The Lost Skeleton Returns Again

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...

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.

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 :)

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.

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.