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 Why do I like this film so much? Let me see. Is it the cool
soundtrack? Well maybe....no I don't think so. Is it seeing Linnea Quigley naked? Well
that was very nice. No, it's something else, but I am not sure. Why is my brain itching?
Got it....zombies.
There is nothing better than seeing
zombies with Mohawks and chains. At the time this film came out in 1985, I was really into
the punk scene. I was going to all the shows like Dead Kennedys, Circle Jerks, Black
Flag, Descendent, etc. My head was shaved and I was that rebellious teenager who loved to
slam dance and stage drive. College quickly cured me of that behavior the following year,
but I still love the music today. So having some kind of weird bond with this band of
misfits made this movie a more personal experience for me.
Now when I look at the zombies in Return I am really
torn, because these are the type of walking corpses I usually don't like...you know the
ones that can walk and chew bubble gum at the same time. But the make up was so cool.
These zombies really kicked ass. I was finally able to get a copy of this
out-of-print classic on laserdisc and have just finished re-watching it before sitting
down at the computer. I am truly amazed at how well this film has stood up against the
test of time. Well maybe it's more that there really hasn't been too many good zombie
movies in the last decade, but let see if
George Romero can
change that.
If you read my
Evil Dead 2 page, you know how I feel about the sequel to
this zombie classic. The third installment wasn't too bad and I would definitely recommend
it if you love zombies like I love zombies. The whole idea for Part III supposedly plays
on Romero's original plot for
Day of the Dead. The
government is trying to control zombies and use them in combat. Not a bad idea.
As always please
e-mail me if you have anything you can add to
this page, or if you have any comments, criticisms or suggestion.
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Freddy (Thom Mathews) is just
starting his first day of work at UNEEDA Medical Supply, but it also may be his last. When
he asks his uncle Frank, " what's the weirdest
thing he ever saw?", his uncle tell him that
movie Night of the Living Dead was based on a
true story. Frank goes on say that the army accidentally shipped the reanimated corpses
back to their warehouse where they now lie dominate in steel cylinders. Seeing that
Freddy is still a little skeptical, Uncle Frank takes him down to the cellar to show him
the cylinders and they inadvertently release trioxin 245 into the air.
You may be asking yourself what is trioxin 245? Well, its a chemical that the Darrell Chemical Company developed
for the army to spray on marijuana and of course to............bring the dead back to
life.
The putrid green vapor seeps up
into this warehouse of oddities bringing back to life anything that was once alive ( i.e.
split dogs, butterflies, etc) and of course, the lone medical school cadavers hanging in
the freezer. As they try to kill the brain, they realize the movie was a LIE.
Instead they decide to chop the corpse into little pieces and take it next door to
the crematorium. But burning the corpse, only releases trioxin 245 into the air where a
passing shower brings it raining down onto a cemetery.
Too bad for Freddy's friends who
were waiting for him in the cemetery. The dead are back and looking for live BRAINS. A lot
of great zombie action here, especially when the zombies attack the cops and give a call
in "to send more cops". The end comes when the army steps
in, but as you can see they screwed up again. Generation X versus Generation
Dead. This 1985 instant classic help to breath back some life into a the dominant
zombie franchise. Followed by 2 lesser sequel, although I found "Part
3" to be quite entertaining.
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Original Return
was to be directed by Tobe Hooper and produced by
George
Romero, but Richard Rubinstein of Laurel Entertainment asked Romero to not get
involved, because he didn't want people to think this film was part of Romero's
"Living Dead" series. Rubinstein even got an injunction trying to stop them from
using "Living Dead" in the title. But the MPAA arbitrators ruled in favor of the
movies producers.
Directed by
Dan O'Bannon who did work
on Alien, Star Wars, Lifeforce, Total Recall and more.
John Russo who helped write the original
Night of the Living Dead also helped write this film.
Return was
shot on a $4 million budget.
Thom Mathews played Tommy Jarvis is
Friday the 13th, Part VI: Jason Lives.
The inspiration for the zombies came from many
sources, the mummies of Mexico, the Tarman of Wales, civil war vets, etc.
Followed up by two lesser sequels. Part III wasn't bad and was
based on ideas from
George Romero's original treatment for
Day of the Dead.
Checkout
Rotten Cotten
cool zombie
t-shirt that features the "Tarman", as well as, many other classic zombies.
Buy Return of the Living Dead on DVD from
Amazon.com
Buy Return of the Living Dead 2 on DVD from
Amazon.com
Buy Return of the Living Dead 3 on DVD from
Amazon.com
Buy the soundtrack at
Amazon.com
Checkout the new
House
of Horrors t-shirt for sale now
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Click on box cover for these recommendations
  
Click on image to navigate our other
"Return of the Living Dead" pages.
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