Search - House/House II

House/House II

Actor(s): William Katt, George Wendt, Richard Moll, Kay Lenz, Mary Stavin
Director(s): Steve Miner
17

Details

MPAA Rating: R
Content Advisory: Violence, Not For Children, Adult Language, Profanity
Movie Release: 1986
DVD Release: 06/26/2001
Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
Audio Tracks: English
Subtitles: English
SwapaDVD Credits: 2
Number of Discs: 2
Run Time: 1 hrs 32 mins
Studio: Anchor Bay
Members Wishing: 9
Genres: Comedy, Horror, Haunted House Film, Horror Comedy
See Also: House [Widescreen]

Synopsis

A mild box-office hit for New World Pictures, this lightweight attempt at horror parody from Friday the 13th producer Sean S. Cunningham stars former Greatest American Hero William Katt as a best-selling pop-horror novelist (a la Stephen King) who suffers an insurmountable case of writer's block after separation from his soap-star wife (Kay Lenz) and the disappearance of their young son. Hoping to purge his personal demons by writing his Vietnam War memoirs, he moves into the massive mansion once occupied by his deceased Aunt (who hanged herself in her bedroom), and finds himself surrounded by demons of a completely different kind. Katt takes the weirdness in stride, attempting to face down marauding monsters, interdimensional trap-doors and other supernatural horrors while concealing his predicament from the neighbors (except for a befuddled George Wendt, who tries gamely to play along with Katt's hare-brained monster-fighting schemes). Despite the filmmakers' admirable efforts to maintain the manic pace with multiple storylines, their attempt to bring all the plot elements together for the climactic payoff results in a jangled mess. Surprisingly entertaining when viewed as a live-action cartoon, but virtually impossible to take seriously as a horror film. Followed by three sequels. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Cast

William Katt - Roger Cobb
George Wendt - Harold Gorton
Richard Moll - Big Ben
Kay Lenz - Sandy
Mary Stavin - Tanya

Editorial Review

In a surprising move, Anchor Bay has released the cult favorites House and House II in a limited edition, two-disc set. Both movies are presented in their original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and, in an action that must be applauded, both employ anamorphic transfers. The first film looks nearly perfect, while the second film suffers from a minute amount of grain. The sound for both discs is a serviceable two-channel mono track. It doesn't take advantage of the sound field by any means, but is still clear and concise. Another surprise for this set is the supplemental material. Each disc has an audio commentary, the first from director Steve Miner, producer Sean S. Cunningham, writer Ethan Wiley, and actor William Katt, while the second disc only has Cunningham and Wiley. The commentary for the first film is far livelier, as the second track is a bit dry, with fewer interesting comments. Each disc also has a trailer for the film, with two on the first disc, though they are exactly the same except that one is shown widescreen and the other full frame. Finally, the first House disc has a very brief, vintage "making of" special that doesn't go into much detail, as well as a nice still gallery that includes some of the Japanese promotional material (in Japan, the film was known as Ghoul). As mentioned, this is a limited edition, with only 20,000 copies made, so if you are a fan, get it before it's gone. ~ Trent Fordham, All Movie Guide