The Return Of The Living Dead

The dead are not so dead

The Return of the Living Dead (1985) is a fun film. Zombies biting into skulls is fun? Believe me, it is in this! The movie was directed by Dan O'Bannon and it adds a dark, comedic blend to the well worn flesh eaters recipe. Other zombie flicks on the shelf focused on the gore and had a gloomy feel to them and I remember thinking The Return of the Living Dead was a refreshing change to the formula when I watched it in '85. Also due to having a punk/hard rock soundtrack featuring bands like The Damned and The Cramps, it ticked my music boxes too. (Metal fan for 30 years).
Story goes thus; two guys working at the Uneeda medical supply warehouse release a toxic gas from a steel drum that contained the body of an Army experiment gone horribly wrong. The hapless pair each get a faceful of gas (which eventually turns them zombie) and the stuff also gives a fresh cadaver in the warehouse a new lease of life. *Gulp*


Brainssss!

After chopping Mr Dead into pieces (and pinning his head to the floor with a pick~axe) chaos ensues when they ask a mortician for help and he burns the corpse in a crematoriam oven. Definately not a good idea as the vapours released into the air from the chimney mix with the rain and creates a downpour with a difference. (The difference between graveyards containing the peaceful dead, to ones that now sprout zombies like gothic dandelions).
Needless to say, the punk gang who are partying in the cemetery (remember the ghettoblaster?) get the suprise of their mohicans. Especially the emo/punk girl who has just completed a striptease on a tomb and waved her pert derriere across our screens. (My teenage self lived for these type of scenes). Its Punks vs Zombies! And while the Punks have the better music, the zombies want yer brains!
Without spilling all of its guts here, The Return of the Living Dead is a hoot of a film and ends with footage of 'zombified' scenes and a voicover declaring "the rains should wash everything away." No. It really won't. Most movies of this kind ended with a suggestion of further impending doom and I personally like it this way because it fits with how life really is; an ongoing struggle. We can win little battles and taste triumph but can never win the war.
In terms of cast, there are no early appearances from young Hollywood A listers to look out for like there are in some films (Johhny Depp in A Nightmare On Elm Street anyone?) but this sort of schlock~horror doesn't really need them as lets face it, the undead are the real stars here and well known faces will always be forgotten when sharing a scene with brain loving zombies. (See above pic). Most memorable actor for me is James Karen who plays soon-to-be-zombie Frank and his hilarious panicking over his 'future'. (Yeah fair enough, I would too).
To sum it up then, The Return of the Living Dead isn't my favourite zombie movie but it is certainly the funniest I know of and because of its excellent sountrack it gets an extra thumbs up from me. Or maybe that should be an extra devil horns? Cool stuffs indeed.

Gutterbox Rating