Have you seen Night of the Living Dead? It's all true!
This is the only movie of this genre (horror, comedy) that I perceive. Very successful inserts of humor make each of the episodes unforgettable.
You can’t expect anything special from the film: 1984. But makeup is great. It is difficult to imagine the amount of work: after all, each of the zombies is completely different, there are no similar types!
For countless zombie series, this barrel scenario is very original. And the barrels figured in further parts. This is no longer a monkey virus, but a military experiment. Which, as you can see, has been successful!
The performance of actors is quite difficult to evaluate. Not because it's unclear how they played, not because it's not clear which line they play: horror or comedy. Replays and 'mega facial expressions' James Karen is completely in the theme, but the horror is not peculiar to completely. But this does not spoil the film, on the contrary, gives its highlight.
[spoiler]
There are many realistic moments in the film. Someone from the extras, by the way, even ate real brains (calf, not human). The main dead (which is from the barrel) looks funny and really qualitative and disgusting.
However, questions remain. Fans of this genre have long been accustomed to the fact that zombies are for the most part slow and absolutely stupid creatures that can pronounce a couple of words. But zombies are like smart monkeys. They are fast, they have reflexes (although the heroes of Karen and Matthews have no reflexes, according to doctors), zombies have memory, speech and thinking. Weird.
In addition, all fans know that it is necessary to damage the brain, then the zombie will be neutralized. And that doesn't work here. Although logically this is more true than in the case of the brain.
The actors did great. But there's another question for the script. Why did we show the girl Thrash (Linney Quigley)? The redhead on the grave put on a show. Why was she even given so much airtime if her story didn’t carry any semantic load? Often this move is used when you are not sure about the rating of the film. Why not add a little eroticism to please the viewer? Especially since the body, I must admit, is worthy. But the move itself is completely incomprehensible.
In general, the punk band played very cool too. I would like to highlight their main punk - Mark Venturini. He was given very little time, but they tried to convey his philosophy of the punk lifestyle, chain on the lip, hood and wheelbarrow. It's unclear why. Apparently, to show that they are all freaks, but try to honor the peace of the dead. But not all.
Of course, some of the footage was upset. For example, I would like to see the ending in full, not pauses. .
But despite such small joints and open questions, I am very happy to watch this film a couple of times a year.
9 out of 10
All the events shown in this film did take place. The names and names correspond to the names of real people and organizations.
The film is ironic from the very beginning. After a long hiatus, I return to reviews of the horror franchise, my favorite industry of film horror. I love when monsters come back again and again. As Stephen King said in his book about the rabid St. Bernard: 39: A monster cannot die. A werewolf, a vampire, an unknown creature from the woods. He is immortal & #39; The villains in horror must come back. Now we will talk about one glorious comedy horror, which is called - ' Return of the Living Dead' and got four sequels - two of them movie fans generally respect, and the other two do not like. But let’s not talk about sequels now, let’s focus on the original film by Dan O'Bannon.
Medical warehouse ' Unida', two employees - one elderly named Frank, the other young named Fred, and both brains do not shine. After an informative tour of the warehouse and told to the salad-partner horror story about the fact that George Romero, it turns out, removed his ' Night of the Living Dead' based on real events, Frank leads his partner to look at zombies hidden in the basement of the warehouse. In the basement and indeed there is one dead man, safely hidden in a container. And then, through stupidity, Frank slams the container so hard on the wall that he punches it (yes, that's easy), and from there a jet of special gas that revives the dead is struck. The gas revives another dead man who was quietly hanging on a hook. Zhmurik starts yelling and throwing at the locked door, and then completely attacks three idiots (three, because they are soon joined by the warehouse chief Bert, who himself is a little smarter than his subordinates). Some zombies can be neutralized (but not killed). And it looks pretty comical. But then the heroes, trying to get rid of one zombie, unwittingly awaken a whole army of the living dead, and here it becomes not to laugh. . .
What about the first ': Return of the Living Dead' so great? Not a zombie, I'd say. There are not so many zombie scenes here (the sequel in this respect bypasses the first part). Characters - that's who I loved in this movie! They're so colorful. It’s as if they’ve come from comedies, pay attention.
