Ira de Mutantes 2

Andrew Stevens returns as David to the sequel, but this time he also acts as writer and director. Gargoyles are still roaming around the world and people are also still living in secret bases. David along with his dog Butch is out collecting raw materials so they can create a vaccination to battle the germ that has been accidentally let loose on the human race. David is colder and more desperate this time around. This time around I found it was PREDATOR that was being ripped off, but not to the degree ALIEN was in the original.

In addition it seems this sequel gets a lot of criticism as being a bad film, but personally I didn't find it any worse than the original. In fact I found it more original with its story. The music by. Terry Plumeri was good even though at times it seemed quite similar to Alan Silverstri's score to PREDATOR. If you really liked the original give this one a try if you want. If you didn't like the original I would just say skip this one. Also starring Andrew's mother Stella Stevens, R. Lee Ermey and Renee Jones. Executive producer was the king of B movies Roger Corman.

Picking up from where the original left off (and it does go on to clear up loose ends) we see Andrew Steven's character David wandering through the desert heading for another underground scientific base that his team was originally in contact with in the first film. On the way there, he also picks up a lady survivor where they would become more than acquaintances with her soon expecting. Those survivors at the base are waiting on David, who holds a vaccine for the spreading virus, but what awaits them when David and the girl get there is hideous mutations.

Roger Corman would also produce the sequel (that looks just as cheap) that came two years later with star Andrew Steven (who here had me thinking of him as a poor man's Kurt Russell) not only acting, but directing and also penning the material in another quite low-budgeted, muggy B-grade offering. Tick off; Mushy make-up effects, lousy props, a tad of nudity, clunky dialogues, junky set designs and gratuitously raw violence. At times it reminded me of the Corman produced alien clone --- "Forbidden World". Surprisingly I see this film cop a lot criticism when compared to the first, as I don't see it to be any worse. Sure I wouldn't call it a perfect movie, but in certain regards I enjoyed this follow-up more than the original film. On this occasion it tries to be slightly different in its ideas and execution, but still sharing similarities but consisting of more excitement. It does go on to rehash certain moments in the latter stages. However there seems to be a little more happening story wise (when focusing on Steven's character in the desert or that of a mutating finger from a gargoyle) and its quick tempo makes sure it doesn't wear out its welcome. Steven's practical handling startlingly generates energy and a bit of tension amongst the monster gruel. He's not as confined, but goes for more expansion despite the obvious limitations but these murky visuals/lighting makes for some much needed atmospherics. The cast are all committed with ever reliable R Lee Emery's commanding presence heading the way. Andrew Stevens (sporting a fashionable beard) is sturdy enough in the heroine role, Burton Gilliam is particularly amusing, Chick Vennera is fitting and Stella Stevens (yes that's Andrew's mother) is agreeably good too. What's this type of film without beautiful ladies; in the shape of knockouts Barbara Alyn Woods, Renée Jones and Clare Hoak.

Andrew Stevens, co-star of the first film, boosts himself to the starring role in this very routine sci-fi / horror sequel. He also wrote the script and made his directing debut here, as his character David is out in the apocalyptic wilderness collecting ingredients for a vaccine. He hooks up with a lovely young lady, Ariel (Clare Hoak, "Cool World") who was traveling with her brother before they were set upon by the mutant monsters that plague this future world. They then need to double-time it back to the lab where Davids' colleagues are hard at work.

"The Terror Within II" is another of those low-budget genre flicks (this one made for Roger Cormans' post-New World company Concorde) that this viewer doesn't consider "bad" so much as simply pretty average. Much about it is familiar, especially that final quarter which turns into yet another imitation of "Alien" and "Aliens". That said, the monster is pretty cool (Stevens holds to monster movie convention by taking his sweet time in properly revealing it), there's plenty of gore, Stevens does his best working within the confines of limited funding, and there are two key talents that help make this watchable: composer Terry Plumeri ("Body Chemistry") and future Spielberg collaborator, cinematographer Janusz Kaminski ("Saving Private Ryan"). Kaminski started out his career working on a lot of these Concorde pictures, and it's clear he was destined for great things.

