Leofwine_draca Oh boy! Made with a skill and attention to detail which immediately raises it above all similar fare (including the sequel), RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD is one of the those essential horror movies that isn't afraid to play things for laughs. Sharing the same genre as the likes of other classics such as RE-ANIMATOR and EVIL DEAD II, this is a furiously plotted, hilariously acted masterpiece the likes of which don't come along very often! I'd probably say that this is THE movie that best sums up the punkish, counter culture feel of the '80s horror film, complete with dumb teenagers, dumber employees, and even dumber cops and paramedics. For once the heavy metal soundtrack fits in beautifully with the proceedings and its one of those endlessly quotable films that you'll be sampling with your mates in years to come.The cast is uniformly excellent, with the most memorable performers giving over-the-top performances. Whether it be weird bug-eyed embalmer Ernie, as played by Don Calfa, or nude punk Linnea Quigley in the role that rocketed her to scream queen fame, this is a film with some great and surprising turns. Clu Gulager keeps a recommendable straight face throughout in the serious leading role, whilst ghoulish over-the-top antics are provided by the inimitable teaming of Thom Mathews and James Karen. The special effects remain impressive and enjoyable and some are very well achieved – particularly the half-corpse on the operating table.The movie never lets up from the word go, with an excellent pre-credits opening, some great twists and successions as the initial accident turns into a major catastrophe, and the eventual chaos and destruction raining down on the lives of everyone involved. I loved the little things like the butterflies pinned on the board springing to life, or the split dogs. Most of the best laughs come from hilarious encounters with the living dead, whether it be the sawing up of the initial lively cadaver or the tar-man getting his comeuppance at the climax of the movie. Yet the film is also pretty gruesome and frightening with a zombie attack to rival those in Romero's films, on which this is obviously based. Original, mean-spirited, and most of all utterly enjoyable, this is one of my favourite horror comedies which gets better as the years progress and cinema just keeps getting worse.

Aaron1375 Clu Gulager kicks butt as Burt and Linnea Quiqley heats things up! This zombie film kind of fuses two eras of horror together for a very fun zombie film and the only zombie series that I know of that really has zombies chomping on brains, yet the film had to have made an impact because a lot of people will say that zombies eat brains, when in most zombie films they simply eat people. How is this a merger you ask? Mainly in the way it was cast. In the 70's, a lot of horror films would feature a notable actor or two in a prominent role. They may of not been an A list star, but it was someone a person would recognize. In the 80's the casts became young stars who were usually not very recognizable. This movie features both sets and they kind of do their own thing until the middle of the film where the two groups meet and clash for the remainder of the film. The film also was one of three zombie films released during 1985 and I will say that this one had the best cast, I would say Day of the Dead had the best zombie effects and action and I would say Reanimator had a bit better visuals than Return and a better cast than Day. This one and Reanimator would feature humor, while Day is the bleak film of the trio. All three I find good and I have a hard time picking which one I do enjoy more.The story has a couple of guys in a medical warehouse where one of them is showing the new guy the ropes. While doing some paper work, Freddie (the new guy) asks Frank what is the strangest thing he had ever seen. Frank tells him of a story about how Night of the Living Dead was based on true events and proceeds to show him some tanks in the basement of the building that contain dead corpses. Unfortunately, the young guy then asks if the canisters could leak, which the older gent then says, "No way" before hitting the canister and it proceeds to shoot out its contents. This fog envelopes the warehouse and revives some of the dead objects within including butterflies, split dogs and a cadaver! The two men lose consciousness before reviving and calling the owner of the warehouse and after a few humorous incidents, they take the reanimated objects to Ernie, the local mortician to burn the items which sends fumes into the air and revive the dead! Caught up in all this is Freddie's girlfriend and I am going to guess his friends as she sticks out like a sore thumb. Soon the two groups meet up and must try to work together to try and survive the zombie onslaught! The film starts out with a lot of comedy in it, but as it goes on it becomes a bit darker and soon nearly all the humor is gone. The sequel to this film would keep the humor all the way through it and it was pretty much less of a sequel and more of a spoof of this film. The cast in that one was not as good either as sure James Karen would return as would Thom Matthews in what is essentially same roles, but the one who made this one great was Clu Gulagar. Linnea was good too, but mainly for that one dance sequence in the cemetery and for still having a great bod even as a zombie. Though I still say the female zombie from Junk was the hottest zombie as she still had a cute face too.This is a favorite of mine and memorable as I actually saw this film at the theater when it came out. My parents and I actually saw a trailer for this one while watching the low budget, but still good, zombie film, Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things. It almost looked like it had the same premise, but this one turned out vastly different. I still remember my mother attempting to cover my eyes during Linnea's dance. The tone is a bit uneven as it does start out in a more humorous way and it does get rather dark towards the end, but overall it was a very fun zombie film. The zombies looked good in this one at times with the tar man being the highlight as well as the blond one that they talked too, but a lot of the zombies in this one you could tell were just people smeared with mud. That is okay, as with this one it is not the zombies as much as the cast and their reactions that make this one.

