User Reviews

Another Send-Up From the "ID"?

....But FIRST: Let us FOCUS on the Title's Content and Context.....

No, I'm not trying to take any of the credit for this film...Just making a reference to my #1 review of ALIEN TRESPASS.... My calling card, so to speak, on this sub-genre!

Some of the things mentioned there do apply here, so I'll make an effort to focus on the elements that make RETURNS AGAIN different.

First, let me specify, 7.5*, to be precise. From the same group of 50's low-budget Sci-Fi aficionados who brought us the definitive genre benchmark: LOST SKELETON OF CADAVERA. Seeing the original first will probably enhance your enjoyment of this commendable second offering, but by no means is indispensable.

For anyone out there really to savor this one, to fully appreciate the subtleties (or intentional lack thereof) of every deadpan line in every scene, you must be among those of us who couldn't get enough of the schlocky 50's/early 60's originals!

That having been said, RETURNS AGAIN does begin to wear thin at times. The redundant title foreshadows what we all have seen time and again: Excessive reliance on recycling bits from the original. However, there were enough cleverly conceived and well-executed new nuggets to make it well worth your while and provide you with quite an entertaining 90 minutes...

....ENJOY! / DISFRUTELA!

We saw this at the LA premiere last night, complete with cast and crew (and their families and friends, which made for an enthusiastic and fun audience).

Even with 10X the budget, it still had the no-expense look. All the old characters were back, including the bickering aliens Kro-bar and his wife, dead characters resurrected as their not-so-evil twins, and yes, Animala. Of course the Skeleton is back, although only as a skull (which gives him certain dependency issues). He gets the best lines (while waiting for his minions to carry out some task - "It's the waiting that's difficult").

All the performances were excellent, particularly Larry Blamire as the bitter scientist (another scientist took credit for his rock) and wife Fay Masterston.

The plot, such as it is, involves a race to South America to obtain the valuable Geranium-90, worshiped by the Cantalope people. It's basically 60 minutes of plot stuffed into a 90-minute movie. Although the individual jokes are often very funny, the framework is too bare-bones and linear. Even cheeseball 50s SF movies often had, you know, subplots. There's a lengthy middle section where everyone passes the same banana plant about 10 times (which was probably part of the joke). Failing a bit of a rewrite and reshoot, editing down to 70 or 75 minutes would help.

To his credit, Larry Blamire said he would not do another sequel, as he fears the jokes would start repeating themselves. True enough.

The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra redefined how I viewed independent film. It was fresh, fun, and smart.

The sequel is fun and smart.

To be honest, the trailers didn't give me much hope. I went into the theater nervous.

First, I want to say the first 20 minutes of the film are a blast! The rest of the movie is a pleasant but not powerful ride.

I will say that the characters are still funny, and making Paul and Betty a little smarter this time around adds just enough to keep them interesting. The new characters are a mixed bag...the queen is pretty damn funny, the others come and go.

The plot does drag a bit, as did the original, but this movie really feels too long. At some point, everything seems to lose steam, but it never comes to a halt.

Still, if you're a fan of Blamire's smart dialogue humor and somewhat theatrical directing style, you'll find lots to laugh at here.

If I may borrow the immortal words of Tom Servo, Larry Blamire is "a national friggin' treasure." Many writers and directors have trafficked in parody and pastiche, but Larry has three things going for him that I've rarely seen demonstrated by other filmmakers: An encyclopedic knowledge of movies, from the most obscure Poverty Row programmer on up; an infectious enthusiasm for the output of auteurs whose ambitions are bigger than their brains; and a unique style which combines brilliant wordplay and antic comedy in a way that makes one suspect he's actually the secret love child of Preston Sturges and Dr. Seuss. In other words -- he's a triple threat. And all of these qualities combined to make THE LOST SKELETON OF CADAVRA one of the funniest films of the last few years.

So how does the sequel fare? Surprisingly, it doesn't really feel like a sequel. I went in prepared for more of the same, but THE LOST SKELETON RETURNS AGAIN takes on a whole new series of clichés, primarily drawn from those low budget adventure epics -- rich in potted ferns and stock footage -- that thrived on cheap back lots from the early 30s to the late 50s. But LSRA wanders beyond the narrow confines of jungle pictures, parodying everything from gangster movies (there's a hilarious scene which pretty much guarantees you'll burst out laughing the next time you see a movie character order another to "take your gun out -- slowly") to those Mondo films of the 1960s, with their salacious native dances (believe me, you'll never look at cantaloupes the same way again).

