Scare Package II: Rad Chad's Revenge

First, I am a huge fan of the original Scare Package, and the clever way it had fun with a myriad of horror tropes. This sequel goes very far astray of what made the original so great, so to say I was disappointed is an understatement, though I could find a few redeeming qualities.

From the very beginning, writer/director Aaron B. Koontz makes it abundantly clear that this is a comedy... and a goofy, borderline-slapstick one at that. This is an anthology series, so you've got a variety of writers and directors. This aspect was slightly different from the original, in the fact that there were only four short stories, and the Koontz/Burns framework story is the bulk focus. Which is not exactly a mistake, as exactly half the shorts (the latter two) completely suck.

I thought the first two shorts were very good. As a matter of fact, the first, Welcome to the 90's, I felt was the one thing clever enough to fit into what the first movie accomplished. It is a fun take on a role reversal of final girls, though it does get preachy by the end. But a great idea, nonetheless. The second short is good, too, The Night He Came Back Again! Part VI: The Night She Came Back, as I always like to see characters return from the original (more can be found in the wraparound story). It is a (further down the line) sequel to a short from the original, and is left open-ended enough for more. I just hope Koontz goes back to his original winning concept, if this actually continues as a franchise.

Here's the problem: This sequel is (primarily) not a clever comment on horror tropes, it is a parody and reference-generator of horror films (plus other films in general). The framework story focuses mostly on the Saw movies. This sort of thing has not only been done already (in the "Movie" movies, Meet the Spartans, etc.), but I'm fairly certain one of the Scary Movies has done Saw already!! So, add redundant on top of all that's wrong. Now, I'm all for movie references, but when that's your movie's sole focus, it gets real tiresome. Case in point: The fourth short, We're So Dead, is nothing but a very obvious succession of movie references, seemingly designed for a Saw "game" in the ensuing frame. The references and quotes in the latter/concluding part of this movie fly at you rather mercilously, and made me wish the movie was over already.

There is a modicum of fun to be had here, but ultimately the movie is bogged down in dumb parody and cramming in as many references as possible. There is even an extra on the Blu-ray, done in a Pop-up Video style, TELLING you what and where all the references lie/refer to. Which is actually a pretty good idea, if I had the patience for it. Ya gotta sit through the movie again in its entirety to get them all.

C'mon, get back to the drawing board!

Wow, this was bad. First, I liked the first Scare Package. It wasn't perfect but overall was very fun and had some good horror elements. The shorts were inconsistent but pretty fun.

Well thet must have used all their A, B, C, and D material on the first movie. This installment is neither fun nor witty. I had to take a break after the first two shorts because it was so bad.

First, the humor is non existent. The jokes and gags were not funny, I didnt laugh once. The shorts were poorly written, none of them would not even make the first movie. The wrapper story dowsn't go anywhere either.

Finally, it was dusted with wokeness. Not sure if this was supposed to be a dig at how wokeness has come into horror movies (unlikely) or if it was just done because they wanted to send that message (probably). Either way it pulled down the movie further. The first short which is the best (not good, just the best) literally ends in a lecture. Wow just what I'm looking for in a horror parody. There is more sprinkled in after that, including a speech on white privilige in the overarching story. Wow what fun.

In summary, avoid this movie even if you liked the first one like myself. It has none of the fun or charm of the first one and seems like a rushed sequel with no reason to exist.

As someone who very much enjoyed Scare Package and thought it was a fun slice of irreverent horror parody with sparks of genius and truly funny gags, this is painful. I was incredibly excited today to see this drop on Shuder and had no idea it was even coming. I started it up and was almost immediately hit in the face with humor as subtle as a hammer. The setup for the first vignette is great, but then quickly devolves into super meta takedown on final girl tropes. This is done in the most hamfisted way possible with it ending in a literal lecture. The subject has been broached by several great films, but this one just falls so flat. The rest of this wretched sequel is just one scene after another of basement quality parody and terrible humor that constantly fails to deliver even a small smile. The jokes here are as witty as the ones in terrible parodies like Meet the Spartans, Disaster Movie and all that other similar trash. This is honestly the worst horror sequel since Feast 3 and is so bad, it even makes me question my take on the first film. I suggest staying far away from this one.

Alright, well I had no clue as to what I was getting myself into here, as I sat down to watch the 2022 horror comedy "Scare Package II: Rad Chad's Revenge", but I must admit that I was initially lured in by the movie's cover/poster, as it had a very distinct 1980s horror feel to it. I had never actually heard about this movie prior to stumbling upon it.

What a dumpster fire this turned out to be. There simply was no narrative to the movie, and it was just a massive heap of chaotic and randomly filmed scenes that made little or no coherent sense when put together to make a movie. So I am rather amazed with the fact that seven writers could collectively managed to come together to churn out something as ridiculous as what "Scare Package II: Rad Chad's Revenge" turned out to be.

Sure, the acting performances in "Scare Package II: Rad Chad's Revenge" were actually fair enough, but I have to admit that I didn't care one bit for the characters in the movie, well, technically in the random segments filmed and edited into the mockery of a movie.

I haven't even seen or heard of the 2019 "Scare Package" movie, but after sitting through 65 minutes of the 98 minutes that "Scare Package II: Rad Chad's Revenge" ran for, I can honestly say that I am not even going to bother tracking down the 2019 movie. Nor am I am going to attempt to finish watching this 2022 travesty of a horror comedy.

My rating of "Scare Package II: Rad Chad's Revenge" lands on a two out of ten stars.

The first "Scare Package" was a fun riff on horror films (most of them being good) for the horror nerds by horror nerds. "Part II" is ... somehow ... a cash grab (can't imagine much) pandering to how women are strong, independent, don't-need-a-man, ball kickers and men are alpha males who make the wrong decision every time or are fat goofy slobs.

Much like putting the "F" word in titles of movies, "Part II" sets you up for what to expect from it. It's slow, boring, lazy and badly written by people who either don't care about the genre or just were told to write a story in 30 pages or less without being proofread.

There's nothing wrong with a female lead (there's millions of films dedicated to this, there's entire sections of streaming apps to prove this), but it's becoming a negative trend when literally every movie is doing this and when a movie that is a series of vignettes does this.

There are some great gross out gags and some funny one liners, though.