Return of the Living Dead

Return of the Living Dead

(Dan O'Bannon, 1985)

Rating: 4/5

Reviewed by Dave Lancaster

Summary: A remarkable comedy horror from 'Alien' scribe Dan O'Bannon is backed up with an exemplary Blu-ray

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'Return of the Living Dead' is an infectious film. Its characters are so rich and eccentric, the viewer is tempted closer and closer - such a rarity in the horror genre.

We connect when a bunch of somewhat inept employees at a medical supply warehouse accidentally unleash a gas into the air that brings the dead back from the grave. Banding together with a mortician and some party-loving punk rockers, they make a last stand as the emergency response crews struggle to cope. It's the classic 'lock in' subgenre of horror survival, and it's up there with the very best.

Dan O'Bannon's dry wit as a filmmaker shines through here in what is undoubtedly his finest effort in the director's chair. Writing 'Alien' gave him the clout to make another milestone in the horror genre, adding a slapdash, satirical style to follow up Romero's 'Night of the Living Dead'.

The cast is beautifully drawn. They're all so heightened and stylised and yet O'Bannon somehow stops the film from boiling over into absurdity right up until the explosive ending.

Second Sight's Blu-ray is absolutely packed with features. Hours and hours of interview footage gave the true fan a brilliant insight into this cult classic. The highlight is a re-reading of the film decades later by the cast, squeezed into three minutes worth of memorable one liners. Do not miss this release.  

 

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