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The Return of the Living Dead
This punk-rock zombie film definitely hits a good note. It isn't really meant to be scary at any point in time, it is just mainly absurd with funny characters and an odd story line. You know that it isn't going to take itself seriously when it starts the film with a screen stating that the film is based completely on true events, and then implying in the film that Dawn of the Dead is as well.
The characters are what really make the film. The employees at the warehouse where the infection starts are just odd, the old guy reminds me in some ways of Rodney Dangerfield in how he acts, and the punk kid is also odd as well. Then there is the enbalmer, who is an absurd character as well, in how he acts and the interesting things which he does. Finally the rest of the gang of punk kids are just out there. They seemingly fit in nicely with the gangs from in The Warriors and how they act is just absurd and how they looking as well.
The story itself is pretty typical. Something occurs to re-animate the corpses, they have to try and figure out how to kill the corpses, some of the group become zombies/get eaten, and the government comes in and takes out the corpses. Even though it is typical, the cliches don't fail here, because the whole film isn't meant to be scary, but it is meant to be odd and cliche. The references to other zombie films, such as Dawn of the Dead, great in the film, and this is more of a parody then anything else.
Overall this is a pretty funny zombie film, and it does a good job in that it doesn't take itself seriously. It is one of those '80's films that have now reached a status of being a cult classic type of film.
Overall Grade: B-
Story: B
Acting: C
Audio/Visual: B
This punk-rock zombie film definitely hits a good note. It isn't really meant to be scary at any point in time, it is just mainly absurd with funny characters and an odd story line. You know that it isn't going to take itself seriously when it starts the film with a screen stating that the film is based completely on true events, and then implying in the film that Dawn of the Dead is as well.
The characters are what really make the film. The employees at the warehouse where the infection starts are just odd, the old guy reminds me in some ways of Rodney Dangerfield in how he acts, and the punk kid is also odd as well. Then there is the enbalmer, who is an absurd character as well, in how he acts and the interesting things which he does. Finally the rest of the gang of punk kids are just out there. They seemingly fit in nicely with the gangs from in The Warriors and how they act is just absurd and how they looking as well.
The story itself is pretty typical. Something occurs to re-animate the corpses, they have to try and figure out how to kill the corpses, some of the group become zombies/get eaten, and the government comes in and takes out the corpses. Even though it is typical, the cliches don't fail here, because the whole film isn't meant to be scary, but it is meant to be odd and cliche. The references to other zombie films, such as Dawn of the Dead, great in the film, and this is more of a parody then anything else.
Overall this is a pretty funny zombie film, and it does a good job in that it doesn't take itself seriously. It is one of those '80's films that have now reached a status of being a cult classic type of film.
Overall Grade: B-
Story: B
Acting: C
Audio/Visual: B