All the actors from the original film make a return appearance, alongside a few new additions to the Blamire stock company. But it's not necessary to have seen the original LOST SKELETON (although I'd recommend checking out the DVD), or even many of the films the sequel lovingly mocks, because the jokes come so thick and fast there's something there for everybody. If you can appreciate a comedy that's smart and silly at the same time, you'll enjoy THE LOST SKELETON RETURNS AGAIN.

Oh wait, he was cranky to start with.

I shouldn't have to even mention basic rule of thumb for sequels; they stink, with the occasional exception. I'm happy to report that this is one of those exceptions. Counting myself as a fan of THE LOST SKELETON OF CADAVRA, I give this follow-up my seal of approval - a huge relief as I was braced for the worst, knowing the Sequel Rule and all.

The prior film covered a raft of 50's-to-early 60's SF B-movie sub-genres: crashed meteor/Ed-Woodish aliens/rampaging mutant/cat-woman/haunted skull. THE LOST SKELETON RETURNS AGAIN picks up most all of that and rolls it in a cheesy (of course deliberately so) jungle adventure, harking to movies like LOST CONTINENT (1951) or THE LOST WORLD (1960) or THE LOST _(insert noun here)_. A host of time honored jungle movie clichés are subjected to a Blamiring they shall not soon forget.

All of the cast and nearly all of the characters from TLSOC characters show up in TLSRA, which is a bit of a trick as a couple of them were killed off in the last picture. This seeming non sequitur is explained away in the finest tradition of cheesy film making, and it's on with the show.

Like TLSOC, there is a broad range of humor going on with appeal to all ages; from visual gags to genre in-jokes. Thus providing grown-ups with stuff to quote and kids with hijinks to giggle at.

The standard question when it comes to sequels goes something like "does it work if you haven't seen the previous film?" I'm disqualified to answer in this case, but my money is on 'yes'. There's enough continuity and in-jokes to make persnickety fans happy, but not so much that it would put off first timers - as far as I can tell. But as usual, seeing the previous film first is a plus.

Larry Blamire movies tend to result in either a love-or-hate state. Like most cult movies, it seems you're either a fan of TLSOC who never tires of watching it and quote it in your sleep, or you're one of those who doesn't like it. Bottom line, if you didn't care for the first movie, this one isn't going to make you any happier. But the many fans of THE LOST SKELETON OF CADAVRA will get along just fine with THE LOST SKELETON RETURNS AGAIN.

Like "The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra", "Returns Again" is best described as wonderfully talented people doing very silly things. It's really impossible to single anyone out...every player is spot-on. My only negative comment is that they aren't going to do "Ghost of the Lost Skeleton". I would keep seeing them as long as Mr. Blamire and company want to make them, but alas, this will be the end.

It is an absolute prerequisite to see the original film to even begin to get this movie, something the above reviewer obviously did not bother to do before writing a moronic "review" (or is it the ramblings of a feeble mind?). To accuse the producers of writing false reviews, given the cult status of these films, is nothing less than an outrage. Unfortunately, the IMDb rules do not ban stupidity.

Maybe its because I saw this one first, but this movie is amazing. Yes, the first one has better flow, but the dialog of this one is sooooo much better, especially Paul with his bitterness speech. Animala gets way more play, I love Dr. Ellemy Royne, because she really is a villain scientist, and not quite as pathetic as Rudolf Yaber, Betty is even sillier here, Jungle Brad is way more manly - As someone who has watched a ton and a half of MST3k, as well as some other really bad movies, this was awesome.

I agree we could have done with less of Chinfa, but I love the cantaloupe dance, and her interaction with Animala is worth putting up with the strains of the double negative. Although its the first time Grammar has been traded for goods, so I have to give a bow to the novelty of that.

And also, there is more skeleton. And if there is a third movie I want way way more skeleton, cause he's awesome sauce.

And yes, some people won't get it, because it's a genre film, and its just not some people's cup of tea. But I think people who don't get it should just admit they don't get it and not automatically blame the movie just cause its not their taste. Feel free to watch something you like better, and leave the cheesy fun to us.

