Plot
When a bumbling pair of employees at a medical supply warehouse accidentally release a deadly gas into the air...
Release Year: 1985
Rating: 7.2/10 (19,755 voted)
Director:
Dan O'Bannon
Stars: Clu Gulager, James Karen, Don Calfa
Storyline When a bumbling pair of employees at a medical supply warehouse accidentally release a deadly gas into the air, the vapors cause the dead to re-animate as they go on a rampage through Louisville, Kentucky seeking their favorite food, brains.
Writers: Dan O'Bannon, Rudy Ricci
Cast: Clu Gulager
-
Burt
James Karen
-
Frank
Don Calfa
-
Ernie
Thom Mathews
-
Freddy
Beverly Randolph
-
Tina
John Philbin
-
Chuck
Jewel Shepard
-
Casey
Miguel A. Núñez Jr.
-
Spider
(as Miguel Nunez)
Brian Peck
-
Scuz
Linnea Quigley
-
Trash
Mark Venturini
-
Suicide
Jonathan Terry
-
Colonel Glover
Cathleen Cordell
-
Colonel's Wife
Drew Deighan
-
Paramedic #1
James Dalesandro
-
Paramedic #2
Taglines:
They're Back From The Grave and Ready To Party!
Opening Weekend: $4,403,000
(USA)
(18 August 1985)
(1506 Screens)
Gross: $14,237,000
(USA)
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Did You Know?
Trivia: William Stout was the production designer and had a cameo as a homeless man sitting on a sidewalk as the group of punk teens walks by. One actor improvised tossing him a dime as he walked past.
Goofs:
Revealing mistakes:
When Frank is going to cremate himself, he turns up the fire in the crematorium, and then climbs on the slate. He then pushes the slate inside the crematorium. He does not scream in pain from the burning flames which have been burning him for more than a few seconds, and he even hesitates slightly before reaching outside the door to press the button to lower it.
Quotes: Burt Wilson:
Put that gun away, Ernie! Before you shoot somebody!
User Review
Rabid Weasels?
Rating: 10/10
This is one of those very rare films that combines good black humor with
bloody, messy gore and does it perfectly. Where `Children Shouldn't Play
With Dead Things' fails miserably, `Return of the Living Dead' succeeds
triumphantly. It takes a tired plot (zombies eat teenagers) and makes it
new again. The teenagers here are not faceless, stupid, oversexed victims
at all. They are misfits and outsiders, the kind of kids who probably go to
horror movies every day and make fun of the faceless, stupid, oversexed
victims who populated the majority of the slasher films made in the 1980s.
The nihilistic punk rock teens can identify with the zombies, and even
though it is their ultimate fate to be consumed by them, you like them, you
want them to survive and you're sorry to see them go even though the zombies
are every bit as cool.
Long before `28 Days Later' appeared, `Return of the Living Dead' presented
us with FAST zombies, zombies who could run, jump and work together like a
football team, tackling people and making it a group effort to tear their
victims apart. There are very few slow, shuffling monsters here; these are
zombies to contend with. They talk, they think, they problem solve. Who
could ever forget the Tar Man (my personal favorite) rigging up a device to
tear down the metal closet doors, behind which our heroine has locked
herself?
The adult characters in this film are no less interesting than the
teenagers. James Karen is absolutely hysterical in his role as a medical
warehouse manager, whose bumbling irresponsibility leads to the zombies
being unleashed. Clu Gulager is a stressed out corporate jerk who will do
anything to save the name and reputation of the warehouse he owns. And Don
Calfa is excellent as the slightly shady mortician who may or may not be an
ex-Nazi. The mismatched cast really comes together and forms a bond here,
fighting back and growing more desperate as the zombies grow stronger. This
film never lets up, not for one minute. There are no long explanation
scenes, no boring set-up, just in-your-face excitement from the very first
scene. It is the perfect homage to the Romero films; there is no happy
ending here, only an ironic twist which will make even the most cynical
doomsayer grin. This film is already a cult classic and deserves its
status. It's as close to flawless as you can get.
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