Killing zombies isn’t Norman Reedus’s only business.

The Walking Dead’s Daryl Dixon actor also helped Wesley Snipes kill vampires as the weaponsmith Scud in 2002’s Blade II. As the hot-headed Murphy MacManus in the cult film Boondock Saints, Reedus dispatched any number of Russian and Italian mobsters, contributing to the movie’s high body count, and later returning for more slaughter in Boondock Saints II. Then in 2015, Reedus starred in an R-rated legacy sequel whose poor box office performance killed any hope of a resurgence for a long-running comedy franchise.

Reedus can hardly be blamed for the bad reviews and low box office returns visited upon Vacation, the Griswold family sequel he starred in as Truck Driver, but the popular Walking Dead actor’s presence could be a major reason why the forgotten flop has surged all the way to #2 on Paramount+’s U.S. streaming movies chart for July 7, 2026.

Serving up the familiar recipe of shameless nostalgia-baiting seasoned with just a dash of newness, Vacation proved unappealing to audiences, sending it slumping to a $107 million worldwide gross on a budget of $31 million. Critics found the legacy sequel equally unappetizing, ushering it to a 27% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Reviewers slammed the film for being just a retread of the original National Lampoon’s Vacation, but without the comedic and heart-felt elements that made the Chevy Chase hit such a classic.

ScreenRant’s own Vacation review was only a little more positive, calling the movie forgettable while allowing that it might be good for a few chuckles. “The new Vacation means well but tries too hard, and is ultimately just another pale imitation reboot. Unlike the original, memory of this film will likely not endure beyond one or two gags…but in this dry spell of comedy flicks, Vacation is good for a Sunday matinée laugh. Invest smartly.”

2015’s National Lampoon’s Vacation legacy sequel does have its defenders, however. In a February 2023 ranking of all the Vacation franchise films, ScreenRant characterized the movie’s retread quality as an asset, saying, “Like its predecessors, 2015’s Vacation is an episodic comedy made up of comic vignettes, and these vignettes rarely miss.” The piece then proclaimed somewhat boldly, “2015’s Vacation is likely to be reappraised as an underappreciated cult classic one day.”

The Vacation character played by Norman Reedus, a trucker whose well-intentioned following of the Griswolds is misinterpreted as psychotic stalking, is not prominent enough to warrant much mention in reviews, but Reedus’ presence is a welcome one nevertheless, contributing to the star-studded quality of the cast.