The cast is good and certainly above average, with Stevens' mother Stella ("The Nutty Professor") in a major supporting role. R. Lee Ermey ("Full Metal Jacket") once again effortlessly projects authority, although he later admitted that he just did this picture for the paycheck (to help pay for a house). Co-starring are Chick Vennera ("McBain"), Burton Gilliam ("Blazing Saddles"), Renee Jones ("Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI"), Barbara Alyn Woods ('One Tree Hill', 'Chucky'), and Gordon Currie ("Puppet Master" 4 and 5).

In general, this is not one of those movies one should go out of their way to see, but it wasn't a real waste of time, either, not for this viewer.

Five out of 10.

The Terror Within II (1991)

** (out of 4)

Andrew Stevens co-wrote, directed and stars as David in this sequel to the 1989 cult film. This time out, there aren't too many humans who survived a nuclear fallout, which resulted in a number of mutants running the land. David meets up with a woman and soon team up with a colony to try and defeat the mutants once and for all.

THE TERROR WITHIN was one of the better low-budget ALIEN clones as it featured a terrific monster, a nice cast and some great gore effects. This sequel was obviously working with an even smaller budget but if you're a fan of this type of post apocalyptic film then there's plenty to enjoy here. There's no question that it falls well short of the original movie but there's still enough "B" movie fun here to make it worth watching.

I've always been a fan of Stevens so it was fun getting to see him play the tough action hero. When we first meet his character he's walking around with a full beard and playing with his lovable dog. From here he is given a love interest and it's pretty much all war from here. Stevens was certainly a lot of fun in the lead role but we also got nice support from the likes of R. Lee Ermey, Chick Vennera, Stella Stevens and Clare Hoak. Granted, these aren't Oscar-worthy performances but that's not what this film called for.

The action scenes are well-directed for the most part and Stevens manages to keep the film moving at a nice pace. Add in a little bit of nudity, some sex scenes and you've got the type of R-rated movie people would have wanted to rent back in the day. The creature effects aren't nearly as effective as the first movie but I did like the look of them here. There's also some nice blood and guts scattered throughout the film.

With all of that said, THE TERROR WITHIN II features a pretty basic and unoriginal story and there's certainly not enough tension to make it a complete success but it's an entertaining B movie.

Although widely considered as one of the lousiest (of many) earthbound- "Alien" knockoffs of the late 80s, I personally always had a weakness for "The Terror Within". This shameless imitation - produced by the equally shameless Roger Corman - featured non-stop gore, cheesy monster effects, and dumb but hilarious plot errors.

And you know what? I didn't expect anything less (or more?) from its rapidly put together sequel! R. Lee Ermey replaces George Kennedy, but other than that "The Terror Within II" is almost an exact replica of part one. A handful of last survivors are still hiding out in a subterranean laboratory, mutant creatures still dwell the earth's post-apocalyptic surface on the lookout of women to impregnate, and if the creatures don't wipe out the survivors some sort of random deadly virus will. Heck, even the idiotic dog-whistles remained in place as one of the sole effective weapons to battle the mutants. The only innovative aspect here is that a mutant's ripped off finger (!) slowly metamorphoses into a puddle of prowling blob/goo that attacks from inside the safe lair!

Well yes, this film is quite bad, but also thoroughly enjoyable. For some inexplicable reason (let's call it B-movie logic) only gorgeous women survived the apocalypse, and they're also eager to strip topless. Andrew Stevens, the lead hero of the original, promoted himself to also being the writer and director of the sequel, so the first idea he put in the script was that a gorgeous blond girl (Clare Hoak) falls in love with his character and immediately offers her body to him. Nicely done, Andrew!