The most comical half-ass Frank, perfectly played by James Karen (eternal memory to you, old man...) At first, the character is not funny. But the movie goes on, the situation heats up, and Frank begins to cause serious compassion. And the final act deserves respect at all (I will not spoil, see for yourself). I've heard that Karen is overplaying this movie. Actually, yes, a little bit. Another thing is that the film and the character himself, this style of play goes crazy. Which means I'm not at all into it. What are the complaints if one look at Karen's grimaces makes his stomach laugh? The second most colorful character is an old pathologist with the Nazi name Kaltenbrunner and Nazi habits. And at first he appears as a comic jerk, but when the characters are in a terrible situation, it is from Ernie, perhaps, the most useful. Nervous and at the same time determined boss Bert, the boy Fred, who is also undergoing a transformation from comic hero to tragic, as well as a bunch of frostbitten punks who were not lucky to be near the unfortunate warehouse, the picture, of course, also did not spoil.
The second part of the film that captivated me is the incendiary soundtrack. The director provided scenes with zombies with cheerful rock compositions, some of which are asked to play. What is the theme of the film? When she plays, I start shaking her head in time.
And the third big plus of the movie is the script. It is cunningly twisted (far more cunning than we used to expect from zombie movies) and finds room for surprising plot twists. Special respect to O'Bannon for the tragicomic ending, I didn't really know whether to laugh with it or cry. It's a cherry on the cake.
The film, in fact, is divided into two parts - in the first half there is only one dead person, in the second there are many of them. And the first half of the film is frankly comedic (over ' rabid ferrets' I was laughing so much!) And look at Ernie's face in that scene... so naturally played, just shine! But in the second half, except for the famous scene with a walkie-talkie, you will not laugh much. It's a tough horror. Well, how tough... By the usual standards of zombie horror, where blood usually whips and guts fly, everything is quite civil. Zombies prefer to bite people quickly, so the details are not always clear. But the whole action proceeds uncompromisingly, there is no insurance for the heroes, you really worry about them. The director even reserved a couple of scenes, terrible purely psychologically.
Finally, let’s look at the film’s shortcomings. Yes, running and talking zombies (the lexicon of which, however, is limited to the word ' Brains!!!') - cool, I do not argue. But the zombie scenes aren't enough. The film does not belong to them, but to living heroes. More specifically, actors who play live heroes. Karen, Matthews, Gulager, Calfa... And second, I know that some moviegoers have sweet memories of an erotic nature, but I can’t lie either. I was not impressed by Linni Quigley, neither dressed nor undressed. In fact, her character looks unusually unattractive. Yes, she's obsessed with death, but in my eyes, that doesn't make her either funny or sexy. With the heroine Linney associated and incomprehensible moment – strange that of all the dead punks came to life only she. We are used to the fact that a person who is bitten by zombies becomes a zombie himself, but here zombie victims are resuscitated very selectively. O'Bannon didn't work out that moment. Maybe for the sake of humor. I really don't know.
Do these little things ruin the movie? Of course not. Watch and have fun. For, as one familiar moviegoer said, ': The return of the living dead is magic'
Zombie gourmets order a delicacy by phone with delivery to the house
A beautiful old comedy horror movie that I first watched relatively recently, about six months ago. Why not earlier? Because at the time of my student youth, this film for some reason did not fall into my field of view.
And later, when I came across a movie called Return of the Living Dead somewhere, I naively believed that this franchise was just a remake with sequels to George Romero’s cult black and white film Night of the Living Dead, 1968 and was shot on the wave of success of the master’s films in order to collect all the “cream” once again, as some modern directors like to do.
The fact that this is quite an independent and self-sufficient movie, beautifully parodying some moments from many zombie films and perfectly playing some of their templates and standards (or what movie stamps like to call) - I learned only after watching, to which I was prompted by one review of the best zombie films. At the same time, I saw in the comments (to my surprise), that this is a film as early as 1985.
And since I can hardly pass by the old horror films - then with my head and all my brains I immersed myself in watching the movie "The Return of the Living Dead", and after it I immediately bookmarked this film with the film classics of the genre.
P.S. The moment with the call and use of ambulance as “ordering and delivering brains to the house” pleased the most.
