In 2019 at Arrow Video FrightFest’s Halloween event, horror anthology Scare Package screened in the late-night slot. Now, three years later, Scare Package II: Rad Chad’s Revenge has arrived to entertain the FrightFest masses. The film rounds off the opening evening of the festival and provides the perfect level of insanity for the late night crowd.
Opening with flashbacks to Scare Package via the restless mind of returning character Jessie (Zoe Graham), the sequel quickly dives into the action. The story moves from Rad Chad’s video store to the sombre setting of the horror film enthusiast’s funeral. This is no ordinary funeral however, as Rad Chad has devised a horrific game from beyond the grave. His trap is so devilish that even John Kramer would be in awe of it. In order to survive, Jessie and her fellow mourners must work together and use rules learned through Rad Chad’s favourite horror films.
Scare Package II: Rad Chad’s Revenge kicks up a gear from the already bonkers Scare Package. Everything that made the first anthology so good – humour, gore, and crazy stories – is expanded upon. Each element is ratcheted skyhigh and fans of Scare Package are in for a ton of epic fun. As entertaining as the first film is, the flow felt a little disjointed; the wraparound story wasn’t as cohesive as it could have been and that is one of the improvements that has been made here. The funeral environment and the events that unfold within it match the insanity of the first film. Everything that one can possibly imagine has been thrown into this story – blood, goo, neon vomit, melting bodies, and even a nod to The Bodyguard. Director Aaron B. Koontz really helps set the tone for the stories found within and is just the tip of the iceberg of what madness awaits.
The segments themselves offer a variety of different spins on the realm of horror comedy. The first story, Welcome to the 90’s, directed by Alexandra Barreto, sets the rest of the stories up beautifully. Set on New Year’s Eve 1989, the short is set on a University Campus and follows girls from two neighbouring sororities: The Final Girls and The Sure to Die house. Even before the story has begun, Barreto has set the scene. The camera moves into the Final Girl house and introduces Laurie, Ellen, Ginny, Sally and Nancy. Any horror fan worth their salt will know that these names belong to iconic characters. Their story sees the usually capable women fall apart a little when they realise that the eighties are ending and maybe their power of survival might soon be snubbed out. It’s an excellent analysis of tropes within the genre. The perfect pocket-sized morsel of girl power, Welcome to the 90’s kicks off the anthology with a lot of charm.
Next comes what I think might be a first for an anthology, a sequel to a story from Scare Package. Director Anthony Cousins returns to the project to helm The Night He Came Back Again Part V: The Night She Came Back. It’s a continuation to his original The Night He Came Back Again! Part IV: The Final Kill. Prefaced by Rad Chad’s comment that “sequels are the life-blood of the horror genre”, Cousins once more pokes fun at the genre’s love of sequels and their ability to get sillier and sillier as they try to retain the fan-base. A clear riff off of the likes of the Halloween and Friday the 13th series, Cousin’s section throws back to the earlier era of horror that Barreto’s was making commentary on.
The third story, Special Edition, is one sure to draw in curious viewers. Written and directed by Jed Shepherd, the producer and co-writer of Host, Special Edition is a science-fiction influenced haunted house story. If seeing how Shepherd handles the director’s chair wasn’t enough, he has also managed to reunite the Spice Girls of horror, with all of the Host girls on the call sheet. After they traumatised us all during the lockdowns with Host, it’s exciting to see them try again. Whilst not as terrifying as Host, Shepherd’s story does have plenty of great moments and a great lighthouse to boot.
Interspersed between all of these shorts is of course the tale of Rad Chad’s revenge. It’s icky and sticky, oozing fun and film references. Fans of horror, especially the FrightFest crowd, will get a ton of pleasure from noticing little nods and other not-so-subtle homages to films from their favourite genre. Spotting these references becomes paramount to the plot, thanks in part to the content within the final segment, We’re So Dead. Directed by Rachele Wiggins, We’re So Dead is the film you would get if you stuck Stand By Me, The Fly, and The Re-Animator into a blender together. The result isn’t the confusing muddle it might sound, but an undiluted dose of eighties movie nostalgia, one that makes Stranger Things look twee.
Aaron B. Koontz’ Rad Chad’s Revenge perfectly weaves itself around these depraved tales and is so unbelievably funny. There’s so much to scream about, but I won’t so as to allow the element of surprise. Saw fans though, are going to be squealing with delight, and there’s an epic appearance from FrightFest Family favourite, Graham Skipper. As with any good horror sequel, Scare Package II: Rad Chad’s Revenge does tease a third film during its end credits. With how dreadfully insane, gloriously icky, and unquantifiably fun this one is, a third is sure to be a cert.
Scare Package II: Rad Chad’s Revenge
Summary
The comedic mayhem and sticky gloop return for another anthology chapter that proves just how good bedfellows horror and humour can make.
Scare Package II: Rad Chad’s Revenge was reviewed at Arrow Video FrightFest 2022.
