After reading that this remake/spoof was written by John Russo with being a sequel to Night Of The Living Dead in mind, I cannot say I am entirely surprised at its mediocrity. Director Dan O'Bannon had enough sense to decide he didn't want to end up with unfavourable comparisons to George Romero's timeless classic. So he rewrote this script idea as a sort of satire. Which is rather novel when you consider that the zombie horror concept is, at heart, a satire of consumerist social ideas. What makes this satire work is how irreverently it plays out. What counts against it is that it never seems to make up its mind whether it wants the audience to laugh or scream.
Another moment in the film's favour is when one of the young punk women, played with aplomb by Linnea Quigley, strips down to her birthday suit and dances about. Not only is she very pleasant to look at this way, she remains in this state throughout the rest of the film. Even when she becomes a zombie. But that was one of the fun things about Hollywood in the mid-1980s. Women could get their clothes off without people making such a big drama about it. It would have been nice if more of the feminine part of the cast could have taken their clothes off, but this particular woman was pleasant enough to carry the show on her own.
The rest of the cast do a decent job of playing the required parts, but there are no standout parts. Scratch that. The story and characters do have enough potential for memorable performances, but the actors seem utterly lost as to how to take advantage. Those who have watched enough B films will recognise a few familiar faces here and there, Thom Mathews and Miguel A. Núñez Jr. being two examples that spring to mind, but one will be hard-pressed to remember the characters' names. The real stars of this show, other than the aforementioned stripper, are the makeup effects.
The majority of the zombies, in contrast to the more cerebral works of George Romero, really look like they're dead. Unfortunately, they also seem to follow that fast-zombie pattern. In fact, this could well be where the origin of the fast-zombie idea may be traced back to. The ending seems more like a cop-out than a wrap-up. Given how the rest of the film makes the zombies seem invulnerable, I suppose this was inevitable, but it also has that faint odour of poor planning. When all is said and done, John Russo appears to have been doing some serious coattail riding with his connection to Night Of The Living Dead.
I gave Return Of The Living Dead a five out of ten. It is amusing enough to pass ninety minutes with, but I wouldn't want to take it with me to a desert island. It is worth a rental.
Another moment in the film's favour is when one of the young punk women, played with aplomb by Linnea Quigley, strips down to her birthday suit and dances about. Not only is she very pleasant to look at this way, she remains in this state throughout the rest of the film. Even when she becomes a zombie. But that was one of the fun things about Hollywood in the mid-1980s. Women could get their clothes off without people making such a big drama about it. It would have been nice if more of the feminine part of the cast could have taken their clothes off, but this particular woman was pleasant enough to carry the show on her own.
The rest of the cast do a decent job of playing the required parts, but there are no standout parts. Scratch that. The story and characters do have enough potential for memorable performances, but the actors seem utterly lost as to how to take advantage. Those who have watched enough B films will recognise a few familiar faces here and there, Thom Mathews and Miguel A. Núñez Jr. being two examples that spring to mind, but one will be hard-pressed to remember the characters' names. The real stars of this show, other than the aforementioned stripper, are the makeup effects.
The majority of the zombies, in contrast to the more cerebral works of George Romero, really look like they're dead. Unfortunately, they also seem to follow that fast-zombie pattern. In fact, this could well be where the origin of the fast-zombie idea may be traced back to. The ending seems more like a cop-out than a wrap-up. Given how the rest of the film makes the zombies seem invulnerable, I suppose this was inevitable, but it also has that faint odour of poor planning. When all is said and done, John Russo appears to have been doing some serious coattail riding with his connection to Night Of The Living Dead.
I gave Return Of The Living Dead a five out of ten. It is amusing enough to pass ninety minutes with, but I wouldn't want to take it with me to a desert island. It is worth a rental.