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The Return of the Living Dead

A 1985 movie directed by Dan O'Bannon.

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Do you wanna party?! Zombies, punks and a cemetery oh my.

Aug 21, 2009

by Captain_Couth

Rating:

Return of the Living Dead was a spoof/homage and sequel to the zombie genre and Night of the Living Dead. A couple of workers in a medical supply warehouse are fooling around and "accidentally" open an old oil drum that was holding a nasty looking cadaver. After a mysterious toxic gas escapes from the the cheaply made container the two workers become gravely ill from it's after effects. Meanwhile a car load of punks are coming by to pick up their friend who happens to work in the medical warehouse. The old container is one of the few that the army has been looking for since they lost them almost twenty years ago. One old soldier wont rest until he finds ever single one of them. Sadly he doesn't know that one of the "eggs" has just hatched. To complicate things further, the "egg" has hatched next to a cemetery.

This film is one of my favorites of the genre. John Russo wrote a novel that was pretty much a straight forward horror film that picked up right after Night of the Living Dead. Dan O'Bannon wasn't a big fan of the book and wisely turned it into a dark comedy that spoofs and pays homage to the zombie films. The punk/goth soundtrack is real good and is worth seeking out if you like T.S.O.L (the punk/goth version), The Cramps and The Damned. Sadly, I have never heard The Damned's "Dead Beat Dance" on any version of the film (video or DVD).

I highly recommend this film. It has two of my favorites, Punk Rock and zombies!! The punks are severely stereotyped (the kind you only see in movies) but they're funny in their own quirky way and they have some of the best lines.

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More The Return of the Living Dead reviews

review by ryguy4738. August 01, 2011

posted in Movie Hype

A good zombie satire.

*** out of **** "The Return of the Living Dead" is a simple, clever, and very fun take on the zombie-comedy movement of zombie cinema. It carries with it some fairly intelligent satire, some solid slapstick, and a whole lot of fun nonetheless. Zombie -movie-die-hards will probably love it; and those unassociated with the genre on a fanboy level might enjoy it too. I know that I enjoyed it so much that the least I can do is, yes, watch the sequel. The … more

Comment Compliments (12)

review by Madpenguin. June 03, 2011

posted in Movie Hype

The Return of the Living Dead - Brrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaainnnssss. The most memorable line in cult cinema.

Two workers at a medical supply warehouse located in Louisville Kentucky, allows their curiosity to get the better of them. The Army crossed their shipping orders and delivered canisters containing dead bodies, with a lethal chemical called 245 Trioxin to their warehouse. The two workers, Frank (James Karen) and Freddie (Thom Mathews), tamper with the canister releasing the chemical bringing the dead back to life. Later on, the chemical spreads to the cemetery reanimating … more

Comments (6) Compliments (36)

review by rbuchanan. July 19, 2011

At least the equal of Romero's efforts

There's a great scene in this movie that occurs approximately an hour and nineteen minutes into its runtime. Cranky character actor Clu Gulagher and a few obnoxious teenagers are trapped in his medical supply warehouse by brain-hungry zombies, and the only phone available is located in the warehouse's basement, the door of which is locked and guarded by a particularly ravenous zombie. After retrieving a baseball bat, old Clu instructs one of the kids to open the door and the others to stand … more

Comments (7) Compliments (24)

review by MichaelN. May 13, 2009

Surprisingly Good!

This horror/comedy kind of take-off on Night of the Living Dead was surprisingly good. It goes under the assumption that the Night of the Living Dead movie was based on a true happening. Except it really was a failed top-secret government experiment. As this whole thing is explained to two unsuspecting young men, they accidently release the top secret gas that starts to animate all dead things. The dead come walking demanding "brains." In this one it seems it is impossible to totally kill any of … more

Comments (4) Compliments (14)

review by rmurray847. March 26, 2004

posted in Movie Hype

"Watch your mouth if you like this job!"

"Over the top" doesn't even begin to describe this film. It's a rare movie that works as a satire of a beloved genre (NIGHT & DAWN OF THE DEAD) and stands more or less alone as a credible horror movie on its own. Unlike something like SCARY MOVIE, which has no pretensions of telling a serious story amidst all the humor, this one is a great zombie movie first, and a gentle parody second.Set primarily in a medical supply warehouse, a funeral home and a graveyard (how's that for a trifecta of great … more

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About the reviewer

Joseph Ulibas (Captain_Couth)
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I have been working on my web series Fine Feather Friends.

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About this movie

Wiki

Loosely based upon a novel written by John Russo.

Originally was going to be in 3-D and directed by Tobe Hooper.

Followed by four sequels.

Part of Russo's ...Living Dead series.

The first film of the Return of the Living Dead series.

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Details

Cast: David Bond, James Karen, John Philbin, Jewel Shepard, Linnea Quigley, Miguel A. Nuñez, Cherry Davis, Cathleen Cordell, Michael Crabtree, Don Calfa, Paul Cloud, Clu Gulager, Mark Venturini, Brian Peck, Stanzi Stokes, Robert J. Bennett, John Stuart West, John Durbin, Alexandre Trauner, Beverly Randolph, Jonathan Terry, Robert Craighead, James Dalesandro, Ed Krieger, Thom Matthews, Derrick Brice, Jerome "Daniels" Coleman, Drew Deighan, Leigh Drake, Terrence M. Houlihan, Bob Libman

Director: Dan O'Bannon

Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi

Release Date: August 16, 1985

MPAA Rating: R

Screen Writer: Dan O'Bannon, Russ Streiner, John A. Russo, Rudy Ricci

Runtime: 91 minutes

Studio: Hemdale Films, Orion Pictures

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