A College is taken over by peeved Zombies and its up to a Special Unit of badasses to cleanse the premises while attempting to get a sample from a first generation undead in the name of developing a cure. Let the bodies hit the floor!

Is it me or am I officially getting sick of Zombie movies? I feel like I’ve been seeing way too many of them now of late. Lets bring back the vampires man (We need another Lost Boys or Near Dark and I don’t mean pathetic remakes)! This is getting tired. With that said, although I still think the first HOUSE OF THE DEAD is freaking hilarious to sit through in a so bad its good way, HOUSE OF THE DEAD 2 was an “on paper” improvement over it.

This sequel played it smart (and safe) when taking into account the audiences' reception to the original; it rolled in with its tongue firmly planted in its cheek (I don’t mean the one on its face) right off the bat. The dialogue was often damn funny, some of the characters were side splitting (All about Bart man…he owned!), random clever set pieces stood out (Zombie football…yeehaw!) while the out of line circumstantial humor had me yukking it up (For example: Bart loves taking still shots of himself with dead hotties Zombies…LOL!). Moreover, the pacing of the flick was zippy to say the least; I mean it began with a bang and didn’t let up till the end credits, not even for a pee break. Now that’s a focused narrative! No mucking around here! That made the experience fairly effortless to sit through. The fine actors in this DOA House helped make the undead shenanigans more enjoyable as well. The charismatic Ed Quinn (Es tu Ralph Fiennes?), the dead pan James Park, the amusing Sid Haig (in a small role) and yes even grunting Sticky Fingaz all came through (I can’t believe I just said that).

Miserably, somebody pissed blood in the soup with the first obvious shortcoming being the low budget at hand (I hear it cost 2 Million to make). In my zero-rated opinion, on a movie of this sort, you need varied gore gags and excessive violence to fully satisfy. Although we did get a high undead body count, the mostly flat and repetitive way in which the ghouls were dispatched was nothing to get a boner over. We get it, they die via headshots… can we try something else? The same could be said about the blah directing style conveying the action/shootouts. I needed some slow motion in there, some slick angles, some POV shots…something! In both latter respects I actually felt that the original did a better job where for all its missteps, it at least sported some splat and Boll trying all kinds of stuff with his physical get-downs. And what the hell was up with that gaping plot hole (You can get infected via a prick of a needle but not by Zombie blood pouring all over one's face)? COME ON! Lastly the third act's meat wasn’t capitalized upon enough for my liking. The situation begged for variety and heavy conflict… but we got more of the same instead. Too easy.

On the whole HOUSE OF THE DEAD 2 was definitely a better screenplay than the original. Tight, always on the move, mucho funny and to the point.Its a shame that the lack of coin, graphic red grub and kinetic visuals lessened the impact of what should’ve been a high goring great time. Average; see it on video where it will most likely end up.

We get some cuts, body parts lying around, headshots and zombie bites. Not graphic enough for my liking but I did the dig some of the Zombie make up though!

Emmanuelle Vaugier (Alex) did fine with what she was given and looked yummy while doing it. Ed Quinn (Ellis) rocked as the strong, silent type man of action. Chicks will love him! Sticky Fingaz (Dalton) was actually credible as the tough as nails soldier. Who knew? Victoria Pratt (Henson) had the sexy bod and the chops for the part. James Parks (Bart) stole the show as the twisted and deviant soldier. Sid Haigs (Professor Curien) was damn funny in his small role of a messed up Doctor. Good stuff bro!

We get lots of titties and a full frontal on a corpse. The ladies get shirtless duders.

The flick sported a tight pace and a couple of fly shots but those action scenes were shot too straight for my liking; I needed more pizzazz injections!

We get an appealing and rocking score that helped make the film more exciting than it really was.

HOUSE OF THE DEAD 2 showed off a winning sense of humor, a promising premise, a handful of decent actors and an easy-money pace. Too bad the low budget, the lack of “true" gore and the oh-hum directing played against it. I’m half, half on this one but I could see it playing well with brews and friends in tow. I saw it with a crowd and it sure helped make it more fun than it truly was. Your call! ARROW TRIVIAL NOTE: Why do they call this franchise “House of the Dead” again? The first one took place on an island (that tiny shack didn’t count) and this one went down in a school. When will I get a HOUSE of the Dead? You know actually based on the original SEGA game? Just a thought…

Ellie Cornell (Col. Casper) has a cameo in thsi sequel, reprising her role from Part 1.

The flick was shot in Los Angeles, California

The movie is slated to hit the scene early next year (2006)