10 out of 10
Zombies who are ready not only to eat you, but also to communicate
Dan O’Bannon’s Return of the Living Dead is a perfect example of how to make parody films. The film is filled with the atmosphere of comedy, perfectly played reference to the "Night of the Living Dead" George Romero: zombies from the cult tape are now becoming members of a new brawl, because it turns out that the military have preserved a couple of "samples", but by oversight, the trace of them was lost in a distant warehouse, so that now zombies are waiting for their time to start terrorizing humanity again. The dialogue of the film is just wonderful, (I recommend watching the film in the original) is ridiculed by the stupidity of the military and myths about zombies.
In that movie they destroyed the brain to kill him is that what they did?
- The brain, right!!
Before this picture, I was already familiar with many zombie-themed films, and I can confidently say that the film was largely ahead of its time: for all its parody essence, the picture is not confined to a simple mockery of the image of zombies, but creates a new idea of zombies, in this regard, the creation of O’Bannon replays most modern parodies that are capable only of distorting the original episode by filling it with jokes (not always witty), thanks to which the necessary comedic effect is achieved.
If we talk about zombies, then they turned out great, and more animated. Zombies are made with taste, the appearance of some is very memorable. Compared to the cult film Romero, the walking dead have a basic level of intelligence: they do not lose their speech skills after death and can even communicate with people. I like those dead men a lot more than the clumsy robot-bait eaters that are stuffed with most modern horror movies. And the scene with "Tar man" and a zombie woman entered the gold collection of cinema.
The living dead no longer merely want to eat whatever moves, driven by an unknown instinct, but want to take possession of a particular human organ. And this is even explained, which is a big plus for the film, not to mention the fact that modern popular zombie culture is based on this well-known truth. In my opinion, Return of the Living Dead was the first film that showed that the dead are most interested in the human body, which adds significance to the picture. Before me, the game “Plants and Zombies” appeared in a new light; I don’t know if it was inspired by the film.
The soundtrack deserves special attention: the genre of hard Punk fits perfectly into the film, in many ways creates a special sinister atmosphere of the film, intensifies the situation, gives dynamics to what is happening. The punks themselves appear in a caricatured form. Young people who rebel against traditional moral values are the perfect target for zombie attacks. The main characters also cause sympathy, they are sufficiently charismatic, it is interesting to observe their misadventures.
“The Return of the Living Dead” is one of the best horror comedy films in the history of cinema, along with “The Living Dead” Peter Jackson and “Evil Dead 2” Sam Raimi, there is nothing more to add and nothing more.
Brains! Zombies! Brain-eating zombies! Real zombies! How I miss that in modern horror movies. Modern horror movies have become nasty, disgusting, but not scary. Now they do not scare, but achieve a gag reflex.
The Return of the Living Dead by Dan O’Bannon is not a horror movie. Nope. Rather, this is an author’s film, where horrors slide into comedy, where the viewer was recently really scared and kept in suspense, and a minute later he already laughs holding his sides, and some time later calmly contemplates how amateur pathologists talk to a living corpse that they are going to dissect. The movie is unusual. The film is ambiguous. And certainly has a very unconventional ending for a horror movie. That's why it's interesting. That’s why I want to review it. And looking at it, nostalgia appears and remember the days of video salons, and how we ran to watch this film as teenagers. And a special thanks to the video salons. They did not put restrictions on age, and we, 13-year-old boys, for some reason, in this film were interesting primarily not zombies (well, zombies too, of course, but in the second place), but absolutely naked Linni Quigley, who in this form (well, that is completely naked) runs a good half of the film. For some reason, this part of the film was particularly interesting. It's funny to even remember now.
The year 1984. The Return of the Living Dead
Have you ever been to a funeral?
- I didn't know anyone who died.
Dan O’Bannon is best known as a writer. The main work of his life is considered the franchise “Alien”. However, experimenting, he tried himself in directing. O’Bannon made only two films, both in the horror genre. Return of the Living Dead is one of them. Later, four more sequels appeared, but they were never able to interrupt the original.
