Not Coming to a Theater Near You

The Return of the Living Dead Trilogy is one of my favorite 1980’s horror franchises. Unfortunately, it is also one of the most overlooked by critics and fans alike. Although not official sequels to Night of the Living Dead (which did have one remake and two sequels), the plots are continuations of the original zombie classic. Nonetheless, each film is unique.

The first (and best) of the three was made as both a sequel and homage to the aforementioned Night of the Living Dead. According to the film, that movie was based on fact, and the zombies that were created by an Army experiment were captured and put into containment barrels. Just so happens that these containment barrels end up at the Uneeda Medical Supply Company in Kentucky. When the two bungling workers accidentally release one of the zombies (exposing themselves to the “zombifying” gas in the process) things take the expected course. This film has the perfect mixture of horror and comedy, which other films have tried to copy without success. Highlights include a half dog, some punk rock kids, and the scream queen Linnea Quigley getting naked in a cemetery. This is film is sets its self apart from other horror films by actually attempting to give logical, plausible scientific answers for the things that occur. Once the Army finds out about the missing zombies, they nuke the entire state. Includes the famous line: “SEND MORE PARAMEDICS!” A must-see.