Review of Return of the Living Dead Part II (1988) by Nathan S — 16 Mar 2011

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this was the very first zombie comedy. And that pissed me off when I was a kid, because the preview made it look so much darker (and the poster artwork kicked-ass). But, it was pretty light. I was mad that they followed up the original with this, but I grew to kind of like it. Hell, it even made me feel like a kid again at times (and I was 10 in 1988.) The movie is kind of funny. Bring it up to anyone and the first thing theyâ(TM)ll mention is the scene where a zombie dressed up like Michael Jackson dances around while getting electrocuted. Bring it up with ME â" Iâ(TM)ll mention the AWESOME cut-in-half zombie scene in the hospital. The film was directed at teens, and it was that ONE SCENE that gave it an R-rating. Its killer - the zombie is shot, his torso is blown off, and his legs keep walking with the spine and guts showing and everything! Then he gets up and runs on his hands at them! CLASSIC! Now THAT was more like the original!

And thatâ(TM)s something to mention about the effects â" they definitely had more money for them on this one. But, the mystique of the original was the darkness, and you didnâ(TM)t need tons of zombie make-up in every scene. Here â" the whole movie is well-lit and a lot of the effects look weird and rubbery. But â" it still gets points for grossness, even if itâ(TM)s just for comedic effect. I love when the chick punches a zombie in the face, and her hand gets stuck in it and green slime oozes out. She pulls her hand out and itâ(TM)s covered in chunks of green gore. And like the girl in the original, sheâ(TM)s a valley girl with an unending repertoire of awesome â~80s slang.

Strangely, Thom Matthews and James Karen, who played the two warehouse workers in the original (that die and become zombies) RETURN for the sequel as different characters. That dumbfounded me a lot when I was a kid. I was like âHow could they do that?!â? But really itâ(TM)s just awesome to see the two return no matter what. Thanks to this, the original, and Friday the 13th VI: Jason Lives, Thom Matthews was definitely my favorite horror movie star of the â~80s. STILL love the guy. And there IS a cool scene in this where he turns to Karen and says âI feel like weâ(TM)ve done this before! Me, you, and THEM!â? But itâ(TM)s just another joke for the movie and there really is no reasonable explanation for them to be in it again. Twins? Nah. Who cares anyways.

Fun movie, and definitely re-watchable.