In short, hilarious! Definitely ranks on my top 10 list of favourite movies. It manages to just be generally amazing and the satire is done to the fullest, and oh so well.

The characters are great and funny, it has more story than most movies that *aren't* making fun of "no story", and after having watched the original "Lost Skeleton of Cadavra" I'd say this one outdid the previous. Oh, and of course the special effects are very realistic and I'm still not sure how they did it. (Sarcasm.)

I can understand how some people wouldn't like this. Those people have no sense of humour :)

Larry Blamire and his cast of familiar goons are a very select few that I follow in Hollywood regularly. I am yet to be disappointed.

Lost Skeleton Returns Again matches the same level of deadpan humor and creative caliber of hilarity. Dr. Paul Armstrong is stricken with bitterness towards his love of science. Animalia returns thanks to the transforming ray of the lovely aliens, Kro-Bar and Lattis. Dan Roebuck (LOST), Trish Geiger, Alison Martin, and the others are great additions to the established cast.

As far as sequels goes, it doesn't get must better than Returns Again. Blamire skillfully reintroduces the old characters with amusing twists while keeping true to their lovable personalities. The new characters are a great asset to the film as well. The storyline is cleverly crafted all the way to the end.

What about the new monsters? They are simply amazing. The costumes are exactly what you would expect after watching The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra with some improvements.

The Special effects got a face-lift in the sequel. After watching the special features, I found out the special effects were also homemade! Quite impressive! Get this movie! Watch it over and over! This humor is appropriate for the whole family. This rare jewel of a film is a great follow-up to the original and will keep you laughing until the end.

I loved the Skeleton of Cadavra, and this sequel is just as good. Once again, the movie lovingly plays tribute to terrible old movies, with awful dialog, perplexing cutting, inappropriate reactions, terrible special effects, and non-sequitors galore. A cast of talented actors beautifully recreates talentless acting. I especially liked Mrs. Armstrong, whose peculiar reactions and weird sunniness are outrageously funny.

If I must criticize the movie, I would say that it's a little less funny towards the end. The funniest scene involving the hilarious repetition of the word "slowly" left me breathless with laughter, and as good as the rest of the movie is, little of it is as funny as that scene.

All the same, this movie is amazing.

The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra is one of my favorite films of all time. It functions both as a brilliant parody and a pitch perfect recreation of z grade sci fi from the 50's . There are moments in that film that it is really profoundly hard to tell if the film is good, bad, intentionally bad or what. It has exactly the manic energy that defines so much of z grade films from the 50's and 60's. Unfortunately, the sequel simply doesn't capture this dual quality. It is a mere parody. The sequel is more easily enjoyed but it is far less artistically successful.

Now, it is an extremely funny parody. And the sequel is much more technically polished. The props and costumes have far less of the found object look than the first film. Likewise, the pace of the story is a lot stronger. I would guess most people would find this adventure more readily accessible. I did like the tie ins to the first film and the introduction of the jungle film tropes. That provided a lot of laughs.

I think the filmmakers were given too much money and time on this film. The first film had an authentic shoe string budget feel to it . The creation of that aspect feels forced. The overall look of the film is too expensive.

A good comedy but nowhere near the singular experience of its predecessor.

I love Blamire's work. Favorite monologues in this one were Dr. Paul's "Bitterness" ridiculousness, then Paul Fleming's attempt to warm the group he's under control of the skull, and then Benvegitantus's holy declaration of war. Groucho, Brooks, and Zucker approved. Great stuff.

THE LOST SKELETON RETURNS AGAIN is bigger, bolder, and far more "in color" than its predecessor. All of our favorite characters return, including Animala (Jennifer Blaire), Dr. Armstrong (Larry Blamire), and Ranger Brad's brother, Jungle Brad (Dan Conroy)!

Indeed, the sinister skeleton has returned seeking world dominion once more. Now, the race is on to find the miracle element known as Jerranium 90, deep in the jungles of The Valley Of The Monsters.

If you enjoyed the first film, then get ready for another trip in Director Larry Blamire's time machine of fun! With more monsters! More adventure! Annnd, more double negatives than never not attempted in any other film! Ever!

Beware of the Queen of the Cantaloupe People, for she is one heck of a dancer...