House of the Dead 2 (film)

Films
(Boll and Hearst universe)

"Nothing can erase my pain."

This article requires cleaning up to conform to a higher standard of quality.

"My God."

This article is a stub. You can help The Wiki of the Dead by expanding it.

"A brain is a terrible thing to waste."

This article needs references and references re-formatted to suit The Wiki of the Dead's bibliography standards.

For the video game, see The House of the Dead 2.

House of the Dead 2
DVD cover
Production Team
Directed by	Michael Hurst
Produced by	Mark A. Altman Mark Gottwald
Story by	Mark A. Altman Peter Scheerer Michael Roesch
Starring	Emmanuelle Vaugier Ed Quinn Victoria Pratt
Music by	Joe Kraemer
Cinematography	Raymond Stella
Editor	Joseph Gutowski
Production Information
Production Company	Mindfire Entertainment
Distributor	Lionsgate Films
Release date(s)	October 14, 2005 (Sitges Film Festival)
Running time	96 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

House of the Dead 2 (alternately titled House of the Dead II: Dead Aim) is the 2005 sequel to Brightlight Pictures' 2003 film House of the Dead. The movie is directed by Michael Hurst and premiered at the Sitges Film Festival in Spain on October 14, 2005 and premiered in the United States on the SciFi Channel on February 11, 2006.

Plot

Taking place shortly after the original, government operatives under the command of one of the survivors of the first film, Colonel Jordan Casper (Ellie Cornell), are sent to investigate a new infection that has rapidly spread across fictional Cuesta Verde University. The operatives must bring back a first-generation blood sample from a zombie in order to create a vaccine against the virus, which is spread through biting; however, tensions between AMS and special forces, stemming from the apparent inexperience of the latter, create conflict within the team. Outside parties, interested in financially exploiting the zombies, also cause, second-hand, further conflict.

The parties now face an army of highly evolved zombies that can easily chew through their body armor. Battles rage from the library, to the dorm rooms, to the football fields. Eventually the operatives discover that the original hypersapien is Alicia (Ona Grauer), from the previous House of the Dead film. Despite her survival, it is indicated she transformed and murdered Rudy Curien (Jonathan Cherry), her ex-boyfriend and another survivor from the first movie.

The operatives are unsuccessful in the initial attempt to gain a sample. The second time around works, leaving only two of them alive. After returning to their armored car, the blood sample is destroyed when one of the soldiers detonates a hand grenade. The survivors return to the city to find it burning: it is assumed that the city is engulfed with zombies.

Cast

• Emmanuelle Vaugier as Alexandra 'Nightingale' Morgan
• Ed Quinn as Ellis
• Sticky Fingaz as Dalton
• Steve Monroe as O'Conner
• Victoria Pratt as Henson
• James Parks as Bart
• Billy Brown as Griffin
• Nadine Velazquez as Rodriguez
• Mircea Monroe as Sarah Curtis
• Ellie Cornell as Jordan Casper
• Jonathan Cherry as Rudy Curien (archives)
• Ona Grauer as Alicia (archives)
• Sid Haig as Professor Curien
• Daniel Southworth as Soldier

Production

Development

In 2003, House of the Dead director Uwe Boll stated that a sequel was possible and revealed that a script for it existed. The script was written prior to House of the Dead's release by Michael Roesch and Peter Scheerer. Boll, producer Mark Altman, and others involved were reportedly unsatisfied with the film. Roesch and Scheerer wanted the sequel to avoid the first film's mistakes and be more faithful to the House of the Dead video games.

The story was made "darker" and limited to one location — a college campus — and focused on the AMS organization. The script originally had no connections to the first film; Altman later added Ellie Cornell's character, Jordan Casper, along with Rudy Curien's father, who is played by Sid Haig. Despite this, Scheerer has stated that House of the Dead 2 is not a direct sequel to the first film.

Altman confirmed that Boll would not be involved with the film, and that Michael Hurst would be directing instead. Boll later stated that he "gave away" House of the Dead 2.

Casting

In December 2004, it was announced that Sid Haig, Emmanuelle Vaugier, Sticky Fingaz, James Parks, and Victoria Pratt had joined the cast. Haig and Vaugier admitted that they disliked the original film and hoped that Hurst's direction would be an improvement over Boll's. Vaugier told Sci-Fi Wire "We're trying to erase the first [film] from people's memories".

Cancelled sequel

In a 2006 interview, Mark Altman revealed that House of the Dead 3 was in development, with Mindfire hoping to start filming later that year. He stated, "It's a completely different approach to the material than the first two films and I doubt it will even be called House of the Dead 3."

The film was ultimately never made. However, the majority of the cast appeared in the 2006 zombie-comedy film Dead and Deader, with fans stating it to be a spiritual successor to this film.

Trivia

• Its alternative title, House of the Dead 2: Dead Aim, is similar to Resident Evil: Dead Aim(known in Japan as Gun Survivor 4: Biohazard: Heroes Never Die), an entry in Capcom's Gun Survivor series of PlayStation light-gun games.