The Return of the Living Dead

Last updated

The Return of the Living Dead
The Return of the Living Dead (film).jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Dan O'Bannon
Screenplay byDan O'Bannon
Story by
Produced byTom Fox
Starring
CinematographyJules Brenner [1]
Edited byRobert Gordon [1]
Music byMatt Clifford [1]
Production
companies
Distributed by Orion Pictures
Release date
  • August 16, 1985 (1985-08-16)
Running time
91 minutes [2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$3-4 million
Box office$14.2 million

The Return of the Living Dead is a 1985 American comedy horror film written and directed by Dan O'Bannon (in his directorial debut) from a story by Rudy Ricci, John Russo, and Russell Streiner, and starring Clu Gulager, James Karen, Thom Matthews, and Don Calfa. The film tells the story of how a warehouse owner, accompanied by his two employees, mortician friend and a group of teenage punks, deal with the accidental release of a horde of unkillable, brain-hungry zombies onto an unsuspecting town. [1] [3] [4]

Contents

The film, described as a "mordant punk comedy," [1] is known for introducing multiple popular concepts to the zombie genre: zombies eating specifically brains, as opposed to eating any form of human flesh; and zombies being invulnerable to a gunshot to the head. [5] Additionially, the film's soundtrack was noteworthy, as it featured several Los Angeles-based deathrock and punk rock bands of the era.

The Return of the Living Dead released in the United States on August 16, 1985, by Orion Pictures. The film was a critical success and performed moderately well at the box office. It spawned four sequels.

Plot

On July 3, 1984, at the Uneeda medical supply warehouse, foreman Frank tries to impress new employee Freddy by showing him military drums of a toxic gas called Trioxin. The drums wound up in the basement of the building, due to a delivery error years before. While hitting the side of a drum to prove it is secure, Frank accidentally unleashes the toxic gas, which seemingly melts the cadaver inside and reanimates another cadaver stored in a meat locker. Joined by their boss Burt, the three try to kill the reanimated corpse by puncturing the brain (which does not work), then dismembering the body. They discover that every part of the zombie's body can survive independently. Burt has the zombie incinerated at a nearby mortuary by his friend Ernie, but this inadvertently causes the deadly gas to contaminate the air, creating a toxic rainfall that reanimates the corpses in the nearby cemetery.

Meanwhile, Freddy's girlfriend Tina and his friends Spider, Trash, Chuck, Casey, Scuz and Suicide arrive at the cemetery to wait for Freddy to finish work. While Trash starts stripping and dancing on a gravestone, Tina goes to the warehouse and wanders into the basement, where she encounters the reanimated but horribly disfigured cadaver from the barrel that was assumed to have dissolved. The rest of the group arrives shortly after and saves her in the nick of time, although Suicide is killed. After Casey realizes she saw Freddy entering the mortuary, the group attempts to reach him through the cemetery, where they are attacked by the re-emerging zombies. Trash is killed and Chuck and Casey flee back to the warehouse, but Spider, Tina, and Scuz reach the mortuary. The three discover Frank and Freddy growing ill from their exposure to the gas and call for paramedics, who say their tests indicate the men are no longer alive even though they are conscious. Trash, her body submerged in the chemical-laden mud, rises from it transformed into a zombie and begins to hunt and feed. When Burt and Ernie learn of the dead rising from their graves, they barricade the mortuary. Scuz is killed while protecting the barricade and the zombies eat the paramedics and police who arrive on the scene. The group manages to grab the upper half of one of the zombies and restrain her on the mortuary table. She explains that the reanimated corpses can feel themselves rotting, and eating the brains of the living helps relieve the pain of being dead.

With Frank and Freddy showing signs of becoming zombies themselves, Burt has them locked in the chapel, accompanied by Tina when she refuses to abandon Freddy. Freddy soon attempts to eat Tina, prompting Burt, Ernie, and Spider to rescue her by reopening the chapel and blinding Freddy with a strong acid. Frank manages to escape during the chaos and, still having control over his mind, commits suicide by climbing into the cremator. Burt and Spider flee the mortuary in a police car, but the large number of zombie forces, now led by Trash, force Burt to leave Ernie and Tina behind. Ernie and Tina hide in the mortuary's attic, while a blinded Freddy attempts to break in.

Burt and Spider manage to get back inside the warehouse where they find Casey and Chuck. After incapacitating the basement zombie, whom Spider names "Tarman," Burt attempts to contact the police but learns they are massacred by the zombies after being overrun. Burt then decides to call the number on the military drums, which reaches military officer Colonel Glover. Notified that the zombies have taken over the area, Glover has the town destroyed by nuclear artillery on the morning of July 4, effectively killing Burt and the other survivors.

