Post by slayrrr666 on Oct 28, 2008 10:06:59 GMT -5
“Return of the Living Dead” is one of the better zombie movies ever made.
**SPOILERS**
While working in a top secret medical supply center, Frank (James Karen) and Freddy (Thom Matthews) happen upon a container carrying a chemical called trioxin, which raises the dead. They accidentally release the chemical, causing the cadavers to come to life. Their boss Burt (Clu Gulager) suggest they take the body to the cemetery across the street, where a group of punks are having a party until Freddy gets off work. As the body is being cremated, the gases are released and bring the dead bodies to life in the cemetery. The zombies upset the party by the punks, infecting the leader, Scuz (Brian Peck). Trash (Linnea Quigley) and Chuck (John Philbin) are soon infected. Tina, (Beverly Randolph) Freddy's girlfriend, Spider, (Miguel A. Nunez Jr.) and Suicide (Mark Venturini) are soon the only one's left. Finding their way to the mortuary, they struggle to figure out how the zombies were created and how to stop them.
The Good News: To me, this is one of the better zombie movies for one main reason: some of the creepiest zombies this side of Italy. Italy has always had really creepy zombies: films like "Zombie 2," "City of the Living Dead," and "Burial Ground" are some of the best examples of creepy Italian zombies, but here we also get some really spooky ones. Here, we get one really creepy zombie covered in rotting black goo dripping off his skin and his eye holes rotted out, leaving his eyes completely clear in the skull. With body movements resembling his body falling apart, it adds a lot to the zombies' overall creepiness. There are also a few zombies that emerge as skeletons, so that also adds greatly to the theme. We also get a lot of gore in the movie. We get a lot of head biting, including one that sprays blood all over the place from the wound on his head. There are several bloody blows to the head, a pickax lopping off body parts, and skin chomping. There is an equal amount of violence committed to the dead and the undead in here. There is also two really great scenes in here that I have to comment on. The zombies call for the ambulance to arrive and ambush them in a giant mass that is simply seen to be believed. The swarm that appears is a massive one that most zombie films haven't capitalized on. The second great scene is an ambush on police officers who arrive in squad cars and emerge from the jungles right next to them. It was a great new and original idea. Both were cool scenes in a good movie. Another great quality is seeing how much nudity Linnea Quigley has in the movie. She has full nudity for about a good five minutes in the film. Considering that it is only an hour and a half long, that is a lot amount of nudity for one person in a non-porno film.
The Bad News: One of the many negative things people have said about this film is that the comedy weakened the overall terror in the screenplay. Unfortunately, there is no comedy in here. I don't find zombies screaming "Brains!" particularly funny at all, and there weren't any real so-called jokes in here either. No one was really a smart aleck and provided any really good quips or observational humor. The sequels are far funnier, however this one is the one that is played like a horror film. It is still very tongue-in-cheek, and some people may find certain parts hilarious, but don't expect tons of jokes or sight gags like the two sequels.
The Final Verdict: It may be the scariest entry of the franchise, but it is certainly very enjoyable way to spend an hour and a half. Some humorous parts depend on the viewers' tastes, so keep an open mind, it may be a little more enjoyable than some might think. Zombie fans will definitely want to check this one out.
Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, and Full Nudity