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The Return Of The Living Dead

Consensus:

average rating is 4.5 out of 5, based on 2 votes, ratings

My Rating:

average rating is 3 out of 5

Viewing Options In United States

The Return Of The Living Dead

1985

Dan O'Bannon

Zombies, Sequel, Must-See, Scary, Comedy

So this is where things get weird; this film is a sequel to Romero's 'Night Of The Living Dead' (1968) but it is not directed by Romero or part of his franchise which was still putting out films, so think of this film and it's sequels as a spin-off franchise.
Oddly enough, Romero's next sequel 'Day Of The Dead' (1985) ended up being released at the same time and the two films had a court battle as they had been promised this wouldn't happen; Romero's film was crushed at the box office by this rival Zombie flick.
This film is very 80's, the punk rock direction they went with the film is a really cool story; punks were a huge cultural phenomenon in the 80's and 90's, they embraced counter culture, sex and drugs, queerness, and often formed gangs to fight rival Neo-Nazis gangs which were also prevalent in this era.
The costumes and sets are great, the punk soundtrack is excellent, but the star here is the special effects which are so 80's and so good except for a dud here or there, we think it is a must-see film.
There is a lot of nudity in this film, actor Linnea Quigley spends half the film naked.
The zombies in this film are able to talk, which was a first, especially them saying "brains", which became a new mainstay of zombies in future films and tv series.
We recommend you watch the two sequels to this sequel.
Features Clu Gulager, James Karen, Don Calfa, Beverly Randolph, John Philbin, Miguel A. Núñez Jr., Jewel Shepard, Brian Peck, Mark Venturini, Linnea Quigley, and others.

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