Holy popcorn soup, I loved MANDAO RETURNS. Loved it. Written, directed, and starring Scott Dunn we follow the titular Jay Mandao (Dunn) as he and his crew of characters unravel a noir mystery in the San Fernando Valley involving a dead actress, her bumbling manager, a tainted box of cereal, and astral projection. This is a sci-fi comedy that leans hard on its strengths enough to win even the most jaded audiences over enough that they suspend disbelief and go along for the ride.

A sequel to Mandao of the Dead (2018) the pic appears to ease us back into the story. Truth be told I did not see the first film but was assured it wasn’t required. Totally true, but now I will be seeking out the first film. So the film opens with the adorable Jay and Jackson (Sean McBride) camping out in Cousin Andy’s (Sean Liang) living room after the events of the first film. Jay is tortured with dreams of his dead father (Alexandre Chen) warning him not to astral project due to an evil force that is in pursuit. Meanwhile, Andy is attempting to make rent money by exploiting Jay’s psychic abilities. After famous actress Aura (Jenny Lorenzo) turns up dead, Andy offers his “psychic” services to Aura’s manager Ted Williams (Jim O’Doherty) in hopes of reaching her for his remaining fees for services rendered.

With me so far? Great because this is about where I will leave you.

As with any good noir, no one is as they seem excluding the three protagonists in this story. With Jay agreeing to make extra money with his astral projection things go horribly wrong. In turn this forces Jay, Jackson, and Andy to unravel the time-warped mystery enough to escape with their lives in this dimension intact. Things fold in on themselves, then fold again, then reverse, then time-jump, there’s a little possession thrown in, but all of it is in service of three well-meaning goofballs trying to make rent.

Dunn‘s script is unbridled in its creativity. Using pretty much what every other hopeful in Valley Village has at their disposal, Dunn delivers a madcap farce involving dimensions, metaphysics, secret societies, career climbing, and above all a ridiculous amount of heart. Key here, aside from things being played straight, per see, is that Dunn makes us like the characters rather than deriving the humor from looking down on them. We want to see them win despite their myriad flaws.

In the end, Mandao Returns is everything that an independent movie should be. They took stock and leaned extra-hard into their strengths which were charm, creativity, and permit-free establishing shots. This silly little movie, and yes it is silly, engaged me, made me laugh, and worst of all, made me hope for another installment. Curse you Scott Dunn!

If you want a comedy sci-fi noir with heart and a side of brains, Mandao Returns is it.

8 out of 10