In 1968, George A. Romero and John A. Russo released the single film that would bring the zombie film into the modern era, and as we all know, that movie was Night of the Living Dead. However, there was soon a dispute over sequel and what each one wanted to do. Romero it was decided would attribute dead to his films, as in Dawn of, Day of, Land of where as Russo would use Living Dead and his entry into the zombie mythos, The Return of the Living Dead, may be the first example of a sub-genre in horror that has become known as the “zomedy.”

The Return of the Living Dead is by no means serious, at least the first two films aren’t. Later sequels from the third installment on have lost their luster and comedic edge, especially those that were done specifically by Sci-Fi, but the original film still remains a classic in the heart sand minds of many horror fans. At a simple, medical supply company, Frank (James Karen) is training their latest employee Freddy (Thom Matthews) and mentions that Night of the Living Dead was in fact a real event. The gas that created the zombies, 2-4-5 Trioxin, was accidentally shipped to the warehouse by the military and has been sitting in the basement for years along with some of the zombies. Freddy is curious and Frank takes him to see the barrels, accidentally releasing the gas, and one of the zombie, in the process.

There’s a little more to the story however. The chemical has actually killed Frank and Freddy and brought them back to life, though they aren’t aware of it, and it has also brought back some of the specimens in the warehouse. In an effort to avoid attracting unnecessary attention, they take them to the nearby mortician Ernie (Don Calfa) where they burn the bodies. However, the chemical is released into the atmosphere and right during a rainstorm no less that bring everything back down to Earth; right in the middle of the cemetery. Add in a few local punk rockers who are Freddy’s friends that happen to be partying the night away in the graveyard and you have everything you need for some living dead mayhem.

The Return of the Living Dead would define a few things that would become an essential part of the zombie genre and used quite often in other films. In Night of the Living Dead, the zombies are cannibalistic, eating human flesh without any care about what part. The zombies here however have a different hunger; brains. Any time you hear mention of zombies and brains together, it can be traced back to Return of the Living Dead. Another difference is that the zombies here can actually run, though that is briefly seen in NotlD with the first zombie, so I guess we can’t necessarily attribute 28 Days Later as being the first movie featuring fast zombies. The zombies in Return also speak, and often with some comedic results.

What you’ll find in The Return of the Living Dead is a classic zombie film that holds up extremely well, though it does have some things that ooze that typical 80’s cliché approach. The punk rockers have cheesy names, but this is a zombie movie, so it doesn’t really matter. Trash (Linnea Quigley), Suicide (Mark Venturini), Scuz (Brian Peck) and Spider (Miguel A. Núñez Jr.) all have the very standard, Hollywood imagined punk rock look to them that is often over the top and beyond what many punks took as their dress standard, though there were a few. Freddy’s girlfriend Tina (Beverly Randolph) meanwhile has that 80’s, innocence look, almost like a Debbie Gibson clone to some degree. But it’s not the fashion that is the point of interest in RotLD, but the zombies.

There are plenty of zombies, and in all forms you could possibly imagine. Zombie dogs, though these are experimental specimens that are split in half, skeletal zombies, the classic rotting flesh zombies, zombies that are only upper torsos, even zombies that try and get more “food” to the party which brings in the classic line “send more paramedics”, a phrase which would also prove to be inspiration for the United Kingdom’s own metal act, Send More Paramedics.

Cheesy one-liner, hilarious statements, zombies, gallons of gore; The Return of the Living Dead has it all. Where Romero took a more serious and bleak look at the possibility of the dead returning to life to feast on the living, The Return of the Living Dead does quite the opposite. Even the idea of someone who is infected with the zombie virus and coming back (though in this case they are unaware of it) would be an inspiration for later films, most recently the German zomedy Night of the Living Dorks. Plus, a punk rock filled soundtrack featuring the likes of The Damned, T.S.O.L, The Cramps and .45 Grave provides the final element to make this dead film stand out above the many, many others that have come before and after it and has helped to make it a classic.

The Return of the Living Dead has made its way to DVD in the past, but this the collector’s edition and offers much more aside from the glow-in-the-dark cover. Two features from the previous release, commentary with Dan O'Bannon and William Stout as well as the Designing the Dead featurette are still found on the DVD as well as trailers, but now there is much more to enjoy. The Return of the Living Dead includes a new commentary track featuring the cast, crew, and undead as well as a new zombie subtitles stream. A Decade of Darkness meanwhile doesn’t look at RotLD, but instead focuses on horror in the 80’s, something that was a very big deal in the era, and a decade that I’ve often equated to being the golden age of gore. Finally, Return of the Living Dead; The Dead Have Risen features interviews with many of the cast members today speaking about the film as well as the impact it has had on their careers and the zombie genre itself.

The dead walk, the dead run, the dead make you laugh, and The Return of the Living Dead has them. Ask any true, hardcore zombie fan what some of their favorite zombie films are an its almost guaranteed that at some point, The Return of the Living Dead will be mentioned along side Romero’s films are probably The Evil Dead and plenty of other films that have become classics. If you’re ready to party, these living dead are more than willing to have you at theirs, assuming of course you bring along plenty of brains to go around.

-mike-