Saturday, June 18, 2005

Return of the Living Dead (1985)

Not the first Zombie Punks on the scene, but the surely the best!

Genre: Zombie Horror Comedy Drama Sci-Fi

Starring: Clu Gulager (Feast; A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge), James Karen (Wall Street; Return Of The Living Dead Part II)

Directed By: Dan O'Bannon

Overview: The medical supply warehouse has sprung a leak. That leak was a military secret. That secret is out, and the zombies are hungry for BRAIIIINS!!!

Acting: The acting is terrible! But the wonder and amazement of this production is that it's terrible in the best possible way. They got beginning actors who could do their stuff just passably enough and they got comic actors to try and do the Horror genre. This could have failed miserably, but didn't. It's a perfect fit! Seriously funny stuff.
Rating: 8

Cinematography: There was one issue I had with this and that was recycling a scene - the water trickling into the earth, and dripping onto the dead. I mean the budget wasn't great but it would have been better left out. Other than that, the scenes were simple and obviously studio, but the camera work was professional and I didn't see any boom mics...
Rating: 6

Script: "Nobody understands me, you know...You think this is a costume? This is a way of LIFE!"
Funny stuff. The character development was so weak and two dimensional that it was laughable, and mixed with such lines as, "I forgive you for my broken ankle, but if you really loved me you'd let me eat your WARM BRAIIIIN!", it can only help the comic themes. Hilarious, melodramatic, terrible, well-written stuff.

Rating: 8

Plot: The plot is simple, yet entertaining, with very few suspensions of disbelief. The characters, though comic do well to advance the plot in a way that makes sense. By that I mean, they ARE trying to get out of there and they ARE trying to make smart decisions while still being funny. A good ending too. Absolutely entertaining.
Rating: 8

Mood: The outfits are hilarious. And the fact that this is 1985 glam-punked out makes it even more tragically funny. The score and the characters were all just out there! A perfect blend of gore with creepy zombies and comedy. This was a really fun movie, tragically set in the 80s...
Rating: 8

Did I mention the hot undead?

Overall Rating: 76% (Good Times!)

Aftertaste: No really, see this! If you've watched the trilogy of Romero's zombie movies, or even just seen 28 Days Later, this will be a nice light look at the zombie genre. I had such a good time with this, I want to show this to others. I want to watch this again real soon.