In the wake of the nuclear strike on Louisville, Colonel Glover is heard telling his commanding officer that everything went as planned and that the results could not be more positive. Only a small area was destroyed, he says, and casualties are limited. As he speaks, the toxic rain falls once more, and zombies are heard screaming in their graves, indicating that the invasion is about to begin again.

Cast

Production

Concept

The Return of the Living Dead has its roots in a novel by John Russo, simply titled Return of the Living Dead, which served as a follow-up to Night of the Living Dead (1968) which Russo co-scribed with George A. Romero. [7] When Russo and Romero parted ways after Night of the Living Dead, Russo retained the rights to any titles featuring Living Dead while Romero was free to create his own series of sequels, beginning with Dawn of the Dead (1978). [7] Russo and producer Tom Fox planned to bring Return of the Living Dead to the screen in 3D and directed by Tobe Hooper. [7]

I spent 37 years of my life not even being alive. Now I'm fulfilled.

Dan O'Bannon, on marking his directorial-debut. [6]

When Hemdale Film Corporation experienced difficulty raising funds for the movie and delayed the start of production, Hooper backed out to make Lifeforce (1985). [8] Lifeforce co-screenwriter Dan O'Bannon was then brought in to give the early script a polish and was offered the director's seat, becoming his "first big film". [7] [6] He accepted on the condition he could rewrite the film radically so as to differentiate it from Romero's films. [7] [8] The film was the first production design credit for William Stout. [6] The appearance of the zombies in the film was inspired by the mummies of Guanajuato, Mexico and the Bog People of Wales, as well as artwork from EC Comics. [6]

The story's featured "2-4-5 Trioxin" chemical developed by the "Darrow Chemical Company" for the military was a play on the real-life Dow Chemical Company and its involvement in the 1960s with the manufacture of Agent Orange, scientifically known by the name "2,4,5-T Dioxin" and used in the US Military's Operation Ranch Hand and on Canada's CFB Gagetown Canadian Forces Base in rural New Brunswick during the Vietnam War as a powerful defoliant. Return of the Living Dead makes up a lighter purpose for the chemical's usage, with character Frank suggesting that it was being sprayed on cannabis crops in the 1960s. [9]

Filming

Although the movie is set in Louisville, Kentucky, it was filmed in Burbank, Sylmar, and Downtown Los Angeles in California. [6] The "Tarman" zombie is performed by actor and puppeteer Allan Trautman. [7]

Release

The Return of the Living Dead was initially set to open in Los Angeles and New York in September 1985 before gradually expanding through October, but following positive test screenings, Orion Pictures became confident enough to give it a wide release on August 16. [8]

Reception

The Return of the Living Dead was a critical and a moderate box office success, grossing approximately $14,237,000 domestically on an estimated budget of about $4 million. [6] [8] [10]

The film holds a 91% approval rating on the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, with a rating average of 7.2/10 based on 43 reviews. Its consensus reads: "A punk take on the zombie genre, Return of the Living Dead injects a healthy dose of '80s silliness to the flesh consuming." [11] It was also nominated for four Saturn Awards, including Best Horror Film, Best Actor for James Karen, Best Director and Best Make-up, by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. [12]

Roger Ebert gave the film three out of four stars, writing that the film is "kind of a sensation-machine, made out of the usual ingredients, and the real question is whether it's done with style. It is." [13] Stephen Holden of The New York Times called the film a "mordant punk comedy," and stated that it "is by no means the ultimate horror movie it aspires to be." [14]

Colin Greenland reviewed The Return of the Living Dead for White Dwarf , and stated that "The movie sprawls shapelessly but comfortably, with plenty of gruesome jokes." [15]

Soundtrack

  1. "Surfin' Dead" by The Cramps
  2. "Partytime (Zombie Version)" by 45 Grave
  3. "Nothin' for You" by T.S.O.L.
  4. "Eyes Without a Face" by The Flesh Eaters
  5. "Burn the Flames" by Roky Erickson
  6. "Dead Beat Dance" by The Damned
  7. "Take a Walk" by Tall Boys
  8. "Love Under Will" by Jet Black Berries
  9. "Tonight (We'll Make Love Until We Die)" by SSQ
  10. "Trash's Theme" by SSQ
  11. "Young, Fast Iranians" by The F.U.’s: 1991 Hemdale version and subsequent DVD and Blu-ray Releases, though not on official soundtrack album.
  12. "Partytime (Single Version)" by 45 Grave: Version actually used in the film, though not on official soundtrack album.
  13. "Panzer Rollen in Afrika vor" by Norbert Schultze: Song playing on Ernie's walkman, though not on official soundtrack album.

