Review of The Return of the Living Dead (1985) by Jeremy K — 19 Feb 2014

You might think I'm reviewing another one of George Romero's zombie films. But not quite; interestingly enough, Romero did come out with "Day of the Dead" in 1985, the same year as this film, "The Return of the Living Dead." In my opinion, this movie is much better, as well as a very enjoyable zombie film in general.

First, a little history. Following "Night of the Living Dead," Romero and co-writer John Russo parted ways; Russo retained the rights to any titles featuring "Living Dead." In 1977, nine years after the film, Russo wrote a novel called "Return of the Living Dead," which was meant to be a sequel. After Romero made "Dawn of the Dead," Russo, as well as producer Tom Fox, planned to bring his novel to the big screen. They brought in Dan O'Bannon to direct, but he wanted something different than Romero's films; hence, the entire story was changed so it now bears no resemblance to Russo's original work.

The movie begins at a medical supply warehouse in Kentucky. Foreman Frank (James Karen) wants to impress/scare new employee Freddy (Thom Matthews) by telling him a spooky story. Apparently, "Night of the Living Dead" was based on a real case where an army experiment accidentally released a gas called trioxin that brought the dead back to life. Also, the warehouse acquired barrels of the remains thanks to a military error. Frank takes Freddy down to the basement to see them but accidentally unleashes the gas, which-of course-starts bringing dead beings back to life.

But don't confuse this as just another zombie film like Romero's; virtually everything about this movie is different: the characters, the zombies, the setting, even the actual tone. There are a few traits that make these zombies unique. First of all, they specifically eat brains, rather than just gnawing on people in general. Second, they can talk, even if it's in a strained, soulless tone. But most importantly is how they're killed. In Romero's films (as they mention in this movie), they can die basically like regular people die: gunshots, fire, decapitation, dismemberment, whatever. But none of that works here. When they try to cut a zombie's head off, the rest of its body still runs around on its own like a chi-zombie with its head cut off.

So when Frank and Freddy are faced with a walking cadaver, they frantically call the owner Burt Wilson (Clu Gulager) for help. The three of them are unable to kill it, so they bring its live dismembered remains to a nearby mortuary, where Burt has his friend Ernie (Don Calfa) burn it in a crematorium until nothing remains. It finally vanishes, but its ashes go into the air and then come down in rain...on a cemetery. Naturally, the acidic rain seeps into the Earth, which brings about even more zombies rising from the ground. And it just so happens that Freddy's girlfriend Tina (Beverly Randolph) and a bunch of their friends are hanging out in the cemetery waiting for him, so they get caught up in what's happening.

As for what I said about the film's tone, it's not like you might expect. O'Bannon's idea of differentiating this film from Romero's was making a black comedy featuring what he called "splat-stick humor." I can see what he means. Frank and Freddy's reactions to the initial "resurrections" are deliberately exaggerated, and there's actually some good comedic timing, like when Frank calls Burt on the phone. The zombies get some laughs too; the filmmakers use the fact that they can talk in this version to great effect. There's also a humorous use of upbeat deathrock and punk rock music, which was a popular trait of the time period.

As for the killing scenes, they are wonderfully cheesy in their goriness, and some of the characters are designed in such an over-the-top, stereotypically '80s fashion that it's hilarious. Their names consist of Spider, Trash, Suicide and Scuz, and they're nearly all dressed in ridiculous outfits. Well, the girl Trash (Linnea Quigley) eventually strips off hers and dances naked in the cemetery because she has sexual death fantasies. I have nothing to complain about there; in fact, it actually has some payoff later in the film. It's also worth mentioning that Miguel A. Núñez, Jr., who played Spider, had a small role in "Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning," while Thom Matthews, who played Freddy, went on to star in "Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives.".

So "The Return of the Living Dead" is high on entertainment value, but I think it sort of loses momentum the further it goes. When Frank and Freddy get sick and start to die because they initially breathed the gas, they're rendered almost entirely irrelevant to the story; granted, I like watching the antics of Burt and Ernie (why does that sound familiar?), but the others are sort of shoved aside. There's a single scene with a military colonel early on that literally isn't brought up again until the end of the movie; it would've been much better if either they added more scenes to tie it in with the story better, or just eliminated it.

Now if you want a spooky, chilling horror story with zombies, this isn't the movie for you. The only part you could argue that's a little scary is the opening scene where Frank is telling Freddy the story about the trioxin. But if you're in the mood for a cheesy, off-the-wall zombie flick from the '80s with enjoyable characters and enjoyable lines, then you'll have fun with this one.