The first Scare package was a hit among horror fans, a creative anthology that mixed humor with a keen sense of self about the genre. The sequel, Scare Pack II: Rad Chad’s Revenge, is full of even more blatant nods to horror classics and plenty of gruesome laughs. It also features a few returning characters from the first movie, including the last girl Jessie (Zoe Graham) and horror movie nerd “Rad” Chad (Jeremy King), whose funeral is the conclusion to the sequel.
Scare package II features four brand new segments, most of which play with horror tropes and beloved genre icons. As a whole, they make for a cohesive anthology and a damn entertaining watch. You should definitely press play on this sequel.
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The cover
For those who don’t remember or haven’t seen the first movie, Chad was the horror movie guru who ran a fledgling video store and introduced the stories. However, he did not make it out of the movie alive. His funeral marks a tipping point and brings back the last girl, among a cast of new characters, including scream queen Kelli Maroney (Hak mall, Night of the comet). She plays Jessie’s mother.
It turns out that Chad wants revenge in death. People just didn’t appreciate horror enough. So they must die. Those who show up at his funeral are forced to play Sawstyle games and navigating traps based on some of Chad’s favorite movies. It’s smart and a bloody good time.
That said, the wrap-around isn’t so tied to the first film as to alienate new viewers. In fact, this sequel as a whole stands on its own. There’s just enough backstory to Chad’s fate in the first movie to fill new viewers. From there, audiences are treated to four captivating segments that are self-contained.
Welcome to the 90s
The first segment, directed by Alexandra Barreto, is my favorite. Set on New Year’s Eve 1989, it is a spoof of the classic last girl tropes. All the main characters are named after the last girls of the 70s and 80s, including Ginny (Friday the 13th), Laurie (Halloween), Sally (Texas chainsaw massacre), Nancy (A nightmare on Elm Street), and Ellen (Alien). When a masked bogeyman starts berating people, the ladies are sure they are safe. As one of them jokes: “Murderers take us for granted. They’re not killing us… Just look at our androgynous pants.” However, when the maniac breaks into their house and attacks them, they wonder what’s going on.
Que Buffy (Steph Barkley), a feisty cheerleader from next door who isn’t afraid to drink or flaunt her sexuality. Yes, she’s based on the all-around badass Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar) from the 1990s. Here she takes the classic final girls back to the last decade of the 20th century and shows how/why the trope can evolve. She even tells them that just because she’s wearing a skirt doesn’t mean she has to die.
Sure, this segment is stupid. However, it’s also a witty exploration and even critique of the last girl trope describing its evolution in the 90s, when a new crop of survivors, especially Buffy and Sidney, scream, broke all previous rules. They could drink, have sex and live.
The night he came back! Part VI: The Night She Came Back
Directed by Anthony Cousins, the second segment is a wild spoof of Halloween, but set for July 4th. Here we have one last girl, Daisy (Chelsey Grant) haunted by nightmares of a masked serial killer. It turns out he is her brother and returns home every holiday. Sounds familiar?
There’s also a Loomis-esque character, Dr. Castle, played by Michael Paul Levin. For me, this was the best part of the segment. Levin’s performance is so over the top in his spoofing of Donald Pleasence’s character. He is especially fond of alliteration, referring to the ogre as “karma’s killer” and “fate’s devil.” As a whole, this is a segment that never takes itself seriously. Halloween fans should enjoy this segment.
Special Edition and We’re So Dead
The last two segments didn’t make me laugh as hard as the first two, but they’re not exactly lame either. ‘Special Segment’, directed by Jed Shepherd, the man who wrote Host, toys with urban legends. Like that escape movie, “Special Segment” also explores technology as a conduit for evil. A group of friends are obsessed with footage of an actor committing suicide on set. Yes, this is like that The Wizard of Oz myth about the munchkin’s suicide. But there are some serious callbacks to it The Ring too, as the eerie presence goes through technology. There’s an annoying body count here, but this segment doesn’t get enough time to breathe. The tone also feels darker than the rest of the segments, offsetting some of the humor.
The final section, “We’re So Dead,” directed by Rachele Wiggins, opens with a direct reference to Stay with me after a group of friends discover a dead body in the woods. CPR is the other major influence here after the group tries to resurrect the corpse with green goop. This segment fits in well with the rest, and this is a nice conclusion to an anthology revolving around horror references.
Scare package II delighted with his countless spoofs of horror classics and his love of the genre. Like the first movie, the sequel plays out like a fawning letter to horror movies and those who love them. The first two segments are especially strong in their willingness to break apart familiar tropes while making it an exciting time. You can play on this when it lands shudder on December 22.
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Brian Fanelli is a poet and educator who also enjoys writing about the horror genre. His work has been published in The L.A. Times, World Literature Today, Schuylkill Valley Journal, horror living room, and elsewhere. On weekends, he enjoys going to the local drive-in movie theater with his wife or curling up on the couch and binge-watching movies with their cat, Giselle.
