The Return of the Living Dead (1985)

George A. Romero gets most of the credit for Night of the Living Dead, pretty much because he directed it and carried on the series that everyone knows.  However, there were others involved, and one of them was producer John A. Russo.  When the original movie became a hit he and Romero differed on where the story should go and the two parted ways amicably, with Romero agreeing to left Russo using "Living Dead" for any movies he would do while future Romero ones would be "Dead".  Thus, Dawn of the Dead being the first sequel.  

Russo wrote a screenplay for The Return of the Living Dead and adapted it into a novelization that was released in 1979.  Both a sequel to the first movie and to its book tie-in, it featured a world 10 years past the events of the original story and another small town dealing with a resurgence of whatever it was that woke the dead in the first place.  When Dan O'Bannon got involved he thought the story too bleak and decided to make a movie that used the title alone and fill it with humor and punk rock music while trying to make it clear this was his own movie and not a sequel to Romero's films.

Freddy (Thon Mathews) is a member of a gang of punks in Louisville, Kentucky who is learning the ropes during his first day in the warehouse at Uneeda Medical Supplies.  His trainer is Frank (James Karen) who just can't help but tell Freddy about the barrels they have in the basement that were delivered to them by accident 14 years earlier.  They contain bodies of corpses that were awakened by a chemical called 2 4 5 Trioxin and, after outbreak was contained, they were supposed to go to a military storage facility.

Frank accidentally releases the gas in one of the barrels, which also releases its inhabitant.  He and Freddy are knocked out, but after coming to find out that everything dead in their warehouse, including a medical cadaver in the freezer, is coming back to life.  They call their boss Burt (Clu Gulager) who in turn asks his mortician friend Ernie (Don Calfa) to let him use his crematorium when no way is found to destroy the body.  The result is the gas getting in the atmosphere, causing a rainstorm and awakening the inhabitants of the nearby cemetery where Freddy's friends are partying.  With the dead coming back to life Freddy's girlfriend Tina (Beverly Randolph) tries to get back to him while the others try to find places to survive.  Problem is, Freddy and Frank were affected by the gas in strange ways as well, and loving someone for their brains takes on a new meaning. 

Although based on Russo's novel the zombie concept for this movie is all O'Bannon's.  Instead of destroying the brain the only way to kill the creatures is complete incineration which comes with its own issues as once the Trioxin is in them it is part of them.  It is the first zombie film where they eat brains and the explanation for why is unique as well.  It is also interesting to see all the creatures, no matter what state they are in, are still self-aware.  They are fast - if they have limbs - and capable of speech and reasoning.  However, most of that is overridden by the need for more brains.

Some of the acting may be iffy, but at least O'Bannon has them deliver the lines in the style of a John Waters film.  While heavily influenced by punk and having a soundtrack by a number of classic bands in the underground scene at the time O'Bannon was not afraid to make fun of them, with Linnea Quigley having an hilarious monolog about death and Brian Peck, as Scuz, going on about how committed he is to his look and lifestyle.  To make things even weirder Tina is dressed like a preppy throughout despite hanging out with a gang of punks.

Despite all the good in this movie it is one that it has taken me time to warm up to.  There are long parts that are nothing but characters screaming lines at each other, which is even worse in the first sequel to this, and it gets a bit annoying after a while.  I also didn't get the humor at the time I first saw it, expecting more horror.  Even as a horror comedy The Return of the Living Dead is rather unique, but even so one can delight in the great practical effects (save that fake skeleton popping out of the grave) and a good amount of gore. 

Dan O'Bannon was known more for movies that he wrote than directed and, though John A. Russo has directed a number, none have been that good.  There are also numerous sequels to this movie, with the third one, despite being direct-to-video, being a rather strange love story.  Still, this came as a pleasant surprise to horror fans when it first appeared, adding its own twist to a genre that would take off a couple decades later. 

The Return of the Living Dead (1985)

Time: 89 minutes

Starring: Clu Gulager, Don Calfa, Thom Mathews, James Karen, Beverly Randolph, Brian Peck, Linnea Quigley

Director: Dan O'Bannon