Review of The Return of the Living Dead (1985) by Lucas G — 04 Nov 2015

Veering between despair and laffs, this shocker hasn't managed to properly assume either of these two stances. The film score is enjoyable enough, with a main theme that stays in your head, like a goofy but addicting jingle, and zany rock n' roll fun. The acting definitely goes out of hand in the second increasingly bleak half of the movie, and all the yells and swearing become grating.

Contrasting with the general laziness of the movie are a few moments of genuine hilariousness as well as terror, with the former including the appearance of the first zombie and the ridiculous speed and intelligence with which the undead pursue their prey (a razzberry towards the classic approach to zombies as slow and clumsy creatures), and the latter illustrated by the brutal transformation of a really unlucky youngster into an undead and the sheer ineptitude of the forces of law in dealing with the freshly risen threat. The love for Romero's seminal masterpiece is obvious here right from the beginning and until the rather predictable ending, but it is not enough to make this a view worth revisiting, unless we're talking about showing it to some friends that haven't made its acquaintance.