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13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Rigor Mortis: How does it feel to be dead, or why this is the best Horror B-Movie of the 80's, March 17, 2008
"Did you see that movie, Night of the Living dead?" Practical Joker middle-aged Frank (Jim Karen) takes the first shot as he trains teenage clueless freddy (Tom Matthews) in a medical supply warehouse. Why? Simply because Frank claims "that" movie was based on real events: An incident in a military base involving a nerve-gas chemical so powerful, it can turn corpses into brain thirsty monsters. And several cannisters of that chemical are hidden in the basement, lost in a delivery confusion. Of course Frank had to show freddy the cannisters and the expected accident happens: The chemical is released, Frank and Freddy inhale it and get knocked-down, while one the most original, outrageous, hysterical, creepy and funny versions of the zombie apocalypse is unleashed: "The Return of the living dead", a bloody title posted in the most gruesome possible way thanks to the melting face of one of the most infamous zombie characters ever conceived, "The Tar-man". Let the angry corpse catastrophe begins, as the medical specimens of the warehouse, included the frozen human corpse in the freezer room, half-dogs and nailed insects come to life in one of the most disturbing but funny nightmares ever filmed.
Ignored by critics and considered just another horror B-Movie popcorn flick, a Romero's satyrical teenage film, garbage as well as the tons of cheap horrors movies saturating the 80's industry, this movie is one of the most funny, entertaining and important Zombie films released in the 80's. Dan O'Bannon directed in 1985 this teen, punk rock soundtrack horror epic that became a legend among horror fans worldwide. Not a masterpiece obviously, and the differences with the Romero zombie mythology are hughe, so let's disect this movie with the help of Romero and find out why this movie is so different and awesome.
- ZOMBIE CULTURE: Forget Zombies, those slow-motion and staring ghouls wondering around without direction, more actual dizzy, pale people. Romero teached us: This is creepy because they are us. Now in 1985, Enter the rotten CORPSES, out of the grave, hungry and angry predators. Compared to these ravenous, frenetic and carnivorous human-remains, Romero's zombies are almost polite, even shy. They can also speak and they scream in pain out of nasty hunger, they run, they eat brains instead of flesh, they are gory monsters, not "us" anymore. And what about the renegade body parts, or the Tar-man, THE zombie of all times: Hear him breathe through his rotten-to-fluid lungs! Creepy! Lucio Fulci's or Mario Bava's rotten corpses? Sand of another bag. This is Comedy after all.
-THE RIGOR MORTIS: By far the most important point: Why reanimated corpses eat brain? How does it feel to be dead? How does the so well described Rigor Mortis functions in order to create a thrilling experience on the viewer, based on Frank and Freddy's "descent to hell of the undead" experience? The sickness, the numbness, the pain. This movie is all about PAIN, the pain of the living dead, not the victims. For the first time in such a goffy, horrific and entertaining way. With Romero, get bitten and after an hour you die and become a ghoul. The transformation in this film is original and agonizing, detailed, long and psychologically tense, devastating.
-PUNK ROCK AND GRAVEYARDS: Silly drunken Teenage punk rockers, why do you love to party in graveyards? Don't you know you will get your brains eaten? Who's fault is that, that we love so much the slaughter of the young in horror movies? Sadism meets a limit here: the teens are clever enough to react fast and with efficiency. Some of the characters are silly but not forgetable as the usual B-horror flick moron teen. They deserve to live, we cheer for them, not against. Cops? They die well. Military? Were are they and who cares. Great action, tension, dense humor and macabre situations. Run just to get trapped. Amazing electrifying action.
Those three points were the most important i can think of right now. A genre defining movie came out this B-movie Popcorn flick. A must see for horror fans, and HEY! New fans of this relentless and commercial new horror industry of re-makes, extreme mutants slashers and torture: CHECK THIS OUT! FUN, FUN, FUN. Cheesy, humurous, gruesome imagery. A real self-aware zombie movie, a total classic.
