Linda Hamilton has said she was stunned by how ridiculous *King Kong Lives!* looked when she watched it, and later felt embarrassed by her performance. The 1986 sequel, in which she plays a surgeon who gives King Kong an artificial heart, was a major disappointment after her success as Sarah Connor in *The Terminator*.

Made on a reported budget of $18 million, the film was criticised by reviewers and struggled to break even in the United States, though it reportedly found an unexpected audience in the Soviet Union. Hamilton said she had acted against blue screens and had only seen parts of the Kong creature during filming; the practical effects later received a Golden Raspberry nomination for Worst Visual Effects. Rotten Tomatoes currently rates the film at 8%.