According to legend, the film “Night of the Living Dead” is based on real events. After the aftermath of that night, the military locked samples of the virus in containers. Some of them were lost during transportation. One container went to a medical warehouse and was stored there for many years. Until one day the warehouse manager and the intern accidentally released the virus outside.
I liked the movie. I love such simple, but at the same time large-scale horror films. In those days, I mean the '80s, the zombie theme somehow didn't get the proper development. More and more delved into vampires, demons, ghosts and other mysticism. However, this film rekindled the interest of filmmakers in the zombie apocalypse.
Plus
- Fascinating story. Some people think this film is a free presentation of a painting by George Romero, but I didn’t see any similarities. Except for her mention. Otherwise, the story told in the film looks fresher and more original. It is interesting to watch at least.
- Special effects. We recall the era of the 80s, and a picture emerges with silicone makeup, which was actually frightened at that time. This film is no exception. But there are also some effects, the nature of which I do not know. I bet on animatronics, although everything can be easier.
- Not tight. Everything is in its place and there is nothing superfluous. This makes the film look in one breath. No secondary plots, extra characters, dialogues. It was a modest one and a half hour of timekeeping.
- Actors. Almost all of them are little known (in our country for sure). But in the meantime, they handled their roles pretty well. Like many horror films, this one did not do without the appearance of the Scream Queen by Linni Quigley. A standard role with nudity, of which she has dozens.
Minuses
- I didn't quite like how a good zombie horror movie got mixed up with a comedy component. That's too much. Moreover, the film claimed the title of really scary horror. However, notes of humor, talking zombies, etc. slightly spoiled the overall impression.
- Also, probably, the cons can be attributed to the denouement, but here, as they say, the taste and color. From such an original story could come out not so banal. Plus, it is unclear why, use the same frames several times.
I did not mention such important factors as a great soundtrack and unique atmosphere, which blows good 80s. When the horrors were interesting and really frightening.
8 out of 10
(Roughly 44 minutes of the film)
Return of the Living Dead
There he is! A masterpiece of all time. The best movie ever. Watched it a billion times. I'll disown my parents if they say it's a bad movie. The real gold of cinema. Perfect z-film. They don't do that anymore. Pig delight. Unimaginable orgasm.
I'm willing to talk about this movie - forever, no, forever. Love for all new and old times. I’m proud of every fiber of my soul that I watched Return of the Living Dead late at night during the time of the tapes. Unsurpassed horror film. Unsurpassed black comedy. Concentrated harmony of fear and humor.
Dan O’Bannon showed the world how to make a cult when a god named Romero stands behind you. There is an opinion that “The Return of the Living Dead” is a kind of remake of “Night of the Living Dead”. By the way, one of the heroes mentions the great Romero classic. Allegedly, the film was based on real events (just the government intimidated Romero, a lot had to change).
I love O’Bannon (forever your memory, man). The remake is a remake, but I would call it an air kiss for George Romero. It's not bullying, it's not yawning, it's respect and recognition of love. How can you not love the living dead and George? Night, dawn, day, earth, return and home by the road.
Pain, hellish pain! groans one of the dead men. Why do you eat brains? he asked. The pain goes away, the dead man replies. I have tears coming from my eyes. Finally there was a director who was able to answer such a difficult question. And what kind of music here (especially when the characters burned the limbs of a dead man and smoke fell out of the chimney) with the atmosphere, God. For the graveyard my bow is low.
The last names of many actors won’t give you anything, but I didn’t notice much sagging. Each of them had a five-plus sleeve. Separately, I would like to highlight Miguel Nunes (a colorful comrade) and the inimitable Linny Quigley (red-haired beast). The brilliant directorship of O’Bannon (one of the creators of the Alien) automatically puts the picture in the top of the most beloved.
If Romero is called the father of all the dead, then O’Bannon can be called uncle. You have to watch. These films should be included in the collection.
Forever!
P.S.
Send more reinforcements! - Aha ha, until tears.
9 out of 10
How could I not have written it yet?
A masterpiece, shot in 1984, and still unsurpassed classic. And before and after made a lot of movies on the zombie theme, but this is truly unique. I rarely change my beliefs, and Fulci’s Flesh Eaters were and still are favorite zombie movies, but it’s impossible not to recognize the genius and cultism of Return. Why? At least because it was in this film that the dead for the first time began to utter the famous and in the future inextricably merged with their archetype “BRAINS!!”. Dan O'Bannon invented it! Before him, the dead, silently or roaring, ate the whole human, and only after 1984 began to choose the most delicate and tasty pieces.
