Return of the Living Dead Review

MPAA Rating: R
Released: 1985

The Return of the Living Dead was one of the 80's most beloved horror/zombie flicks, able to deftly blend horror and comedy together into a frighteningly fun package. When you consider how many horror-comedy projects have fallen flat on their faces, it's easy to understand why The Return of the Living Dead was such an impressive effort and will forever remain a fan favorite.

Director Dan O'Bannon's thrilling project, The Return of the Living Dead, is the real deal for horror fans, particularly those looking for some delightful 80's campy fun. The premise for this film assumes the events captured in Romero's horror classic The Night of the Living Dead were true events, and the cause of the zombie infestation was the release of a chemical developed in secret by the U.S. military.

One evening a pair of bumbling employees at an old medical warehouse accidentally release the chemical, animating a cadaver and unleashing it on a nearby cemetery. Luckily the damage is minimized when the bumbling duo, with the help of their boss, chops the zombie up. Only problem is the pesky body parts just won't stop moving, so they decide to bring them to the crematory in the cemetery nearby to incinerate them. Problem solved… or is it?

The fumes from the zombie rise into the clouds above the cemetery and an acid rain storm erupts. Of course the chemical-tainted rain animates the undead within the cemetery. Still not enough guilty 80's pleasure for you? No problem. Let's toss in a gang of unlucky punks that chose that evening to party in the cemetery… perfect bait for hungry zombies!

You'll get a whole dishful of bloody horror thrills and chills with the Return of the Living Dead, but what sets it apart is you get that and so much more. This isn't an official sequel to the original zombie classic – it's a parody with its tongue firmly in cheek. The comedic elements aren't the slapstick style you'd expect in films like Airplane… some of them are blatantly funny while others are subtle inside jokes that many may enjoy, but true genre fans will relish.

Part of the appeal of this film is O'Bannon's zombies don't shamble about like mindless… well… zombies! No, his zombies are quite capable of moving at full sprints, talking and plotting. A few purists may object to this, but it really adds a more horrifying "oomph" when potential victims can't easily outrun or outwit a zombie.

One of the humorous moments in the Return of the Living Dead takes place when a duo of cops drives into the cemetery to investigate the disturbance. The hungry undead promptly dispose of the would-be heroes, but this doesn't provide enough sustenance for the brain-craving zombies. So a zombie enters the patrol car, picks up the radio and croaks a request back to headquarters: "Send more cops."

O'Bannon knows that you can't make a parody of a horror film without a healthy dose of T&A, so he ensures that the actress that plays Trash (Linnea Quigley) takes the time to strip completely and gyrate to blaring music, much to the appreciation of her peers and most male viewers of the movie. While doing her dance, the punk girl broadcasts how much she would love being surrounded by a bunch of old men so she could allow them to bite her and eat her alive. She just might get that wish sooner than she thought!

People rarely care about the actors in these films, since most are slated to be zombie fodder anyways. But I'll comment on the overall performances anyways! The two medical warehouse employees (Frank and Freddy, played by James Karen and Thom Matthews) that kick off all the problems by releasing the chemical are an absolute hoot. Burt Wilson (Clu Gulugar), the warehouse owner, and Ernie (Don Calfa), the hapless crematory worker that gets caught up in the mess, both put in a delicious over-the-top performances. Yep, there are even little inside jokes with the character's names as Burt and Ernie show.

Rather than go on and on with a list of actors I'll just cut it short and say all of them deserve honorable mentions. They were well cast for a parody/horror of this nature, and give us the goods we have come to expect from the genre while appearing to have a genuinely good time with the whole thing.

I can go on and on about this the Return of the Living Dead, but it's really something you need to watch for yourself if you're at all interested in zombie flicks and/or horror films splashed with a fun dose of parody. It's not comedic enough to betray its true horror roots and it's not horrifying enough to disallow us the occasional smirk and chuckle… it's a perfect blend.

Movie rating: 8 stars

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