I know I’m going to be hated by a huge number of the horror
film fans but Return of the Living Dead (1985) is not one of my favorite zombie
films. It has its moments but it’s never
been a go to movie for me who is why I’m now going to say that I should
probably go back and re-evaluate it based on my viewing of the documentary More
Brains: A Return to the Living Dead (2011).
Director Bill Philputt has crafted one of the most engaging
and comprehensive documentaries on one of the most celebrated zombie films ever
made. There is no denying the impact
this film has had on the zombie and horror-comedy genre which is why it’s one
of the most talked about films to this day.
People talk about Return of the Living Dead in the same way that they
speak about John Landis’ An American Werewolf in London in that these are two
of the rare occasions where horror and comedy were perfectly integrated. The one reason why this film never stayed
with me is because of this very same thing as unfortunately I was always a
bigger fan of the nihilism of Romero’s Day of the Dead released the same year.
The documentary has an amazing list of people interviewed
from the film from most of the main cast and crew (which includes Don Calfa,
Clu Gulager, James Karen, Thom Mathews, Linnea Quigley, and John Russo, to name
but a few). The magic of the film is that
these people have such fond memories of making the film that you can’t help but
get caught up in the grandeur of it all.
Philputt has done an excellent job crafting an entertaining and engaging
film that honors the film while also standing on its own separate from that
film. If you’re not a fan of Return of
the Living Dead, this documentary will make you go back and re-evaluate it on
your own.
