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The Return of the Living Dead (1985)
Hilarious and Gruesome
Directed By: Dan O’Bannon
Starring: Clu Culager, Thom Matthews, Don Calfa, & Beverly Randolph
MPAA Rating: “R”
Starring: Clu Culager, Thom Matthews, Don Calfa, & Beverly Randolph
MPAA Rating: “R”
The Return of the Living Dead (1985) may sound like a sequel to Night of the Living Dead (1968), but it is actually not. In fact, the movie claims to be a sequel to the supposed factual events that inspired George A. Romero’s film (but that were changed so that the U.S. Army wouldn’t sue the filmmakers). Very quickly we can see that The Return of the Living Dead is not going to be a scary horror film. Instead, this is a horror comedy and a very effective one at that. The film proceeds through various stages of gore, ghouls, and gags never really attempting to take itself seriously. This is, I believe, what keeps The Return of the Living Dead from being a rip-off and instead keeping it somewhere in between an homage and a satire.
At a medical supply warehouse, Frank (James Karen) is showing new employee Freddy (Matthews) around on his first day of the work. Soon, he begins to reveal the shocking truth of Night of the Living Dead...and the horrifying fact that the real zombies are in the basement of that very warehouse. When the two men go down to check it out, they accidentally release toxic gas that quickly spreads all over the town, bringing the dead up from their graves. Instead of calling the emergency number listed on the side of the gas canister, Frank calls the owner of the warehouse, Burt (Culager), who takes them all over to the nearby mortuary so that they can cremate all of the evidence of the gas leak. However, soon the men and a group of Freddy’s friends realize that this nightmare is far from being over.
The Return of the Living Dead has everything that fans of eighties horror should enjoy. The film is splattered in all kinds of blood and gore, with the slimy zombies moaning “Brains! I want to eat your brains!” endlessly and then acting upon this desire with a bunch of punk rock teenagers, four paramedics, endless police officers, and more. Yes, the blood is spread on heavily here. The film also sports a fun soundtrack, slick direction (I loved the entire scene with the smoke rising into the rain and the rain seeping into the graveyard), solid acting from the leads (though not from the supporting cast, which doesn’t last long anyway), and the flame-haired Linnea Quigley doing an erotic striptease and then remaining nude for the rest of the film (yes, even as a zombie). If that wasn’t enough, it also has a bold, refreshing ending and a hilarious sense of humor.
Was there anything bad about this film? Not really...even the negative aspects (i.e. the talent-lacking supporting cast) only made the film seem even more hysterically over-the-top and effective. So, I really enjoyed The Return of the Living Dead for what it was: a comical companion piece to Night of the Living Dead that features creepy creature effects, slimy gore gags, a vibrant leading cast, and more fun than a barrel of monkeys. It even does manage to be frightening at times (The “Send more paramedics...” line sent shivers up my spine) and occasionally disturbing (The rigor mortis sequences were highly-effective and made me shudder). I also really dug the fact that everything (even the dead butterflies on display and the dissected dogs) came back from the dead...an intriguing twist. When everything was said and done, The Return of the Living Dead delivered everything it wanted to with style, humor, and ample gore.
At a medical supply warehouse, Frank (James Karen) is showing new employee Freddy (Matthews) around on his first day of the work. Soon, he begins to reveal the shocking truth of Night of the Living Dead...and the horrifying fact that the real zombies are in the basement of that very warehouse. When the two men go down to check it out, they accidentally release toxic gas that quickly spreads all over the town, bringing the dead up from their graves. Instead of calling the emergency number listed on the side of the gas canister, Frank calls the owner of the warehouse, Burt (Culager), who takes them all over to the nearby mortuary so that they can cremate all of the evidence of the gas leak. However, soon the men and a group of Freddy’s friends realize that this nightmare is far from being over.
The Return of the Living Dead has everything that fans of eighties horror should enjoy. The film is splattered in all kinds of blood and gore, with the slimy zombies moaning “Brains! I want to eat your brains!” endlessly and then acting upon this desire with a bunch of punk rock teenagers, four paramedics, endless police officers, and more. Yes, the blood is spread on heavily here. The film also sports a fun soundtrack, slick direction (I loved the entire scene with the smoke rising into the rain and the rain seeping into the graveyard), solid acting from the leads (though not from the supporting cast, which doesn’t last long anyway), and the flame-haired Linnea Quigley doing an erotic striptease and then remaining nude for the rest of the film (yes, even as a zombie). If that wasn’t enough, it also has a bold, refreshing ending and a hilarious sense of humor.
Was there anything bad about this film? Not really...even the negative aspects (i.e. the talent-lacking supporting cast) only made the film seem even more hysterically over-the-top and effective. So, I really enjoyed The Return of the Living Dead for what it was: a comical companion piece to Night of the Living Dead that features creepy creature effects, slimy gore gags, a vibrant leading cast, and more fun than a barrel of monkeys. It even does manage to be frightening at times (The “Send more paramedics...” line sent shivers up my spine) and occasionally disturbing (The rigor mortis sequences were highly-effective and made me shudder). I also really dug the fact that everything (even the dead butterflies on display and the dissected dogs) came back from the dead...an intriguing twist. When everything was said and done, The Return of the Living Dead delivered everything it wanted to with style, humor, and ample gore.
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