Premise: Some factory works accidentally create and release a horde of zombies that some 80s punks fight.
I’m not an expert on the Romero/Living Dead franchise(s). I’ve seen the original Night of the Living Dead and I think that’s it. When I decided to watch The Return of the Living Dead, I wasn’t sure which one it was. I thought it might be the mall one (nope). I thought it was the one randomly set in my hometown (Louisville). I was right about that, although I didn’t realize it wasn’t actually filmed there. I’m glad I picked this one though. I was a lot of fun.
This movie is so 80s that it doesn’t feel like it was made in the 80s. The cast are such 80s archetypes that they feel more like how someone in 2000 remembered punks from the 80s. They are so over the top and fun.
The movie is also quite funny. More comedy than horror in my book*. And that’s fine. It still has nice looking zombies and established a number of zombie staples, like them eating brains and being able to run. On a more personal note, it was fun to realize how much the zombie episode of Community pulled specifically from this. I hadn’t realized that.
*As a reminder, the “problem” with horror comedy is that the comedy normally deflates the horror. So, while the story may have all the trappings of a horror movie, the jokes affect the ability for it to scare. It’s one of the hardest things in all of cinema to make a movie that is both horror and comedy.
Not a lot to say about The Return of the Living Dead. Good movie. Funny. Entertaining. Vaguely campy. Intentional but wild. I’m glad I watched.
Verdict: Strongly Recommend
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