Return of the Living Dead (1985)
Written By: Grave Reviews Staff
Film Information
Director: Dan O’Bannon
Producer: Tom Fox, Graham Henderson
Screenplay: Dan O’Bannon
Date Released: August 16, 1985
Cast:
Clu Gulager as Burt Wilson
James Karen as Frank Johnson
Don Calfa[1] as Ernie Kaltenbrunner
Thom Mathews as Freddy Hanscom
Beverly Randolph as Tina
Miguel A. Núñez Jr. as Spider
John Philbin as Chuck
Rating = 1.5/5 Graves
***May contain some spoilers***
Synopsis
Return of the Living Dead (1985), directed by Dan O’Bannon is about two employees who work in a warehouse. While showing a new employee the warehouse, one of the men opens a tank that unleashes a fume causing the corpse inside it to come alive. When trying to dispose of the corpse, they attempt to cremate it but in the process release fumes that awaken the dead which begins the nightmare of Return of the Living Dead.
Gore Factor
Return of the Living Dead (1985) incorporates fun prosthetic and special effects throughout the film. The zombies are not scary but look comical. Nevertheless, for a 1980s zombie thriller, the zombie’s are fun to watch in Return of the Living Dead (1985).
The Grave Review
Classified as a horror comedy, the 1980s film certainly represents itself as such. From the over dramatized acting to the corny dialogue in concert with bad acting, the film is a good way to just pass the time. But as with all horror films, we can give them a smiley face sticker for the effort.
Along with the two employees are a group of rebellious 80s kids who travel the town to cause mischief. One of the rebels played by Linnea Quigley is rather promiscuous and acts out a quasi soft-core porn scenario that makes absolutely no sense. However, the end result as you would expect is that she takes off her clothes and is seen fully nude throughout the movie. On top of the lovely imagery, the zombies are fairly comical and look more like swamp people who keep saying “Brains!!!”
For the foregoing reasons, Grave Reviews gives Return of the Living Dead (1985) one and one-half graves out of five graves.
What did you think of the movie? Comment below.
You may also like our review of the film, Garden of the Dead.
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