Home video

The film was originally released on DVD in the U.K. by Tartan Home Video on March 19, 2001. [14] Up until 2012, this was the only time it had been issued in its original form. In early 2002, a fan-led online campaign was started, which attracted the attention of the director and many of the cast and crew. Several of them commented online that the popular and robust efforts of campaign organizer, Michael Allred, were the direct result of not only the DVD release but that MGM created new supplements due to overwhelming fan support.

On August 27, 2002, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the owner of Orion Pictures, released a Special Edition DVD in the U.S. with a new cut of the movie (with music alterations due to copyright issues) with a commentary by O'Bannon and a documentary on the making of the film. The cover of the DVD case for the 2002 release glows in the dark. On September 11, 2007, a Collector's Edition of the film was released with additional extra features involving the cast. The different home video releases have featured different soundtracks, often changing the songs used. Also, the basement zombie's ("Tar-Man") voice was altered. Originally, the zombie had a higher, raspier voice that can still be heard in theatrical trailers and releases that contain the original audio.

A 25th anniversary edition was released on September 14, 2010, exclusively for Blu-ray Disc. The Blu-ray Disc version is a 2-disc combo pack with both a Blu-ray Disc and DVD. This release was very similar to the MGM/Fox print from three years earlier.

On June 4, 2012, Second Sight Films in the U.K. released DVD and Blu-ray Disc versions of the film where the original audio and soundtrack in its original form can be selected, the first time since 2001 a release has had this option. The release had its first insight into the movie with the inclusion on a booklet (claimed to be based on Ernie's notes from the events of the film) which was edited from Gary Smart and Christian Seller's publication The Complete History of The Return of the Living Dead. [16]

Scream Factory released a 30th anniversary Collector's Edition Blu-Ray on July 19, 2016. [17] It contains a new 2K scan of the interpositive, along with including the original mono audio. Though note while everything else was restored (the original "Tar-Man" voice and the other songs), the song "Dead Beat Dance" by The Damned could not be restored. [18] MGM also released another edition with hand-drawn cover art.

On October 18, 2022, Scream Factory released a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release featuring a "2022 4K scan of the original camera negative" and all the content from the previous 2016 Blu-ray release. [19]

Related Research Articles

<i>Night of the Living Dead</i> 1968 American horror film

Night of the Living Dead is a 1968 American independent horror film directed, photographed, and edited by George A. Romero, written by Romero and John Russo, produced by Russell Streiner and Karl Hardman, and starring Duane Jones and Judith O'Dea. The story follows seven people trapped in a farmhouse in rural Pennsylvania, under assault by reanimated corpses. Although the flesh-eating monsters that appear in the film are referred to as "ghouls", they are credited with popularizing the modern portrayal of zombies in popular culture.

<i>Dawn of the Dead</i> (1978 film) 1978 zombie horror film by George A. Romero

Dawn of the Dead  is a 1978 zombie horror film written, directed, and edited by George A. Romero, and produced by Richard P. Rubinstein. An American-Italian international co-production, it is the second film in Romero's series of zombie films, and though it contains no characters or settings from the preceding film Night of the Living Dead (1968), it shows the larger-scale effects of a zombie apocalypse on society. In the film, a phenomenon of unidentified origin has caused the reanimation of the dead, who prey on human flesh. David Emge, Ken Foree, Scott Reiniger, and Gaylen Ross star as survivors of the outbreak who barricade themselves inside a suburban shopping mall amid mass hysteria.

Return of the Living Dead is a zombie comedy film series that consists of five films beginning with the 1985 film The Return of the Living Dead.

<i>Zombi 2</i> 1979 film directed by Lucio Fulci

Zombi 2 is a 1979 English-language Italian zombie film directed by Lucio Fulci. It was adapted from an original screenplay by Elisa Briganti and uncredited writer Dardano Sacchetti. The producers finalized the title as Zombi 2 to give the impression that it was a sequel to the unrelated American film Dawn of the Dead (1978), which was released in Italy under the title Zombi. It stars Tisa Farrow, Ian McCulloch, and Richard Johnson, and features a score by frequent Fulci collaborator Fabio Frizzi. Frizzi's score has been released independently of the film, and he has performed it live on tour.

<i>Night of the Living Dead</i> (1990 film) 1990 film by Tom Savini

Night of the Living Dead is a 1990 American horror film directed by Tom Savini and starring Tony Todd and Patricia Tallman. It is a remake of George A. Romero's 1968 film of the same title; Romero rewrote the original 1968 screenplay he had originally co-authored with John A. Russo.

