Scare Package II is the only movie with the balls to directly parody The Bodyguard here in 2023, and to do so in a way that feels both contemporary and subversive. It’s a bold parodical swing that is among many contained within this energetic sequel. The list of direct parodies is long: Hellraiser, Saw, Stand by Me, Re-Animator, etc., and beyond that, there are enough blink-and-you-miss-it references to make for an easter egg hunt of such depth that it will validate anyone who sees fit to purchase the (stacked) blu-ray. But Scare Package II: Rad Chad’s Revenge is far from a Meet the Spartans parade of references. This isn’t just an empty listing of recognizable material, but rather a love letter to the genre itself, and the many subgenres contained within. Continuing in the tradition of its forbear, it’s also a showcase of yet another group of excellent filmmakers.
Here, the framing device once again follows the exploits of Rad Chad, whose death in the first film does little to keep him out of the sequel. Yes, he’s been killed, but much like Jigsaw, he’s recorded a litany of tapes that contain not just his pro-horror manifesto, but the instructions for a game — a game that has the attendees of his funeral trapped against their will. Each level of the game is accompanied by a film from Chad’s collection.
You know how anthologies work.
The wraparound segment makes up the bulk of Scare Package II’s runtime, and is just so funny and energetic that it’s hard to fault it for going beyond what a standard framing device typically should. That said, this time around, the individual segments feel much more tonally in sync with it. This isn’t to say that they adhere to just one subgenre, but that the film is overall more outwardly comic than the first, and each segment leans into said comedy at about the same level. On the one hand, it makes the film more cohesive. On the other, it’s a little lacking in the fright department. So much so that “comedy anthology” is a much more appropriate nomenclature than “horror anthology.”
Of the segments, a standout is Alexandra Barreto’s Welcome to the 90s, which takes a handful of classic, unkillable final girls, and places them at a cultural precipice: New Year’s Eve 1989. You see, in the ‘80s the final girl had a type: virginal, square, not interested in partying. But the ‘90s brought in a new type of final girl, a final girl who likes to fuck, likes to party, and can still win the day despite patriarchal notions of what makes a woman “good.” The obvious representative of this new type of hero is Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and when our core group of final girls meet Buffy, they suspect their own days might be numbered as a result of this vibe shift. Barreto’s script has a ton of fun lampooning the dated tropes of ‘80s horror while also celebrating the good times they’ve brought us.
Within this sequel is yet another sequel: The Night He Came Back Again! Part VI: The Night She Came Back. Anthony Cousins returns to the world of his first Scare Package segment, now twenty years and two movies later in the fictional franchise. The killer is back AGAIN, but this time the rules are a bit different. It would be a shame to spoil, but it touches upon a lot of similar themes as Welcome to the 90s. Namely, the ushering in of more contemporary feminist subtext into the genre which occurred as the 80s drew to a close. But the focus here is still blood, guts, and comedy, all of which are provided in large amounts.
Jed Shepherd’s Special Edition (featuring much of the cast of Host, the screen-life classic he co-wrote) is the most horror-centric segment, and certainly the most surreal, while Rachele Wiggins’ We’re So Dead riffs on stuff like Stand By Me and The Monster Squad to present one of the funniest casts of children ever to be tormented by the undead.
Collectively, Scare Package II: Rad Chad’s Revenge is an improvement over the first film, but it succeeds similarly in providing a slick, entertaining, and fun outlet for a diverse group of filmmakers to do their thing. It also manages to include Friends, the catchy bop by Dragon Sound, the band from Miami Connection. I love when a fake band becomes real by sheer force of will.
So far, the Scare Package franchise is two for two, and I’d be surprised if they didn’t already have a third entry coming down the pipeline. I’d certainly be disappointed to hear it if they didn’t. Keep ‘em coming, I say. Stuff like this, whether you dig it or not, serves only to grow and expand the world of horror, which is never a bad thing.
Scare Package II: Rad Chad’s Revenge is available on Shudder and on blu-ray.
Directed by Alexandra Barreto, Anthony Cousins, Aaron B. Koontz, Jed Shepherd, Rachele Wiggins
Starring Jeremy King, Kelli Maroney, Zoe Graham, Graham Skipper, Shakira Ja’nai Paye
Not Rated, 98 minutes
