Federal agent Reet Pappin (Frank Dietz) is directed by General Scottmanson (H.M. Wynant) to find a newly discovered element called Jerranium 90 before the import/export king, Handscombe Draile (Robert Deveau) can acquire it and sell it to foreign agents. The reported discoverer of the element is Dr. Jerry Calvern. Since he is ill Reet must contact his former partner, Paul Armstrong (Larry Blamire). Paul’s wife, Betty (Fay Masterson) tells Reet that he is in the Amazon and she hasn’t seen him for two years. Reet decides he must go to South America to find him. Betty decides to go too.
Peter Fleming (Brian Howe) is the twin brother of the evil Dr. Roger Fleming. Peter wants to know why his brother became evil. While going through his brother’s things he becomes possessed by the skull of the skeleton of cadavra. The rest of the skull’s skeleton was destroyed previously. The skull instructs him to go to South America to an Amazon basin called Menalusa AKA the Valley of the Monsters. The skull says he needs to restore his body by coming in contact with an Amazonian idol called the Dalp of Anacrab. Peter flies to South America, skull in hand.
Betty and Reet finally find Paul in a cheap bar. Paul agrees to accompany Reet on his mission into the jungle. Reet hires Jungle Brad (Dan Conroy), twin brother to the late Ranger Brad to head their expedition. Peter Fleming joins their expedition. He explains to them that he is Roger’s twin.
Handscombe Draile hires a thief named Carl Traeger (Kevin Quinn). Draile tells him he is organizing an expedition into the Amazon to find the Jerranium 90. He sends Traeger to South America where he reports to Gondreau Slykes (Daniel Roebuck). Slykes hires Rock Scientist Dr. Ellamy Royne (Trish Geiger) to find the Jerranium 90. All Slykes needs now are a couple porters to help carry their supplies.
Aliens Kro-Bar (Andrew Parks) and his wife Lattis (Susan McConnell) return to Earth from the planet Marva. A danger alarm has alerted the aliens that their Earth friends Paul and Betty are in danger. They have come to help. They join Slykes’ expedition, as porters, to keep an eye on things. Traeger finds Kro-Bar’s transmutatron and aims it at four jungle animals. He pulls the trigger and changes them into Animala (Jennifer Blaire).
Both expeditions venture into the Amazon on the hunt for Jerranium 90. But danger is everywhere. The Valley of the Monsters is named appropriately. It is the home of the frightening Gralmanopidon and the vicious Magraclop.
“The Lost Skeleton Returns Again” was released in 2008 and was directed by Larry Blamire. It is science fiction comedy spoof of 50’s science fiction, horror films and a sequel to the film “The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra” 2001. Larry Blamire is back, and so are most of the characters from the previous film. Returning are Brian Howe, Fay Masterson, Larry Blamire, Susan McConnell, Andrew Parks, Dan Conroy and Jennifer Blaire. It helps to understand the characters of the film if you have seen the first one but it is not totally necessary.
I found the movie amusing but not out and out funny. Whatever tropes they missed in the first movie they added to this one. One really clever addition was the change from black and white to color as soon as the expeditions entered the Valley of the Monsters. There is some old stock footage of jungle animals tucked in as well as a few walking montages. The cinematography is great and the location was charming. I believe it was the Los Angeles County Arboretum but with some added giant trilobites and a giant skeleton archway, similar to the one in Irwin Allen’s “The Lost World” 1960 that looked really cool. The titular monsters, the Gralmanopidon and the Magraclop were appropriately cheezy. There is also a wonderful man eating plant. The fabulous music score lifted the film to a quality “B” movie. And of course, they didn’t forget my favorite character Animala. There’s a lot of things to like in this movie.