''Saturday the 14th Strikes Back'' (also known as ''Saturday the 14th Part 2'') is a 1988 American comedy horror film written and directed by Howard R. Cohen and produced by

Julie Corman Julie Ann Corman ( Halloran; born ) is an American film producer. She is married to film producer and director Roger Corman. Career In 1970, Julie Corman married film director/producer, Roger Corman. Corman produced a series of "Night Nurses" f ...

. It stars

Ray Walston Herman Raymond Walston (November 2, 1914 – January 1, 2001) was an American actor and comedian, well known as the title character on ''My Favorite Martian''. His other major film, television, and stage roles included Luther Billis (''South Paci ...

Avery Schreiber Avery Lawrence Schreiber (April 9, 1935 – January 7, 2002) was an American actor and comedian. He was a veteran of stage, television, and movies who came to prominence in the 1960s in a comedy duo with Jack Burns. He acted in an array of roles ...

Patty McCormack Patricia McCormack (born Patricia Ellen Russo in 1945) is an American actress with a career in theater, films, and television. McCormack began her career as a child actress. She is perhaps best known for her performance as Rhoda Penmark in Max ...

and Jason Presson. Like its predecessor, '' Saturday the 14th'', it is a

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...

of other horror films, such as ''

Attack of the 50 Foot Woman ''Attack of the 50 Foot Woman'' is a 1958 independently made American science fiction horror film directed by Nathan H. Juran (credited as Nathan Hertz) and starring Allison Hayes, William Hudson and Yvette Vickers. It was produced by Berna ...

'', '' Friday the 13th'', ''

The Amityville Horror ''The Amityville Horror'' is a book by American author Jay Anson, published in September 1977. It is also the basis of a series of films released from 1979 onward. The book is based on the claims of paranormal experiences by the Lutz family, b ...

'', ''

The Mummy A mummy is an unusually well preserved corpse. Mummy or The Mummy may also refer to: Places *Mummy Range, a mountain range in the Rocky Mountains of northern Colorado in the United States *Mummy Cave, a rock shelter and archeological site in Par ...

'' and ''

Invasion of the Body Snatchers ''Invasion of the Body Snatchers'' is a 1956 American science fiction horror film produced by Walter Wanger, directed by Don Siegel, and starring Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter. The black-and-white film was shot in Superscope and in the film ...

''.

Plot

Eddie Baxter is on the beach telling the story about what happened when his family inherited a spooky old house through his mother's family. After moving in, he discovers a strange crack running through the length of the basement with smoke coming up through it. The smoke soon starts resulting in strange activity through the house. At night, his father, Frank, is compelled to sculpt figures out of chocolate pudding while his mother, Kate, and sister, Linda, both go into a

trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...

-like state and watch him. The following morning, they do not remember any of their behavior. Although his father tries to seal the crack, he later breaks it open again. Eddie's aunt and uncle soon move into the house which they believe in rightfully theirs. By now,

paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...

beings have started appearing in the basement, and his sister, Linda, discovers her bedroom has turned into an

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

ian

tomb A tomb ( grc-gre, τύμβος ''tumbos'') is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called ''immureme ...

. A female

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deat ...

named Charlene appears in Eddie's room and gives him a mysterious coin, and Gramps mentions talking to his deceased friend, Leonard. The following night, everyone but Eddie is in a trance again as his father sculpts from chocolate pudding again. In the basement, Eddie encounters an Egyptian

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

named Kharis, who reveals the smoke heralds the release of the forces of evil. Charlene reveals the universe is lining up to release the energies on Saturday the 14th, which is the same day as his birthday. Unable to get his family to take him seriously, Eddie tries sealing up all the openings in the house to keep the smoke from spreading. and calls up a

plumber A plumber is a tradesperson who specializes in installing and maintaining systems used for potable (drinking) water, and for sewage and drainage in plumbing systems.

, but the smoke turns him into a

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adu ...