"Return" - and those films in which you do not want to see any shortcomings, even if they are there. Yes, they are present, but they do not catch the eye and do not spoil the pictures, because cinema is not only made of them. How do they bite through skulls with their teeth? The authors managed to write a logical and absurd script, but not devoid of humor, to introduce characters into it, each of which is revealed as a certain person, and not just mannequins, which in the course of the action will be devoured by hordes of decomposed cannibals. Each character is interesting in its own way, each person is visible, and if desired, these images can be thought out, imagining their life outside the film, and this is a huge success of the writer and director, indicating a very serious approach to their work.
James Karen is brilliant throughout the film, from his dialogue with a young partner in the office to the dramatic scene in the crematorium. He, it turns out, still shoots and voices cartoons, despite his serious age. May God bless him well!
My favorite character in the film is, of course, Ernie, a fan of Nazi marches. He was brilliantly played by an absolutely unknown actor, up to every gesture, the movement of facial muscles, which create an exclusively integral image.
In addition to “BRAINS!!”, the iconic scene of Lynnia Quigley’s striptease on the gravestone can be considered as well. A delightful and ever-accompanying fusion of sex and death! By the way, it remained a mystery to me why she was resuscitated after a zombie attack, like one of the police officers, and all the other victims (punk in the basement, paramedics) – not.
Since I started with blunders: the open lid of the barrel with trioxin is closed every time they go down to the basement: 1) Frank and Freddie immediately after the crash, 2) teenagers going down to the basement and 3 Burt at the very end of the film is three times, but it opens every time. The reverse happened with the gates of the cemetery, which were opened at the beginning of the film and knocked out by a car closed at the end. And I was also interested since childhood (I was given a cassette tape with this film on my 10th birthday) how this halved skeleton woman wags her spine so much? Just like a ponytail, to learn!
And yet, all of the things listed above, I refuse to consider flaws. These are rather cute little Easter eggs of the film, noticing which, watching it becomes only more interesting.
Going forward, the Returns series will be very uneven. For some reason, they will shoot a frankly children’s second film, a tearful and melodramatic third (the only luck in it is the unique and terrible dead). I have never seen such monsters in any other film, and then two more, which are considered bad manners to mention in decent society.
The sequels are fig, and the film is a masterpiece and an eternal classic of the genre!
The creators of “Return of the Living Dead” did not hide the fact that they were inspired by the work of George Romero, rather, on the contrary, it comes from the title, and direct mention in the film, and even from the story’s clearly satirical ending. And you know, it’s probably not bad when on the basis of one great picture grows a new original series of films with many interesting zombies in the foreground.
The plot has two parallel lines, which, contrary to the rules of geometry, but according to the unwritten laws of cinema, will necessarily cross. On the one hand, we see cheerful attempts by the employees of the warehouse of a certain medical institution to correct and hide their own mistake, which led to the revival of all the dead in the district. And on the other, in the district, as usual, there is a cemetery, where by that time a group of punks had already thrown a party. In both cases, interesting characters and funny dialogue will not get bored. Separately, one cannot but mention the spectacular red-haired Thrash performed by Linni Quigley, whose bright striptease among the graves can deservedly be called a cult scene.
What about the living dead? Forget the classic mindlessly staggering zombies, here they are more than savvy and easily cooperate in their efforts to extract much-coveted brains and even resort to cunning tricks to lure victims. Moreover, as the main characters rightly ask, it is not so easy to kill the dead and damage or even the absence of a head somehow affects the dead only in films. Uh, other movies. In addition, we learn that it hurts to be dead and what role living brains play in this.
