The Return of the Living Dead

1985

91 mins

Poster for The Return of the Living Dead

Directed by Dan O'Bannon
91%
79%
Comedy
Horror

The dead rise from the grave, hungry for brains, and ready to party in this comedic take on the zombie... More

The dead rise from the grave, hungry for brains, and ready to party in this comedic take on the zombie apocalypse.

When foreman Frank shows new employee Freddy a secret military experiment in a supply warehouse in Louisville, Kentucky, the two klutzes accidentally release a gas that reanimates corpses into flesh-eating zombies. As the epidemic spreads throughout the town, and the creatures satisfy their hunger in gory and outlandish ways, Frank and Freddy fight to survive with the help of their boss and a mysterious mortician.

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The Return of the Living Dead | Ratings & Reviews

91_%46 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes® rating
79_%55,547 reviews
Audience score rating

"It's kind of a sensation-machine, made out of the usual ingredients, and the real question is whether it's done with style. It is."

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Roger Ebert

"The volume of stagy gore quickly reaches a point of diminishing returns."

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The New York Times

"A fresh and immensely entertaining take on the zombie genre..."

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Film Threat

"An energetic cross-referencing of genre: not just a horror movie, but a comic apocalyptic zombie horror movie. O'Bannon has his cake, eats it, and then throws it up in the face of the audience."

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Time Out

"Essential, enormous fun."

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Empire Magazine

"Director Dan O’Bannon deserves considerable credit for creating a terrifically funny first half-hour... greatly aided by the goofball performance of James Karen"

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