead" which universally ranks as one of the most atrocious pieces ever committed to celluloid. But while the original HOTD was such a train-wreck and so unbelievably bad that it became almost good in an Ed Wood kind of way, this second installment doesn't even have that going for it. It's not good, it's not horrible, rather it's just mediocre in that straight-to-DVD horror cheapie kind of way. But I digress. I mean, what are we supposed to expect from a film like this? At least HOTD 2, like all good zombie films should, offers blood, boobs and flying body parts aplenty.

A mad scientist (played by Sid Haig aka Captain Spaulding in an amusing cameo) is responsible for planting a zombie virus into a co-ed college chick. 29 days later, the university is completely overrun by the undead and it is up to an army platoon of zombie slayers to overrun the newly-minted zombie stronghold of Cuesta Verde University (CVU). As the platoon make their way through the usual campus staples of hallways, classrooms, libraries and campus residences they find countless stiffs of the walking dead that they blast their way through.

The biggest disappointment I had with this film is them showing us the campus only after the zombies have overrun the place instead of during. I would have loved to watch co-eds engage in various debaucheries while zombies crash their party but alas that is never to be seen. Also, I found that the film seemed unsure as to what it wanted to be. The whole zombie thing seemed often to be pushed to the background and the focus was placed on the army platoon, somewhat similarly to the Resident Evil films. An army platoon of so-called professional zombie killers who barely know how to use their weapons I might add. Who trained these guys?

Admittedly House of the Dead 2 does have some hilarious moments. It has a certain tongue-in-cheek feel that reminded me of Romero's Dawn of the Dead, especially the football field scene where the commandos have to tackle their way through helmet-wearing zombies and zombie cheerleader babes still waving their pompons. Oh and let's not forget the scene where we see the female commandos changing in the same dressing room as the guys. These scenes are somewhat effective in providing intentional laughs and to its credit the film doesn't abuse these scenes as to render the film total slapstick ridicule.

Look, no one will ever mistake this for a great or even good film. It's a low budget straight-to-DVD cheapie that is short on ideas and common sense (even by zombie movie standards). But darn, it gets to be pretty funny sometimes. And kinda fun too, in a guilty pleasure kind of way. Worth a rental, but only if you're a zombie fanatic.

I loved this movie. The first one was pretty good, but this one is great. Sure the plot line is simple, but you don't watch a movie like this for deep meaning. The zombies, gore effects, and action were all well done. This movie was a blast to watch.

Continuing on from where "House of the Dead" left off, the zombies of Isla del Meurtos have made it to the US mainland and have overrun a university. It is now up to a team of soldiers and scientists to deal with the problem, and in the process to collect a sample of "first generation" zombie blood that might hold the key to a zombie vaccine.

The good news is that "House of the Dead II" is a vast improvement on the first "House of the Dead" film (and I didn't hate the first one). The script is, for the most part, way better, and "House of the Dead" director Uwe Boll (aka the worst director of all time) has been replaced by Mike Hurst. The first half hour of this film is absolutely hilarious: a woman goes on a blind date and to her date's dismay, turns out to be a zombie hunter; soldiers are using photos of Paris Hilton for target practice; and there is a good section of the film devoted to essentially making fun of college students. Once the military gets in on the act, however, the film loses a lot of its sense of humour. That's not to say it becomes unwatchable. It's actually a pretty decent B-grade zombie film with lots of action and plenty of gore. It's only at the end where this film really falls down. I don't want to give away the ending, but suffice to say that it renders the film that went before it completely pointless. The film is enjoyable up until about 5 minutes before the end, which is why I gave it 3 stars, but the ending alone is enough to make me never want to see it again.

A professor tries to bring back the dead and accidentally creates a zombie virus that threatens the whole world. A secret government agency is sent to save the day. The zombies were okay, but the dialoque at times was ridiculous. All the male characters acted the same, and were hard to tell apart. It's really a 1 star movie, I only gave it 3 stars because I think Emauelle Vagier is a beautiful woman with a distinct gravely voice and she could be a big star if she got better parts. Still, if you are a zombie fan check this movie out on a slow night.

