Halloween Horror Movie Review: The Return of the Living Dead (1985)
Title: The Return of the Living Dead
Release Date: August 16, 1985
Director: Dan O’Bannon
Production Company: Hemdale Film Corporation | Fox Films, Ltd. | Cinema ’84
Main Cast:
- Clu Gulager as Burt Wilson
- James Karen as Frank Johnson
- Don Calfa as Ernie Kaltenbrunner
- Thom Mathews as Freddy Hanscom
- Beverly Randolph as Tina
- Miguel A. Núñez Jr. as Spider
- John Philbin as Chuck
- Jewel Shepard as Casey
- Brian Peck as Scuz
- Linnea Quigley as Trash
- Mark Venturini as Suicide
- Jonathan Terry as Colonel Horace Glover
- Cathleen Cordell as Ethel Glover, Colonel’s Wife
- Drew Deighan as Jerry, The Paramedic
- James Dalesandro as Tom, The Paramedic
- Robert Libman as Tac Squad Captain
- Derrick Brice as Gunnery Sergeant Jefferson
- Allan Trautman as Tarman Zombie
- Terrence Houlihan as Yellow Cadaver Zombie
- Jerome Coleman as Legless Corpse Zombie
- Cherry Davis as The Voice of The Female Torso Zombie
- John Durbin as The Zombie Who Calls for More Paramedics
- David Bond as The Zombie Who Calls for More Cops
Synopsis (via Letterboxd):
When two bumbling employees at a medical supply warehouse accidentally release a deadly gas into the air, the vapors cause the dead to rise again as zombies.
My Thoughts:
Night of the Living Dead co-writer John Russo split off from George Romero to create his own zombie franchise beginning with this 1980s time capsule of a movie. The movie is set around a medical supply warehouse in Louisville where drums of the toxic gas that causes zombieism were accidentally sent by the military. Remember the Reagan Era 80s when nonetheless the cultural zeitgeist was deeply mistrustful of the military rather than “support the troops?” Naturally, the gas is released affecting not just the warehouse but the nearby cemetery where a group of punks have gathered to party.
The blue collar workers (all of whom seem to be played by familiar character actors that I cannot place where I’ve seen them before) get most of the best lines. There’s the wiseacre Frank training the new hire Freddy, their hapless boss who makes all the wrong decisions when he takes charge, and the deadpan mortician Eddie. The punks are funny in that 80s movie punks are always the same over-the-top stereotypes. The girl who strips naked for the entire film is gratuitous though.
And then there are the zombies who just want “BRAIIIIIINSSS!!!” because they stave off the pain of decay (possibly a metaphor for substance abuse?). It’s hard to believe that is the first depiction of zombies craving brains. The idea of zombies who not only talk, but can hold conversations is a bit off-putting, but then again the “Send more cops!” gag is hilarious.
This isn’t a masterpiece, but it’s corny fun with a lot of great one-liners, and probably would be exponentially more enjoyable at a crowded theater screening.
Rating: ***
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