The Lost Skeleton Returns Again

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 :)