Forgotten Sequels: Killer Crocodile II (1990)

 Same as it ever was?  This is Killer Crocodile II, the 1990 Sequel to the 1989 Film I covered recently.  This one was actually filmed in conjunction with the first one, however, which puts it in company with stuff like Superman II and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy.  Yes, only I could find away to connect Peter Jackson's Epic Trilogy to a schlocky, DTV Sequel to an Italian Creature Feature.  It's a gift.  Instead of being Directed by the Producer, this one was done by its Special Effects guy. Gianetto De Rossi is NOT a name that you would likely know, but would likely know his work.  He did work for Films like Rambo 3 (the bit where he seals his bullet wound), Conan the Destroyer (he made the Monster Suits) and Dune (he made the floating fetus).  That's just a sample, mind you, as he also has credits on such Films as Dragonheart, Kull the Conqueror, Zombi, High Tension, The Beyond and The Man in the Iron Mask.   As a bonus, he even worked on that Fulci Film I covered for April Fools Day (since it is a Comedy).  In his career, he only Directed 3 Films- two of which he made as part of a deal for working on these Films.  So what's new here?  Well, we get a new Lady who comes in to cover the story of a land deal in the same area.  That baby Croc is here to make that a bad idea!  To see if this is the second half a Story or something else entirely, read on...

After a short recap of the last Film (literally just them killing the beast), we see a Reporter in the same area looking into some stuff.

He finds the missing barrels from the last Film...only to be shot and killed.

The obvious question is how much time has passed.  They don't say.

Crocodiles take 4 to 15 years to mature, but I guess we can assume that irradiated ones grow faster.

I'm guessing that this is *not* a question they wanted me to consider.

The Film spends quite a bit of time setting up the bad guys, including a land developer and his henchman.

Well, got to get to 82 minutes somehow!

A Lady Reporter is assigned the case in the, you know, absence of the last guy.  She finds the barrels and goes into the Jungle, but finds the dual threats of the Crocodile and some bad guys.

Most of said bad guys are killed a bit later in a big set piece as the Crocodile does its best Kool Aid Man impression on his attack.

Not Quint is back when our Hero from the last Film arrives, having been called in.

He tells the man that he hasn't slept well since the incident, presumably tough after all of the high fives he must have gotten for killing a giant Crocodile like he did.

He also says that he changed when 'the Crocodile (original one) killed all of his friends.'

Um, three of your friends survived!!!

Unfortunately, Not Quint fails to survive this time, giving our Hero a pep talk before floating into the River bottom.

He manages to save the Reporter, with the pair meeting in the Third Act like this is Blade Runner 2049!

For the finale, we get a low-budget riff on Jaws III as a family out jet-skiing is targeted by the Crocodile (after it kills the remaining bad guys, that is).

I know it is a knock-off, but I really love Ortolani's Now Jaws Theme the more I hear it.

For the big climax, our Hero jumps on the Croc like his Mentor did, but thankfully has more luck.

Watch carefully to see when it goes from the guy riding the mechanical beast to a toy.  It's great.

They blow up the Croc and the remaining Barrels just show up...and that's it.  No wrap-up.  The End.

Another trip to the River isn't quite as good.  I don't think that this necessarily a knock on the Director or even the Cast.  As noted, the Film was shot at the same time as the Original.  As such, they shared alot of Cast and Crew.  So I can see how you might be struggling to shoot TWO FILMS cheaply at the same time under these conditions.  To get the Film to the proper runtime, we get some long, tracking shots, the random filler with the henchman and a handful of Flashbacks/Stock Footage.  I don't think the later is *as* big of a deal as other people do though.  They only show up here and there & they find decent way to set them up.  Without them, the Film is shorter still, so the point of them is obvious.  That said, the Action we do get is still good.  Yes, we get it possibly-smaller doses and alot of it is saved for the end.  I still had a good time with this, even if if isn't one to recommend as a 'good Film.'  It is interesting to see that both Films begin with a woman being killed by the creature, but not the man with her.  I wonder if my new Facebook Friend Mr. Sacchetti could explain why that kept happening?  Killer Crocodile II is more of a slog than the first one, but has some good moments that make it worthwhile for fans of cheesy Creature Features like this.  In addition, they don't play favorites here.  No joke- the first major kill scene involves a Nun and some children.  Damn, Italy- you cold!

Next time, I dig into my virtual Queue of Horror/Sci-Fi to cover something else.  October is going to be...weird.  Stay tuned...