Fella_shibby Its directed by Dan O bannon ( writer of Alien n co writer of Total Recall ). The movie may sound silly and simple, but its a masterpiece with no slow parts. This movie is a perfect mix of Horror and Comedy. Its scary, its funny, its got a great punk soundtrack, and it has  Linnea Quigleys unforgettable nude scene that launched her career. The zombies are smart. They are fast. They talk. Clu Gulager may be the most interesting B-movie actor of all time. He was seen recently in Feast trilogy. It has James Karen (poltergeist n recently in superman returns n pursuit of happiness). He was nominated for a Saturn Award for his role in The Return of the Living Dead in 1985. The action is relentless with full on gore, and the grand finale is simply beautiful. This film re-invents the living dead, giving them even more life. Saw this on a rented VHS in the mid 80s. Its just a shame the sequels were not up to its standard. It spawned four sequels. I saw all of em. But the first is da best. The plot is interesting, it has great special effects and the soundtrack is perfect for this kind of flick.

Michael_Elliott The Return of the Living Dead (1985) *** 1/2 (out of 4) A couple warehouse workers accidentally free some chemical gas, which eventually leaks into the ground and brings the dead back to life and seeking brains to eat. A group of punk rockers who are partying in the cemetery come under attack.THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD is a rather incredible little gem that has a fine line to walk as it wants to go for mainly laughs but also some gory violence. Writer-director Dan O'Bannon had already put his name on the horror genre thanks to films like ALIEN but here he went to a whole new level and really delivered one of the most memorable and entertaining horror films of the decade. When you think about this picture, really, everything should have gone wrong but somehow everything ended up going right and you're left with something extremely fun and rather special.I think the greatest thing about this movie is the screenplay by O'Bannon and the performances that the cast are able to bring. The movie is just so cleverly written and all the characters are so much fun that you can't help but cheer them through their situations, have fun with them and root for them to survive. James Karen and Thom Matthews are simply great together and their comic timing off of one another is terrific. Clu Gulager perfectly brings a more serious tone to the picture with Don Calfa wonderfully zany. Then you've got the cast playing the punk rockers and they too are simply great in their roles. Plus, you've got Linnea Quigley doing her nude tombstone dance and who doesn't love hot women doing nude dances on tombstones? The zombies in the film are pretty simple, although they have a couple excellent ones that stand of. There's the memorable half woman and of course Tarman who easily steals the picture. There's so much comedy throughout the film but it never becomes a spoof of the genre. I think that's what makes the film work so well is that the comedy comes from the drama and terror of the situation. The comedy isn't in your face or over-the-top but instead it just human nature that funny stuff can be brought out of horror. THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD is a true gem of the genre and while there have been many imitators, none of captured its magic.