Living Dead, also informally known as Of The Dead is a blanket term for the loosely connected horror franchise that originated from the 1968 film Night of the Living Dead. The film, written by George A. Romero and John A. Russo, primarily focuses on a group of people gathering at a farmhouse to survive from an onslaught of zombies in rural Pennsylvania. It is known to have inspired the modern interpretation of zombies as reanimated human corpses that feast on the flesh and/or brains of the living.

<i>Return of the Living Dead Part II</i> 1988 film directed by Ken Wiederhorn

Return of the Living Dead Part II is a 1988 American comedy horror film written and directed by Ken Wiederhorn, and starring Michael Kenworthy, Marsha Dietlein, Dana Ashbrook, Thom Mathews, James Karen, and Phil Bruns. It is the first of four sequels to The Return of the Living Dead.

<i>Night of the Living Dead 3D</i> 2006 American film

Night of the Living Dead 3D or Night of the Living DE3D is a 2006 horror film made in 3D. It is the second remake of the 1968 horror classic Night of the Living Dead. The first remake was released in 1990 and was directed by Tom Savini from a revised screenplay by George A. Romero. Unlike the first remake, no one involved with the original is involved with this version. The original film was never properly copyrighted, and so it has fallen into the public domain, making this remake possible with no permission from the original's creators.

<i>Burial Ground</i> (film) 1981 film

Burial Ground is an Italian grindhouse zombie movie directed by Andrea Bianchi. It is one of several films released under the alternative title of Zombie 3.

<i>Zombi 3</i> 1988 film directed by Lucio Fulci

Zombi 3 is a 1988 Italian horror film directed by Lucio Fulci and Bruno Mattei and starring Deran Sarafian, Beatrice Ring, and Ottaviano Dell'acqua. The film is an in-name-only sequel to Fulci's Zombi 2. The film is about a group of scientists at a top-secret research facility who are working on a biological weapon called Death One, which mutates and kills the living creatures and reanimates the dead. The weapon is leaked out of the facility, which leads to a spread of infection among soldiers and touring people in the area.

<i>Mortuary</i> (2005 film) 2005 American film

Mortuary is a 2005 American zombie horror film directed by Tobe Hooper. It stars Dan Byrd, Alexandra Adi and Denise Crosby. Mortuary was Tobe Hooper's last US-produced film before his death in 2017.

<i>Return of the Living Dead: Rave to the Grave</i> 2005 film by Ellory Elkayem

Return of the Living Dead: Rave to the Grave is a 2005 made-for-television action horror film directed by Ellory Elkayem and starring Aimee-Lynn Chadwick, Cory Hardrict, John Keefe, Jenny Mollen, and Peter Coyote.

<i>Diary of the Dead</i> 2007 American horror film by George A. Romero

Diary of the Dead is a 2007 found footage horror film written and directed by George A. Romero. Although independently produced, it was distributed theatrically by The Weinstein Company and was released in cinemas on February 15, 2008 and on DVD by Dimension Extreme and Genius Products on May 20, 2008.

<i>Dead & Buried</i> 1981 film by Gary Sherman

Dead & Buried is a 1981 American horror film directed by Gary Sherman, starring Melody Anderson, Jack Albertson, and James Farentino. It is Albertson's final live-action film role before his death six months after the film's release. The film focuses on a small town wherein a few tourists are murdered, but their corpses begin to reanimate. With a screenplay written by Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett, the film was initially banned as a "video nasty" in the U.K. in the early 1980s, but was later acquitted of obscenity charges and removed from the Director of Public Prosecutions' list.

<i>Horror Rises from the Tomb</i> 1973 Spanish film

Horror Rises from the Tomb, is a 1972 Spanish horror film starring Paul Naschy and directed by Carlos Aured. Leon Klimovsky was Naschy's first choice for director, but he was busy on another film so his assistant director Carlos Aured took the job. Naschy was mercilessly rushed into writing the screenplay for the producers in 36 hours, yet after the film was completed, it took more than a year to get it released in theaters. The film was shot in February 1972, and was only released in Spain and Mexico on April 27, 1973 as El espanto surge de la tumba. The film was released in Germany on October 4, 1974 as Blutmesse fur der Teufel/ Blood Mass for the Devil. They re-released the film in Germany on Sept. 2, 1980 as Blood Mass of the Zombies in an attempt to cash in on George Romero's hit film Dawn of the Dead. In France, the film was retitled L'amour parmi les monstres.

