1984 Directed by Randall M. Badat
Evil Nerd Menlo wants to get revenge on some surfers by selling a bad batch of soda called Buzz Cola which turns people into mutant zombies. Its up to Jocko, Chuck, Bob and their surfer buddies to save the day.
Eddie Deezen Linda Kerridge Terry Kiser Eric Stoltz Jeffrey Rogers Lyle Waggoner Lucinda Dooling Peter Isacksen Corinne Bohrer Morgan Paull Ruth Buzzi Cleavon Little Carol Wayne Biff Manard Tom Villard Lucy Lee Flippin Brinke Stevens Joy Michael Britt Helfer Ralph Seymour Ron Palillo Dick Dale Fred Asparagus
USAR
USA
Gonzo 80’s cult goofball riff on teen sex comedies and surf/beach movies with a little horror and sci-fi thrown into the mix for good measure, Surf II: The End of a Trilogy features the great Eddie Deezen as a mad scientist hellbent on ridding beaches of surfers with his chemically enhanced soda that turns people into zombie mutant punks! There’s arcades, beach shenanigans, tons of 80’s tropes/vibes at play, and it mostly succeeds… but I kinda wish there wasn’t so much stock surfing footage used every 15 minutes or so to pad out the runtime… it kinda momentarily killed the vibes for me, but regardless of that this is still a dopey fun time and the soundtrack rips.
The kind of movie that seems ripe for even more cult status thrown at it now that it’s finally received some love via Vinegar Syndrome’s beautiful new disc.
Won’t be for everyone, but those who’ll love it will probably really love it.
this released five months before Gremlins and features a movie theater scene where mutant punks eat the film out of the projector and cause the film to burn on screen - Surf II was ahead of Joe Dante
A true artifact of zany 80s cinema Surf 2 is jammed pack with unadulterated shennanigans. A unique blend of of 80s surf culture, teen comedy and horror it's quite the quirky spectacle of cheese. Completely absurd and over the top it provides endless entertainment and charm.
Bob and Chuck live for surfing. They do it every dang day. And just as they are preparing for the big surf competition their fellow surfing pals begin to disappear. A mysterious new company Buzzz cola appears to be behind the kidnappings lead by evil nerd Menlo. Menlo's master plan is to feed the surfers Buzzz cola which transforms them into mindless zombies! Can Bob and Chuck conquer the cola fueled zombies and save…
A sequel to a film that doesn't exist...
that's kind of like a comedy that isn't funny, right?
Oh, Surf II we still love you, you're just a cute little mess is all.
Two teenage surfer buds, Chuck and Bob, are the centre-point of this disheveled universe. Their two scheming fathers have designed a soda called Buzzzz that's currently turning kids into zombies. It's up to Chuck and Bob to figure out what's going on with these dopey punk-rock zombos, while also catching some gnarly waves dude. Calamity en-snooze.
Plenty of great tunes, Eddie Deezen's non-stop hilarious performance, some inspired gags, and that summery beach-town backdrop all make this go down a breezy treat. It's a warm and flat pop…
The 4 stars may not really be for the film itself (which is a glorious, absurd, gonzo mess that I love) but for seeing it at a sold out screening where it played like a Friday night blockbuster.
Only PanicFest could celebrate a zany 80’s relic like this (and let me host it like a boozy sleepover party, essentially.)
As screened at PanicFest 2022.
Thank you to everyone for coming out!
Well that soundtrack was pretty bitchin'.
Watched the newly unearthed director's cut which is apparently more comedic but less exploitative than the theatrical release, so now I've got to watch this dumb shit all over again in a radically different cut. It's lowbrow enough for me to recommend to like-minded letterboxers with a taste for the goofy and crass. Eric Stoltz made this after Fast Times but prior to his scratched attempt at Marty McFly. I can't imagine anyone seeing this and then declaring him "too serious" for anything. 5.6/10
I like any 80's movie that has someone in gothic post-punk make-up. Many movies fit the bill, but not all of them have surfing, Oingo Boingo and young cute Eric Stoltz. Like Troma but with a bigger budget. Nerd scientist villain, toxic cola goons in beach leather, gratuitous breasts and a fascination with making fat guys the brunt of a dumb joke *cue fart noises and mayonnaise dripping from the world'd largest sandwich*. It's a little incoherent at times, but whatever. Fart Boobs Belch Boner Boober Titty Booger Cola.
Surf II is the washed up, bloated corpse of weirdo beach comedies. An almost non-stop, stream-of-conscience string of immature buffoonery. No high stakes, no cares, no worries. Just a chill, laid-back assault of stupid, adolescent nonsense. A whacked-out rip current of fence eating, mad science, broken arcade cabinets, sexual innuendo, chainsaw car conversion, soda zombies, sludge eating contents, nerd revenge, cross dressing and Beach Boys tunes. Not all of the gags land, but most of them do (at least for me), and there’s never a time when there’s not something absolutely insane going on. Even if I wasn’t amused, my mind was boggled, and in the world of trash-cinema, that’s just as good.
”Is he dead?”
“Dead? Man, this dude is worse than dead! He’s canceled!”
Things are looking pretty grim in Venice Beach. All the 25-year-old high school kids are drinking too much Buzzz Cola and turning into green-skinned, trash-eating zombies, which sure is putting a damper on the upcoming big surfing contest. Who’s the culprit? Why, it’s the evil Menlo Schwartzer, played by Eddie Deezen. And his “girlfriend,” Sparkle, played by Linda Kerridge. Menlo and Sparkle might seem mean, but in actuality they’re just misunderstood: all they want is to be popular (they’re basically enacting the same scheme that Parker Posey tried in that JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS movie two decades later).
Who are our saviors? Why, it’s Chuck, played by…
Colourful, silly and goofy, but I never laughed. Just smiled occasionally. Hell of a soundtrack. Needed more Deezen.
At one point there's a picture of Jerry Lewis on a prop. That was nice.
Class Of Nuke 'Em High meets Hardbodies. I drank 3 beers watching it. This is high culture, I tells ya.
Devant un film qui s'appelle Surf II, qui se présente comme le dernier d'une trilogie, alors qu'il n'y a pas de Surf I, tu peux pas vraiment être surpris de te retrouver devant une course de grenouilles avec la musique de Chariots of Fire et des spectateurs en papier, ou un cadavre éventré duquel on retire sans fin tout ce qu'il a mangé, comme s'il était le sac de Mary Poppins. Un moment donné, j'ai arrêté d'essayer de comprendre ce que je voyais. Avec en plus un soundtrack qui passe de la surf music et du rockabilly (3x les Beach Boys, parce que tsé le surf, The Ventures, Dick Dale, Stray Cats), les hits new wave du moment (Talk Talk,…
