Connect with us

Movies

Return of the Living Dead

Return of the Living Dead is a carbon-frozen image of American life in late summer 1986, a film of a very specific time and place… Like Night of the Creeps or Fright Night, it’s pure, unadulterated entertainment, the way nature intended.”

Published

on

Return of the Living Dead (1986) remains a vital part of horror movie history. Released in an incredible four week period that also saw Fright Night and Re-Animator hit theaters, it’s the belated result of a messy post-Night of the Living Dead divorce between co-creators John Russo and George Romero. Romero continued his zombie legacy with Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead, while Russo answered back by selling his title rights to producer Tom Fox in exchange for a story credit.

Fox bravely handed the writing and directing duties over to Dan O’Bannon, a screenwriter (Alien, Dead & Buried) with no directing experience. The resulting film is a gleeful rock ‘n’ roll mockery of everything Romero’s franchise holds dear––in O’Bannon’s film, zombies drop jaw and mug for the camera, zombies slip around in wet graves for humorous effect, some zombies even qualify for a CB handle (“Send…more…paramedics!”) Despite any incidental blasphemy committed against Romero’s zombie legend, the party-hardy vibe helped Return rise to a respectable showing at the box office, especially for a horror comedy released in the middle of August.

O’Bannon’s multi-faceted narrative is awfully ambitious for a no-budget 80s horror comedy. It introduces almost a dozen different characters within the first few minutes and regularly changes perspectives. The action begins with Frank (James Karen), a veteran employee at Uneeda Medical Supply, giving new employee Freddy the guided tour. After showing off their supply of human skeletons and half-dogs, Frank coerces him into the basement (“Let me ask you a question: did you ever see that movie, Night of the Living Dead?”) to gaze at an Army canister full of 2-4-5 Trioxin, a deadly gas that turns both the living and the dead into brain-craving zombies. It goes without saying that Frank and Freddy manage to spray themselves with gas before the opening credits can even get warmed up.

Meanwhile, Freddy’s girlfriend Tina is cruising around Uneeda with a pack of spiky-haired punks that includes a frequently nude Linea Quigley. Tina’s waiting for Freddy to get off work, but in the meantime the gang kills time at the old cemetery––the boys drink and lament, Linea Quigley strips.

Back over at Uneeda, an infected Frank and Freddy confront their boss Burt (Clu Gulager), pickaxe a zombified medical cadaver that comes alive in the storage freezer, and hacksaw the corpse into decent-sized chunks. Ernie (Don Calfa), the owner of the crematorium next door, is skeptical when the trio shows up on his doorstep with writhing Hefty bags full of “rabid weasels”, but he reluctantly agrees to let them use his furnace for disposal. The resulting ash from the crematorium mingles with the rain clouds over Uneeda Medical Supply and creates what could be the first ever case of zombie acid rain.

Return of the Living Dead is a carbon-frozen image of American life in late summer 1986, a film of a very specific time and place. Aliens discovering this film in 2011 would almost certainly dismiss our planet as too stupid to approach. It’s a movie that hasn’t aged particularly well, with some goofily over-the-top performances and inconsistent gore effects. But this is one of those rare films that has everything horror fans hold dear to the genre: blood, boobs, humor, camp, the whole package. It’s devoted fans are legion, and for good reason. Like Night of the Creeps or Fright Night, it’s pure, unadulterated entertainment, the way nature intended.

Advertisement
Click to comment

Movies

SCREAMBOX Investigates UFOs and Extraterrestrials: Several Documentaries Streaming Right Now!

Published

on

As someone who is obsessed with UFOS (or more recently known as UAPs) and the concept of extraterrestrials, I love a good documentary. Sightings have been on the rise since the 1940s, with the atomic bomb seemingly acting as a catalyst for new visitors. But what are these UFOs/UAPs? Is there an explanation or are they simply beyond our explanation? Why are they here? Who are they? How much do our governments know? The questions are endless and so are the documentaries that attempt to uncover the secrets behind decades of sightings and alleged confrontations.

Whether you’re a seasoned viewer or new to the rabbit hole, there’s always a handful of interesting documentaries to get your neurons firing and leave you with sleepless nights. SCREAMBOX is investigating with the addition of several docs, all streaming now on the Bloody Disgusting-powered service. Here’s the breakdown:

Aliens (2021): Beam into this unidentified streaming documentary for a glimpse into Extraterrestrial life. Aliens are hypothetical life forms that may occur outside Earth or that did not originate on Earth.

Aliens Uncovered: Origins (2021): Before Area 51, hidden deep in the desert, the military discovered a hidden gem that helped them create Project Bluebook.

Aliens Uncovered: ET or Man-Made (2022): The crash of Roswell wasn’t meant for New Mexico. In 1947, a neighboring state had 3 major sightings that were swept under the rug.

Aliens Uncovered: The Golden Record (2023): In the late 70s, the US government launched a message to our distant neighbors.

Roswell (2021): This high-flying documentary examines the July 1947 crash of a United States Army Air Forces balloon at a ranch near Roswell, New Mexico. Theories claim the crash was actually that of a flying saucer, but what is the truth?

Also check out:

The British UFO Files (2004): Since the 1940’s the British Government has been investigating the Flying Saucer phenomenon. High-ranking military and government personnel, speak out for the first time, offering unique eyewitness accounts and inside information.

Alien Abductions and Paranormal Sightings (2016): Amazing Footage and stories from real people as they reveal their personal encounters of being abducted by Aliens.

And do not miss Hellier (2019): A crew of paranormal researchers find themselves in a dying coal town, where a series of strange coincidences lead them to a decades-old mystery.

These documentaries join SCREAMBOX’s growing library of unique horror content, including Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls, Here for Blood, Terrifier 2, RoboDoc: The Creation of RoboCop, Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story, The Outwaters, Living with Chucky, Project Wolf Hunting, and Pennywise: The Story of IT.

Start screaming now with SCREAMBOX on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Prime Video, Roku, YouTube TV, Samsung, Comcast, Cox, and Screambox.com.

Continue Reading