<i>A Virgin Among the Living Dead</i> 1973 film

A Virgin Among the Living Dead is a 1973 European erotic horror film directed by Jesús Franco. Franco shot the film in 1971, but it was only released in 1973 after some additional erotic footage was added to the film without Franco's involvement. It was later re-cut with some extra zombie footage and redistributed to theaters again in 1981 as a zombie film. It has since been restored on DVD to Franco's original director's cut.

<i>Erotic Nights of the Living Dead</i> 1980 Italian film

Erotic Nights of the Living Dead is a 1980 Italian erotic horror film directed and written and directed by Joe D'Amato. It has received mixed to negative reviews. It was filmed in and around Santo Domingo.

Night of the Living Dead is a zombie horror media franchise created by George A. Romero beginning with the 1968 film Night of the Living Dead, directed by Romero and cowritten with John A. Russo. The franchise predominantly centers on different groups of people attempting to survive during the outbreak and evolution of a zombie apocalypse. The latest installment of the series, Survival of the Dead, was released in 2009, with a sequel, Twilight of the Dead, in development. This would be the first film in the series not directed by George Romero, who died on July 16, 2017.

Night of the Living Dead 3D: Re-Animation is a 2012 horror film prequel to the 2006 film, Night of the Living Dead 3D. It stars Andrew Divoff, who also served as co-producer, Jeffrey Combs, Sarah Lieving and Denice Duff.

<i>The Return of the Living Dead</i> (soundtrack) 1985 soundtrack album by Various artists

The Return of the Living Dead is the original soundtrack from the film of the same name, released in 1985 by Enigma Records. The film itself is a horror comedy film written and directed by Dan O'Bannon about a group of teenage punks dealing with a horde of brain-hungry zombies.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Holden, Stephen (August 16, 1985). "Screen: 'Return of the Living Dead'" . Movie Review. The New York Times . Archived from the original on April 19, 2016. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "The Return of the Living Dead (18)". British Board of Film Classification . September 3, 1985. Archived from the original on November 15, 2019. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  3. ↑ Macek III, J. C. (June 14, 2012). "The Zombification Family Tree: Legacy of the Living Dead". PopMatters . Archived from the original on July 3, 2017. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
  4. ↑ "6 Horror Movies That Are Unexpectedly Perfect for 4th of July Viewing". July 2, 2018. Archived from the original on October 10, 2020. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
  5. ↑ Pacheco, Shawn (August 16, 2020). "It's Party Time! Celebrating 35 Years of 'The Return of the Living Dead'". HorrorGeekLife. Archived from the original on January 14, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Strauss, Bob (December 1984). "On-the-Set Report: Return of the Living Dead". Fangoria. No. 40. New York City: O'Quinn Studios. pp. 34–37, 64 – via Internet Archive.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kane, Joe (2010). Night of the Living Dead: Behind the Scenes of the Most Terrifying Zombie Movie Ever . Citadel Press. pp.  147–150. ISBN   978-0806533315.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Biodrowski, Steve (October 1985). "The Return of the Living Dead". Cinemafantastique. Fourth Castle Micromedia. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  9. ↑ Posey, Aaron (October 14, 2017). "31 Days of Halloween: It's Party Time with 'Return of the Living Dead' (1985)". 1428elm.com. 1428elm. Archived from the original on August 19, 2021. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
  10. ↑ The Return of the Living Dead at Box Office Mojo
  11. ↑ "The Return of the Living Dead (1985)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on May 23, 2019. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  12. ↑ Awards for The Return of the Living Dead at IMDb OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  13. ↑ Ebert, Roger (August 19, 1985). "Return of the Living Dead". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on March 14, 2020. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  14. 1 2 Holden, Stephen (August 16, 1985). "Screen: 'Return of the Living Dead'". Movie Review. The New York Times . Archived from the original on April 19, 2016. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
  15. ↑ Greenland, Colin (March 1986). "2020 Vision". White Dwarf . Games Workshop (75): 7.
  16. ↑ "The Return of the Living Dead (Steelbook Bluray) :: DVD & Blu-ray Disc Film Catalogue". Second Sight Films. Archived from the original on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
  17. ↑ Roth, Dany (April 5, 2016). "More brains! Return of the Living Dead is finally getting the special edition it deserves". Syfy . Archived from the original on November 15, 2019. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
  18. ↑ "The Return of the Living Dead: Collector's Edition Blu-ray Review | High Def Digest". bluray.highdefdigest.com. Archived from the original on December 13, 2019. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
  19. ↑ "The Return Of The Living Dead [Collector's Edition]". Shout! Factory. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.