X
- 1985
- R
- Orion Pictures
- 1 h 31 m
- 1985
- R
- Orion Pictures
- 1 h 31 m
Summary When two bumbling employees at a medical supply warehouse accidentally release a deadly gas into the air, the vapors cause the dead to rise again as zombies.
Directed By: Dan O'Bannon
Written By: Rudy Ricci, John A. Russo, Russell Streiner, Dan O'Bannon
- 1985
- R
- Orion Pictures
- 1 h 31 m
- 1985
- R
- Orion Pictures
- 1 h 31 m
The Return of the Living Dead
66
7.6
Where to Watch
Summary When two bumbling employees at a medical supply warehouse accidentally release a deadly gas into the air, the vapors cause the dead to rise again as zombies.
Directed By: Dan O'Bannon
Written By: Rudy Ricci, John A. Russo, Russell Streiner, Dan O'Bannon
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 12 Critic Reviews
66
75% Positive
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
25% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 12 Critic Reviews
66
75% Positive
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
25% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
The most commendable aspect of the The Return of the Living Dead is its ability to combine horror and comedy rather than allowing the different elements to become intermittent and the tone inconsistent.
The Return of the Living Dead, a parody of George A. Romero's unforgettably frightening Night of the Living Dead, is not for everybody, but it's one of the funniest films of its kind ever made. [16 Aug 1985]
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 41 User Ratings
7.6
73% Positive
30 Ratings
30 Ratings
24% Mixed
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
2% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 41 User Ratings
7.6
73% Positive
30 Ratings
30 Ratings
24% Mixed
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
2% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
Great flick, watch it!!! It’s a story that has been told many times but this one is different. This movie has nudity, gore, and party vibes. 80’s gold man for real. Too many movies now a days are not as real as this. The rain is gonna happen, the killer rain man! Idk how to tell people but go dig a hole and hide. Buy a sword and hide with your dogs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Simply stated: one of the most successful horror-comedies of all time.
Why? Because it's very funny and genuinely scary, AT THE SAME TIME; it doesn’t simply alternate between the two like they’re mutually exclusive. Even its flaws seem utterly charming compared to most attempts at this melding of genres, and the dialogue remains eminently quotable.
Not quite a flawless "masterpiece", perhaps, but a sentimental favourite that has aged remarkably well just the same.
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Suffice to say, this small offering from the horror genre is a hoot to watch, with never a dull moment.
Any film which features a dead, bald and very hungry punk lurching towards the camera screaming 'More Brains!' gets my vote.
One problem is that the action in the film is restricted to a few basic locations; the medical supply house, a nearby cemetery and an adjoining mortuary. Romero made highly productive use of confinement. O'Bannon does not, but he does earn points with inventive gall, and there are enough lunatic thrills along the way to leave one with the giddy sensation of having been alternately scared silly and tickled even sillier. [19 Aug 1985, p.D1]
Director Dan O’Bannon deserves considerable credit for creating a terrifically funny first half-hour of exposition, something in which he is greatly aided by the goofball performance of James Karen as a medical supply know-it-all.
Though certainly not for the squeamish, the film is by no means the ultimate horror movie it aspires to be. The volume of stagy gore quickly reaches a point of diminishing returns. And rather than trying to sustain a mood of grim suspense, the writer-director Dan O'Bannon has conceived this cinematic cousin of Night of the Living Dead as a mordant punk comedy.
This is most certainly a 'so bad its good' kind of a film - borderline video nasty territory, I suppose, although for some there may not be enough gory scenes to count as such. The plotline is laughable, the performances are cheesy and the names of some of the rebellious teenagers certainly made me laugh. Its cheesy and silly and a bit creepy but I certainly wouldn't say its one of the genuinely scariest films I've ever seen. I understand why its categorised as comedy before horror - I'd assumed this would be more of a horror film, given the name and the images I'd seen. Seeing how the older men react when they realise what happened was **** is amusing and pretty silly but its also really quite forgettable and so I can't really give it a higher rating than this. If you like trashy 80s films that border between comedy and horror, or/and if your keen on zombie films then this is probably worth a watch but otherwise I wouldn't bother really. Oh and...BRAINS!. Heh.
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Average, It didn't entertain me.
It has all the classic element for a great B movie: Humor, splatter, gratuitous nudity, 80' **** It fail to use them in the "right" way.
You can watch it just for educational purpose on Zombie movie (You can learn here why Zombies eat Braaaains from this film), but it is not mandatory
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This movie is just flat out freaking stupid. It's very slow paced. And zombies don't appear until 30-40 minutes into the movie and even then it plays such a very small part of the movie since most of the film revolves around the cast trying to deciding what to do and how to deal with the zombies outside.
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Awards
Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA
• 4 Nominations
