RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD
PLOT-Toxic chemicals are accidentally released in a small town, causing the dead to rise from the grave in search of fresh human brains.
WHY IT'S A CLASSIC-One could write a book on how great this movie is, and I could never do it justice. Although influenced by NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, it takes the concept in a truly modern and inventive direction, and is far better than any of George Romero's sequels to that 1968 classic. From the moment the deadly chemical is released, the viewer is taken on an unrelenting journey of horror and humor that few movies can touch. In many ways it's the PULP FICTION of zombie movies, filled with sharp dialogue, interesting characters, clever editing and great music. It manages to be truly scary as well as funny, a thing that several films have attempted but few have successfully achieved. You actually care about the people in danger, mostly due to all the memorable performances, and there are no stars or heroes. It's definitely one of a kind.
MEMORABLE SCENES- There are many, but the most infamous is Linnea Quigley's tombstone dance sequence. As punk rocker Trash, she begins with the immortal line: "Do you ever fantasize about being killed, like what would be the most horrible way to die?", and does a striptease on top of someone's tomb in front of all her friends.
DVD NOTES-This movie was out of print for something like 15 years or more, and words has it that fans' demand eventually lead to MGM releasing it on DVD in August of 2002 (the movie came out on video in 1985 I believe). The disc is pretty damn good, they did a great job of making the picture and sound just about as good as it gets. There are decent extras too: commentary with director Dan O'Bannon and the production designer (who keeps the info coming and is NOT boring). O'Bannon spends most of the track bitching about not having much money to make the movie, but he does like the movie overall. I would have liked a cast commentary track on here, specifically with Linnea Quigley, Jewel Shepard, and Miguel Nunez. But what we do get is great (I recommend you read Jewel's book "IF I'M SO FAMOUS..." to find out what it was like to be an actor in this movie). Also, there is a 15-20 minute segment on what went into the creation of the movie. We don't get to see any behind-the-scenes footage, fx tests or deleted scenes...but we do get to see a lot of the concept art. There's also a collection of stills and storyboards, as well as a bunch of trailers for the film. I remember seeing the "G-rated" one in a theater when I was a little kid. It freaked me out. I got this DVD brand new for $9.99, can't beat that shit!

(August 2002)