With the first HOD being a complete joke, this new offering came across much more in the zombie vein we expect. Although, nothing we haven't seen before I found it acceptable for Zombie fans. There is some great gore and usual zombie goings on that one would expect. In my opinion, the first HOD should be pulled from the shelves to never been heard from again and this one retitled as HOD1. So to summarize.... zombie fun, not bad, ...good times. - also a few points for compelling DVD cover art, 3 points is a fair rating
(Eyesofchaos dot com)

Ok, this movie reeked! And it wasn't from Smell-o-vision giving us the oder of rotting flesh!

Incredibly, I saw reviews that said this movie was far superior to the original House Of The Dead. I have never seen the first in this hopefully only a pair of HOTD films, but I cannot conceive of a manner in which a film can be more horrendous. And no, I don't intend to find out!

The movie's flaws are far too numerous to mention and probably have been extolled on at length in various other posts. Believe the other reviewers, they are not exaggerating.

The movie opens with flagrant unneccassary nudity. Unfortunately, this is the high point of the movie! Oh, the plot holes! Oh, the horrible, horrible acting! Oh, the really cheesy sets... Oh, the humanity!

Afficiandos of Zombie movies will groan as one by one every annoying character is bitten and zombified EXCEPT THE 2 "HEROES" of the script. They are repeatedly swamped by the undead, wrestled to the ground, have thier guns knocked out of thier hands, but never receive the fatal infection. But what would one expect from ubermensch scientist/soldier/super agents that can miraculously survive exploding buildings. Oh, and watch out for the deadline of 5 minutes that lasts at least 30 minutes of screen time...

I could go on...

Why 2 Stars rather than 1? My son and I did get a big hoot out of parts of the movie and we got to spend some quality time laughing at how ridiculous the whole thing was...

The more and more I see terrible movies, the more I wonder what goes through a producer's mind. Think about it - you don't just make a movie in a single day. You have people whose sole job is to read scripts that come in every day and throw out the bad ones. Then you have producers who read scripts and decide which on to fund money into. Money that could be up to a million or two million dollars. Then you have all the time spent on acting, rehearsing, and as filming goes along you have dailies or weeklies - you know, you look at how your movie looks so far. What I'm getting at is this: at some point, doesn't it strike any one how TERRIBLE a movie is?!

I can laugh at a bad movie, but this movie was just flat out bad. When trying to find any redeeming qualities for this movie, I could think of zero. The acting in this is abysmal. The characters are also all incredibly ridiculous: the military uniforms are just bargain basement surplus clothing, complete with fake guns. This is combined with a combat team made up of teenage models (who, by the way, change into their uniforms around the men) and overweight middle aged guys. The script is terrible, and I pray that screenwriter Mark Altman never opens up anything resembling a word document ever again. And the dialogue...dear Lord! I'm talking about a groan a second! Every time a character opened their mouth I wanted to kill something. An example of this badness comes when the main guy asks the head of the *cough* military unit if they're ready to fight zombies:

"My team's been through to hell and back! Bosnia, Afghanistan, Iraq..."

Wait wait wait...BOSNIA?! Yeah, there's the Vietnam War and then there's the Bosnian peacekeeping missions. Another bad line can be heard as one soldier says to another:

"The only medal you're going to get is a purple heart - and it isn't going to be for bravery."

Uh...purple hearts are for getting wounded, so yeah, it isn't going to be for bravery.

This film is so typical. Military team sent into an isolated location to fight some kind of monsters accompanied by a military specialist and female doctor/scientist and lose a lot of people before finally escaping. Course none of these people have been trained to fight zombies, so they're basically going in blind. And how bad would zombies be to fight? They're slow moving targets that yell "RRRRRRRRRGGGHH!!!" at the top of their lungs. Its a wonder they're able to sneak up on any one. The only way to make the zombies have a one-up is to make your heroes all idiots, which this movie does. But stupid heroes lose empathy with the audience, which means you really don't care who lives and who dies. Which means the movie gives you a headache.

I have yet to see the first "House of the Dead," I will admit. But if it's even slightly better than this one...well, that's still pretty dang bad.