In the original, Dr. Paul Armstrong (Blamire) and his wife Betty (Fay Masterson) were just having a relatively innocent vacation in the woods until they found themselves surrounded by aliens and fused forest creatures, mostly thanks to the actions of the corrupt Dr. Roger Fleming (Brian Howe) and the evil Lost Skeleton of Cadavra (voice of Blamire), who has a diabolical yet vague scheme to take over the world using his mind control powers. A few years later, Paul has vanished into the Amazon, and Betty accompanies government agent Reet Pappin (Frank Dietz) to track him down, with Roger's twin brother Peter (Howe again) and a familiar-looking skull in tow. Other indirect tag-alongs include a crook named Carl Traeger (Kevin Quinn), a rival scientist named Dr. Ellamy Royne (Trish Geiger), returning aliens Kro-Bar (Andrew Parks) and Lattis (Susan McConnell), and the intrepid Jungle Brad (Dan Conroy), who is also the twin brother of a character from the first movie. All of these people find themselves in a colorful valley lorded over by Chinfa, Queen of the Cantaloupe People (Alison Martin), fighting to stay alive and out of the Lost Skeleton's mental grasp.

Above anything, it's Blamire's amazing gift for hilariously inane dialogue that keeps Returns Again chugging along. "The jungle gets into your blood and builds tiny little houses of pain, and you'd better not be there when the rent's due, 'cause the anaconda -- funny thing -- they don't know how to read the lease," Paul intones gravely in one of his many scotch-tinged flashbacks. It's a perfect dose of everything today's spoof dreck like Epic Movie is missing: gravitas used in the name of extreme silliness. There's no cross-eyed mugging or strained double takes in The Lost Skeleton films, and that's the film's secret weapon. If anyone let on how ridiculous any of this material was, it'd fall flatter than Blamire's intentionally emotionless voice.

Blamire's aptitude for the material is doubled when you take into account his hysterical line readings as The Lost Skeleton, who is both rude and wildly ineffective. If the Skeleton didn't view all of the people around him as a gigantic pain in his non-existent ass, then he might actually make some progress towards taking over the world, but despite needing someone to carry around his disembodied skull, he snaps at everyone, calls them stupid, and generally complains about everything. Brian Howe makes up almost half of this equation as well, matching the Skeleton's bitching and moaning beat for beat. The two bicker like children, providing some of the biggest laughs in the movie; I'm glad that Blamire was more than aware that Howe deserved to return along with everyone else. It's a shame that the he and the Skeleton get separated after a certain point, because the the two characters aren't as funny when they're apart from each other.

The one danger of sequels is determining a) how much the audience wants of the old and b) how new they want the new to be. Blamire introduces several new characters (Pappin, Carl, Ellamy and Chinfa being the primary ones), and while all of them have a funny line or two, none of them are as successful as any of the returning characters from the original. The movie's brand of stiff "bad movie" acting has already been established, and it feels like Blamire isn't quite sure how much to separate these new roles from the pack. Of all of them, Chinfa is the least successful, with Martin's particular style of over-the-top performance wearing the nerves down after awhile. There's also a nearly endless joke involving a wallet that could've been pared down by 75%, because it reaches the point at which it breaks Blamire's aesthetic; once there's nothing to laugh at aside from the exchange being excessively drawn out, it's sort of like breaking the fourth wall.

The DVD
I feel like one last element is missing from the Lost Skeleton Returns Again that would make the cover feel complete, but it does boast the best of the movie's taglines: "So Terrifying, You'll Wish It Were Only a Movie!" The back cover is a wall of text that could've used a bit of paring down, but all in all it looks fine. The inside is graced with a sketchy picture of the Lost Skeleton, and a paper insert listing the film's chapters (only 7!) and the special features, with an ad for other Shout! Factory releases on the back.

The Video, and Audio
It probably won't matter to anyone, but this 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen presentation looks like a film that was not shot on high definition video cameras. Fine detail is basically non-existent, and upon any sort of close inspection, small jagged edges can be seen. If you watch it from a reasonable distance or on a tube TV, you probably won't notice, and perhaps looking a little muddy is part of the vintage aesthetic, but I feel as if the movie should really look a bit better than this.

Dolby Digital 2.0 audio is passable. The movie doesn't have anything particularly dynamic going on in regards to the sound, and the dialogue is adequately rendered, so I don't have any real complaints. I do take issue with the lack of any subtitles, but what can you do?

The Extras
The main feature on the disc is an audio commentary featuring Blamire, editor/foley artist/rotoscoper/colorist Bill Russell, and actors Trish Geiger, Alison Martin, Frank Dietz, Andrew Parks and Dan Conroy. It starts out on a really bad foot -- please, stop making the "watch the movie before you watch the commentary" joke, everyone! -- but it eventually picks up when Blamire starts talking more about the production and conception of the movie rather than making jokes about it. It's clear the guy has a pretty extensive knowledge of classic films that he draws on when making these films, and it's interesting to hear him explaining his references. If only he wouldn't explain his jokes, too, which makes you wonder how the film is as funny as it is.

The disc's video features are shorter but are overall a better option for those who don't feel like committing to an hour and a half of commentary. "The Making of The Lost Skeleton Returns Again" (11:36) is actually three featurettes rolled into one. It's a loose, funny little conglomeration of interviews that manages to come off leaps and bounds better than the average studio EPK without seeming like it has anything pressing it wants to document. A unevenly-mixed, so-so gag reel (2:42) rounds things out, which is worth watching if only to see the "reveal" of one of the movie's many foreground miniature shots.

The disc opens with trailers for "The Middleman" and "Mystery Science Theater 3000". No trailers for The Lost Skeleton Returns Again are included.

Conclusion
Obviously, the original Lost Skeleton of Cadavra is required viewing before giving this sequel a spin, but if you get a kick out of Blamire's first jab at classic sci-fi, this follow-up is almost as good, despite a few lesser-than supporting characters and at least one painfully bad joke. The DVD A/V and extras aren't quite solid enough for me to feel comfortable completely endorsing this disc, but I'll still give it an enthusiastic recommended based on the film itself. Just be sure to gather any friends that share your sense of humor if you decide The Lost Skeleton films are worth watching; they play much better in a group of like-minded individuals.