The Return of the Living Dead
Collector's Edition
review by Bobby Blakey
There is no denying that George Romero created the world of the zombie we know today with his 1968 classic Night of the Living Dead. In 1985 screenwriter of the original film John A. Russo teamed up with director Dan O’Bannon to bring their own sequel Return of the Living Dead sadly without Romero’s involvement. Now Shout Factory is bringing the cult hit to Blu-ray with an all-new collector’s edition.
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In case you have been buried alive and never saw the film it follows two bumbling employees at a medical supply warehouse who accidentally release a deadly gas into the air where the vapors cause the dead to rise again as zombies. The film stars Clu Gulager, James Karen, Don Calfa, Linnea Quigley, and Miguel A. Nunez Jr and takes a different approach than the original. While it may seem like a more of a silly comedy now, it still tries to keep some sort of a serious tone all while never taking itself too seriously. As a whole this is a silly movie, but it is so much fun that you cannot help but love the ridiculous nature of it all. The over the top fun practical effects may not work for the new generation, but it is so great to see and there are some really great moments here. This film hits all the marks of an 80s horror flick including al the gore you could want, insane characters and the nudity most expect. The connection from this film to the original is actually pretty clever and manages to work without messing with anything that it created.
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This is one of those cult classics that has a huge fan base, but could easily swing either direction for those seeing it for the first time. Either way there is no denying that it is a lot of great fun. In addition to the film this release also includes numerous special features including commentaries, galleries, TV spots, theatrical trailers, featurettes and so much more making this a must have for zombie fans.
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Grab your copy of The Return of the Living Dead available now from Shout Factory. For more information head over to www.shoutfactory.com