good back-story, and good acting

A Masterpiece!

There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

A fun and brilliantly gory zombie romp that has the shades of satire present in Romero's zombie movies.

This movie is one of my favourites. Its very unique blend of 80s punk culture and the zombie movie works so well. The acting is 1st class providing some unparalleled performances. To have such a magnificent selection of odd ball characters in the same movie is one in a Billion. The late Dan O'Bannon died far to early and this movie is testament to that. The music, characters, script, and some of the best use of traditional prosthetics and effects techniques ever, all help make this movie a cult classic. It definitely deserves to be up there on center stage next to George Romero's work, in fact its in a class of its own.

This film lands in an absolutely perfect spot somewhere in between horror, spoof, and dark comedy, not an easy task to pull off. It has just the right amount of each to make it perhaps one of the most entertaining and fun to watch films of the genre, one of the most influential, and arguably one of the best.It's well cast, the actors deliver solidly convincing performances of their respective characters, and the dialogue is good. The sets are well done and the cinematography is excellent. The special effects are great considering the era it was made and the budget used, and create some very memorable imagery that will stay with the viewer long after watching the film. The punk rock soundtrack and theme music go perfectly with the film and do a wonderful job of enhancing the overall mood and viewing experience.I suspect some of the negative reviews of the film were made by viewers who either don't like the genre to start with, or they had preconceived ideas of what the film should have been going into it. Since it doesn't land solidly in either the spoof or horror category, viewers expecting it to do so may be disappointed. The key to this film is to simply let it entertain you, it does a marvelous job of that. Those who point out the clichés in this movie fail to recognize that this is the film that actually started most of them in the first place. Brains!!!This movie has aged well, and completely deserves its status as a cult classic masterpiece. No collection of good horror movies is complete without it.

Oh boy! Made with a skill and attention to detail which immediately raises it above all similar fare (including the sequel), RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD is one of the those essential horror movies that isn't afraid to play things for laughs. Sharing the same genre as the likes of other classics such as RE-ANIMATOR and EVIL DEAD II, this is a furiously plotted, hilariously acted masterpiece the likes of which don't come along very often! I'd probably say that this is THE movie that best sums up the punkish, counter culture feel of the '80s horror film, complete with dumb teenagers, dumber employees, and even dumber cops and paramedics. For once the heavy metal soundtrack fits in beautifully with the proceedings and its one of those endlessly quotable films that you'll be sampling with your mates in years to come.The cast is uniformly excellent, with the most memorable performers giving over-the-top performances. Whether it be weird bug-eyed embalmer Ernie, as played by Don Calfa, or nude punk Linnea Quigley in the role that rocketed her to scream queen fame, this is a film with some great and surprising turns. Clu Gulager keeps a recommendable straight face throughout in the serious leading role, whilst ghoulish over-the-top antics are provided by the inimitable teaming of Thom Mathews and James Karen. The special effects remain impressive and enjoyable and some are very well achieved – particularly the half-corpse on the operating table.The movie never lets up from the word go, with an excellent pre-credits opening, some great twists and successions as the initial accident turns into a major catastrophe, and the eventual chaos and destruction raining down on the lives of everyone involved. I loved the little things like the butterflies pinned on the board springing to life, or the split dogs. Most of the best laughs come from hilarious encounters with the living dead, whether it be the sawing up of the initial lively cadaver or the tar-man getting his comeuppance at the climax of the movie. Yet the film is also pretty gruesome and frightening with a zombie attack to rival those in Romero's films, on which this is obviously based. Original, mean-spirited, and most of all utterly enjoyable, this is one of my favourite horror comedies which gets better as the years progress and cinema just keeps getting worse.