The confrontation between the living and the dead is accompanied by amusing effects, splashing blood and sudden deaths. All this under excellent musical accompaniment, starting with the chic title theme of the whole film and continuing with successfully selected compositions of a number of groups that are happening on the screen, which is only the song "Partytime", sounding during the crawl of zombies from the graves. This seemingly frightening moment, like many others, was approached cheerfully and resourcefully. And I am glad that despite a large amount of healthy black humor and noticeable jokes over scenes from more serious zombie films, like the work of the same Romero, “Return of the Living Dead” did not slide into just a parody of the genre, but, retaining the proportion between the banter and the original ideas, itself occupied its niche in it.
In the end: a classic comedy horror film. All lovers of the living dead in the cinema, not without a sense of humor, is highly recommended.
Whether this is a parody, whether this is a kind of continuation of the Romer films, or the answer to these films, but “The Return of the Living Dead” is a peculiar picture. On the one hand, this film can scare and make you laugh (although when I read this film at an early age, I didn’t find anything funny there).
The plot is interesting: two warehouse employees start a conversation about the Walking Dead and Romero movies, and one accidentally says that there is one such copy in the basement of the warehouse. Turned by curiosity, they accidentally release caustic gas from the container with the corpse, which all the exhibits of the warehouse, even a frozen corpse, suddenly come to life. The heroes, with the help of a pathologist, manage to get rid of the revived creatures, but the gas that got into the atmosphere awakens in the nearest cemetery from the eternal sleep of the dead who left the graves in search of food - human brains. Meanwhile, a group of punks throwing a party in the cemetery, trying to save their lives.
What's good about this movie? A frightening atmosphere, slightly seasoned with black humor, frightening moments and unexpected actions, truly creepy dead (capable of running, talking), as well as suspense of what is happening. I don’t know what makes the movie laugh (except in an unusual way for the dead), but the fact that it’s scary and that it’s not ordinary is yes. As well as the final actions under frightening compositions can rustle even in the coldest person.
The film is like a bullet - rushes at a frantic pace and leaves a pleasant impression. No empty chatter, more action and blood, the benefit of this movie does not sin (there is really a lot of blood here). I also enjoyed the compositions. It is quite unusual to watch a group of punks escape from the revived dead under the hard rock of that time, with Rock here almost the basis of musical compositions. Bravo.
So, we have a pretty good and scary zombie movie. There is a good atmosphere and structure, and a little irony of what is happening. I was satisfied and therefore calmly refer this film to my favorite zombie horror.
8 out of 10
This is perhaps the real spin-off of the legendary film by George Romero “Night of the Living Dead”. Well, or free continuation, depending on how you think. At the very least, the movie Return of the Living Dead is not some fake, just copying the name of the famous franchise. Honestly, personally, I expected the best from the picture, but again I was disappointed, although not much.
The plot of the film develops rapidly, thereby not letting the viewer get bored. In addition, the music supports the atmosphere of a comedy horror film. And watching the typical youth of the 80s among the main characters becomes quite fun. But, despite the above advantages, sometimes spoils the impression of viewing not completely contrived scenario. Even the end of the film is shown somehow quickly, as if the crew had no more time to shoot. Of course, it is clear that we have the most ordinary thrash shot in the spirit of the 80s, but still small shortcomings could be avoided. And what is really interesting in the film is not only the presence of fast zombies, which, most likely, after this tape replaced the slow and less dangerous from Romero’s movies, but also the fact that the dead here know not only how to moan, but also how to talk. This move is original, although at first glance it looks rather ridiculous. If we talk about the actors, we can say that they played quite well.
In general, if you consider the movie of Dan O’Bannon as a movie about zombies – it turned out to be quite tolerable. But if you consider it as a normal work – you can look once, but only for familiarization. I would not recommend this picture to everyone. I think it's an amateur movie.
This is the first zombie movie with logic! Really. It was great to see from beginning to end.
In the classic plot, where the corpses came to life thanks to some chemical rubbish, all the characters, including zombies, think intelligently, which is truly amazing. Of course, it does not do without victims, otherwise what a horror movie it would be, but the characters try to stick together, and not run in different directions shouting “Let’s split up!”
By the way, in some places it is very, very impressive, straight through. Especially the scene when yellow smoke bursts out of the crematorium, forming a poisonous rain. A wonderful scene.
And sadly (strangely), a very political ending.
In general, what I am not a fan of zombie films, I would recommend this introductory film Romero for viewing.
6 out of 10