Last Thing for my fellow horror friends: Who cares about what Zombies "Should" do according to father Romero, as long as we're falling from the edge of our seats!
Think about it. My respects for the father, who i never worshiped fortunately, and for you.
Enjoy this incredibly relentless movie in the best DVD edition available, this one: Look at the box, the extra material. I own the previos MGM release and they are pretty much the same, but for first timers, here's your edition! A must have, definetly.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
My favorite zombie film, with one minor complaint..., September 13, 2007
I'll get the complaint out of the way first... THE EDITED SOUNDTRACK! I know it seems minor, and compared to what Warner Bros. did to Part II, it's miniscule, but I'm still kind of irked that MGM can't seem to correct the soundtrack from their original DVD release. This IS, after all, one of my favorite movie soundtracks ever. It only happens in three scenes, and two of them are just shortened. The only one that's actually replaced is 'The Damned' - 'Dead Beat Dance', that originally played in the scene when the group is going to pick up Freddy... Why they edited and replaced some songs, I have no idea. Possibly something to do with the rights. So I'm glad 'Return of the Living Dead' was one of the few VHS's I didn't sell... Wish I could say the same about Part II. Although the sequel is nowhere NEAR as clever or horrifying...
SPOILERS
Still, the movie remains the classic it was in '84. I'll give a brief plot synopsis. Freddy is being given the rundown on life in the MEDICAL SUPPLY WAREHOUSE business (the back of the package says it's an Army surplus store) by his boss, Frank. The two unwittingly unleash a toxic chemical developed by the Army that causes the dead to become reanimated. On their way to pick up Freddy from his first day on the job, his punk-rock friends decide to stop off in the loacal cemetary and the horror ensues, especially when our would-be victims discover that these zombies are a little harder to kill then the ones George Romero cooked up in his classic 'Night of the Living Dead', of which this might be considered a very loose spin-off... Along with some GREAT tombstone action from Linnea Quigley, there's also a fair deal of humor along the way, but I gotta admit... This movie still gives me chills. Far more so than any other zombie movies, with the exception of Romero's films. The zombie interrogation scene, where the zombie explains that it hurts to be dead, and you can feel yourself rot... I mean, just the IDEA of that STILL creeps me out. Although the reaction to this from Spider always gets a laugh out of me. Also, the ending is pretty chilling. The Army's "plan" is classic, and in a way, coldly realistic.
The cast and characters are excellent. Everybody in the film hands in a memorable performance. I really love Clu Gulager in this. I mean, his portrayal of the average middle-aged joe, with that old members-only jacket and everything (Did anyone else's dad used to wear that? Besides Al Bundy, I mean...), suddenly cast into this incredible situation is a sight to behold. I think the rest of the cast is just as great, but he makes this working-class guy so memorable.
The picture and audio of the DVD and all that stuff is perfect. I already had the other DVD, but I got this one hoping the soundtrack would be corrected, but I gotta say the two featurettes more than justified it. I'm glad they were able to get interviews with so many of the cast members. Anyway, I first saw the film probably about fifteen years ago, I've seen it numerous times since then, and it's still one of the funnest horror flicks I've ever seen. Definately in my top 5.
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28 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Finally a collectors edition, but whats included?, August 23, 2007
Return of the Living Dead finally gets a Collectors Edition release on September 11th 2007 but whats included?
Here is what you will get with the special collector's edition: (Yes WIDESCREEN is included)
- Cast, crew and undead commentary
- "Remembering The Dead: Cast Recollections" featurette
- "From The Underground: The Rise of Horror in the 80s" featurette
- Zombie subtitle stream
Also:
- Run Time: 114 minutes (Could this contain the previously unreleased workprint material?)
- Rating: R
- Audio: Dolby Stereo 2.0 / Spanish Mono / French Stereo
- Screen Format: Widescreen
- Subtitles: English / Spanish
- CC: Yes
Braaaaaaaaaaaaaaaains!
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