Movie #2 Return of the Living Dead (1985) Directed by Dan O'Bannon

This movie is an homage to the original 'Night of the Living Dead' directed by the screenwriter of 'Alien' and 'Total Recall' and is more of a dark comedy than a horror flick. The gist of the plot is: Some guys working in a medical warehouse accidentally release some sort of zombie gas and start an epidemic. Hilarity ensues.

Fear

While the tone is comedic, there were a few genuine frights in this film. They were mostly of the jump scare variety, with zombies ambushing folks and screaming "YAARGHH I'M GONNA EAT YOUR BRAINS!!" (This is the movie that started the trend of zombies having a hard on for brains). Also, the thought of not ever being able to die and being in constant pain is enough to fill anybody with chills. I give this a scare factor of 6.

Death

RotLD is packed to the brim with death, the undying and people with a morbid curiosity concerning the hereafter. The brain eating zombies may entertain you but there are a few moments in this movie that make me think very uncomfortable thoughts about what awaits me when I die. Will I rot in the ground with some sliver of consciousness until my putrefying grey matter ceases all together? Could be. So, enjoy the zombie dismemberment, clever corpse ambushes and bags of rabid weasels and think nothing of the existential horror this movies conceals. I give if a moribund 8.

Sex

This is the part where I'm going to talk about Linnea Quigley. A bunch. Linnea IS the sex in this movie, hands down. She plays Trash, a punk chick who loves morbid junk and being contrary. And full frontal nudity. Trash decides she wants to dance naked in the graveyard and forever immortalize herself in the wet dreams of young men who were lucky enough to have free reign in renting whatever they wanted at the video store at the tender age of 13. When her nude undulations cease due to a sudden torrential down pour, Trash is kind enough to cover herself in a jacket. She then spends the rest of her screen time running from zombies bottomless! You see it all, kiddies, and it's delightful. For that alone it gets a sexy 7.


Fun

God damn this movie is a lot of fun! The early dialogue between Frank and Freddy in the 'Uneeda Medical Supply' warehouse are priceless. You will end up really liking some of the characters and might find yourself quoting them years down the line. There are so many silly hidden jokes in this film you'll need to see it twice. Or three times. Even the zombies have one liners. The sound track is a blast too. I give this a great 8!

Quality

The casting is great, the script solid and funny. The special effects hold up to this day. The score really builds momentum. I give this movie a solid 7.

Monsters

Indestructible brain eating zombies capable of advanced thinking. The epitome of monsterhood. If they weren't so silly I'd give them a higher rating. They get an 8.

Conclusion

Overall we have a fun, fast paced movie that is very 80's (you like 80's, don't you?) and has zombies. What more could you ask for? Return gets a 7 out of 10.