. Meanwhile, his sister becomes a

giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...

trapped in her room, the house prevents his father from painting it, the kitchen table spins as Leonard's voice announces he is coming, and the monsters are freely wandering through the house among other strange things. When Eddie successfully blocks all of the smoke from escaping the basement, everything reverts to what passes as normal. Grandpa turns out to be the only one who believes Eddie's claims, but the smoke eventually builds up and blows down the cellar door. Even more monsters are now moving into the basement, and they tell Eddie that because of his birthday, he is one of them and the worthy successor of the Evil One. However, Eddie just wants to be normal, and his family becomes complacent to all the activity going on. Eddie tries reaching out to his teacher for advice, but she tells him to accept his destiny as the monsters chase him back to the house. Linda gets shrunk down and takes a trip through the pipes of the house before landing full-size in the basement, joining the side of the monsters. When the monsters have a party in the house, Eddie meets Princess Takatiri, who tells him to give in to his powers. He uses them to conjure

cheeseburger A cheeseburger is a hamburger topped with cheese. Traditionally, the slice of cheese is placed on top of the meat patty. The cheese is usually added to the cooking hamburger patty shortly before serving, which allows the cheese to melt. Chees ...

s and turn his sister into a rag doll, but the monsters want him to use his power for evil pursuits. He is also told to get rid of his parents as horns appear on his head, but he resists. After Leonard arrives, Eddie learns that his grandfather is not really his grandfather. Gramps reveals he is actually a wizard who moved into the family to watch over him. After testing Eddie over his intentions, Gramps removes his horns and gives him a

bell A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inte ...

to destroy the monsters while they are all together before midnight. However, he loses the bell twice. Facing the monsters, he ends up trapped in a coffin as the Evil One arrives, but Gramps and Leonard free him. Eddie goes on to battle the Evil One amidst scenes of violence and catastrophes as the crack in the basement expands over the world. When he realizes he still has the coin, he flashes the

smiley face A smiley, sometimes referred to as a smiley face, is a basic ideogram that represents a smiling face. Since the 1950s it has become part of popular culture worldwide, used either as a standalone ideogram, or as a form of communication, such a ...

on it to the Evil One, driving him away and restoring the world to normal with him and Princess Takatri on the beach.

Cast

as Gramps Baxter *

as Frank Baxter *

as Kate Baxter * Jason Presson as Eddie Baxter * Julianne McNamara as Linda Baxter * Rhonda Aldrich as Alice * Daniel Will-Harris as Bert * Pamela Stonebrook as Charlene *

Joseph Ruskin Joseph Ruskin (born Joseph Richard Schlafman; April 14, 1924 – December 28, 2013) was an American character actor. Also appeared in several underworld character roles on the tv series The Untouchables (1959-1963) Early life Ruskin was born ...

as Kharis * Riad as Princess Takatiri *

Phil Leeds Phil Leeds (April 6, 1916 – August 16, 1998) was an American character actor. He is best known for appearing in many movies and television series, including guest appearances in ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'', '' Maude'', ''Friends'', ''Barney ...

as Leonard * Leo Gordon as the Evil One (as Leo V. Gordon) *

Tommy Rall Thomas Edward Rall (December 27, 1929 – October 6, 2020) was an American actor, ballet dancer, tap dancer, and acrobatic dancer who was a prominent featured player in 1950s musical comedies. He later became a successful operatic tenor in the 1 ...

as the Werewolf *

Michael Berryman Michael John Berryman (born September 4, 1948) is an American character actor. Berryman was born with hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia, a rare condition characterized by the absence of sweat glands, hair, and fingernails; his unusual physical ...

as the Mummy * David Workman as the Plumber (as Dave Workman)

Michael Jackson's Thriller Connection

The Exterior Shots of the Baxter Household is the exact same Victorian House used in Michael Jackson's Thriller (music video). It is assumed that the producers of Saturday the 14th Strikes Back were inspired by the Thriller Music Video to use the house as the main setting of the movie, as well as the house and neighborhood looking scary. The Victorian House used in the film is at 1345 Carroll Avenue in the

Angelino Heights Angelino Heights, alternately spelled Angeleno Heights, is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Los Angeles. Situated between neighboring Chinatown and Echo Park, the neighborhood is known for its concentration of eclectic architectural styles from ...

neighborhood of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

Release

''Saturday the 14th Strikes Back'' was released theatrically on August 21, 1988, in Louisville, Kentucky.

Reception

From contemporary reviews, "Lor." of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' called the film "an unnecessary, unfunny sequel" noting that "dialog is lame and level of spoofing obvious rather than inspired". The review went on to note that a "poverty budget is apparent in chintzy special effects and stillborn ideas like Stonebrook suddenly belting a song with a 3-girl chorus appearing to dance around the room amateurishly". On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film has an aggregate score of 29% based on 2 positive and 5 negative critic reviews.

References

Sources

External links

* * {{Amg movie, 42969 1988 comedy horror films 1988 films American comedy horror films Films produced by Julie Corman Parodies of horror 1980s English-language films 1980s American films American vampire films