Awful... Not funny, not scary, and PAINFULLY unoriginal
When you watch a sequel, it's common to see elements of the characters and plot reoccur from the original for continuity. If it is a remake or reboot, you will see plot and characters from the original reinterpreted. Return of the Living Dead 2 is a muddled mess that can't decide which it wanted to be. We have basically the same plot recycled, which is common for sequels (although not original whatsoever), but this movie goes a step further. It has the same actors from the original playing the exact same types of characters (same mannerisms, relationship) as in the original, only with different names and positions here. It tries desperately to recapture their comedic chemistry but falls flat on its face.
Not only is it boring to watch the same characters do the same things we've already seen before, but this movie gets the context of that relationship completely wrong. Burt (not sure what his name was in this crap-fest of a movie) plays a grave-robber teaching young Freddy (again, thats the name from the first ROTLD) the tricks of the trade to be his bag-man. You may recall the first movie opened with the same scenario only Burt was teaching Freddy how to work in a medical supply warehouse. Whats the difference between these scenarios? At the warehouse, the characters seemed normal and relatable, and their dialogue was funny and charming. Whats relatable or charming about being grave-robbers? Nothing. We hate these "characters" right off the bat, and do not sympathize with them.
I put characters in quotes because there is no characterization in this movie as there was in the first film. You may recall in the original once the dead guy in the freezer comes to life Burt starts freaking out in a overly dramatized and comedic fashion. It was very funny to see him react that way because he was just a normal guy who wanted to go home to his pot-roast but instead had to deal with an unbelievable situation. In this film, both Burt and Freddy are hamming it up making annoying screaming noises for the first 45 minutes of the movie. Did nobody making this film realize that would be extremely annoying? Sure it was funny in the original, but he's playing a different character here. He is a scumbag grave robber who believes he's about to get his comeuppance. Whats funny about that? I just wanted to see him get eaten as soon as possible. Freddy wasn't much better. He wasn't his naive, immature teenage character from the first movie. He was just a generic guy with a hot girlfriend here.
His relationship with his red-headed girlfriend was overly-reminiscent of his relationship with Stacy from the original. The scene where Burt and Freddy are changing into zombies is the exact same. I mean, almost word-for-word.
Beyond all of that, all of the jokes in this movie sucked hard. I didn't laugh once, and there were way too many goofy moments. This is in no way a horror film. Its more like a bad Naked Gun-ripoff. The zombies are not menacing whatsoever, and at no point did I think the cardboard-cutout characters were in any danger (although I wanted them to be). Also, what was with that goofy Doctor character and his extremely bad schtick? Who thought that would be funny?
I liked the part where the girlfriend pushed the zombie in the face and got green sludge on her hand. Otherwise, this movie is a complete waste. Never watching it again (this was my second time giving it a shot). The original remains my favorite horror movie, and Part 3 is really good as well. Part 2 should be avoided.
A day without a buzz is a day that never was.