The Return of the Living Dead (1985)

Director:

Dan O'Bannon

Writers:

Dan O'Bannon (screenplay) and
Rudy Ricci (story)

Release Date:

16 August 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Fantasy | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

They're Back From The Grave and Ready To Party!

Plot:

When a bumbling pair of employees at a medical supply warehouse accidentally release a deadly gas into the air...

Plot Keywords:

Louisville Kentucky | Warehouse | Blood Splatter | Cremation | Stairs

Awards:

4 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Clu Gulager	...	Burt
James Karen	...	Frank
Don Calfa	...	Ernie
Thom Mathews	...	Freddy
Beverly Randolph	...	Tina
John Philbin	...	Chuck
Jewel Shepard	...	Casey
Miguel A. Núñez Jr.	...	Spider (as Miguel Nunez)
Brian Peck	...	Scuz
Linnea Quigley	...	Trash
Mark Venturini	...	Suicide
Jonathan Terry	...	Colonel Glover
Cathleen Cordell	...	Colonel's Wife
Drew Deighan	...	Paramedic #1
James Dalesandro	...	Paramedic #2

Also Known As:

Return of the Living Dead (USA) (video box title)
'Batallion' (Japan: English title) [en]
A Volta dos Mortos Vivos (Brazil) [pt]
Battalion (Japan: English title) [en]
El regreso de los muertos vivientes (Venezuela) [es]
Elävien kuolleiden paluu (Finland) (TV title) [fi]
Il ritorno dei morti viventi (Italy) [it]
Le retour des morts vivants (France) [fr]
Ligene er ligeglade (Denmark) [da]
O Regresso dos Mortos Vivos (Portugal) (original subtitled version) [pt]
O Retorno dos Mortos Vivos (Brazil) (cable TV title) [pt]
Ta zombi den einai hortofaga (Greece) [el]
Verdammt, die Zombies kommen (West Germany) [de]
Ze zijn terug en hebben honger (Netherlands) [nl]

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Finland:K-18 (2002) | West Germany:18 (video premiere) (cut) | Norway:(Banned) (1985-2003) (cinema release) | Denmark:16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Italy:VM14 (new rating) | Italy:VM18 (original rating) | West Germany:18 | Netherlands:16 | Australia:M | France:-12 | Iceland:(Banned) | Mexico:C | UK:18 | USA:R | Finland:(Banned) (1985) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Hemdale Film

Trivia:

The lead pipe that Clu Gulager uses in the movie is actually made of rubber. He initially used a real pipe but the crew snuck it away from him and replaced it with a rubber one as Dan O'Bannon was worried about Clu's frequent angry and sometimes violent outbursts.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When the first two police officers arrive on the scene of the two disabled ambulances, a man with black curly hair is visible in the backseat of the cruiser (seen through the rear-view mirror).

Quotes:

Freddy: What do doctors use to crack skulls with?
Frank: [miming a screwing motion] Surgical drills!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Tromeo and Juliet (1996)

Soundtrack:

The Trioxin Theme

Crackerjack ...

I love this film to living death ... Every actor got the right part, and they all got the part right. High camp, higher parody, positively hilarious scenes so well set up that a mere facial gesture delivers the punchline, sometimes only a few beats of music delivers. In the midst of all this ripping off of Romero's "Night of the Living Dead", it borders on worship of its inspiration. Pathos holds hands with hilarity, genuinely creepy scenes bleed into high gear humor. I haven't found a misstep. There is a high quotient of "Oh s**t" scenes and they all work. The undraped Quigley is neither gratuitous or prurient; just imagine the movie without her character; loses much. This is a delicious, feverish living dead romp that plays out to one crackerjack musical score. Everything meshes, everything works. How do you fault a film that gets it all right? This title will survive a long long time.