Return of the Living Dead

Return of the Living Dead
Credits
Title:	Return of the Living Dead
Director:	Dan O'Bannon
Writers:	Dan O'Bannon; Rudy Ricci; John Russo; Russell Streiner
Producers:	Jon Daly; Tom Fox; Derek Gibson; Graham Henderson
Composer:	Matt Clifford
Cinematography:	Jules Brenner
Editors:	Robert Gordon
Production
Distributed by:	Orion Pictures Hemdale Film
Released:	August 16th, 1985
Rating:	R
Running time:	91 min.
Country:	USA
Language:	English
Budget:	$4,000,000
Gross:	$14,237,000
Navigation
Previous:	—
Next:	Return of the Living Dead Part II

The Return of the Living Dead is an American horror film of the zombie and comedy subgenres. It is the first installment in a series that yields three sequels, beginning with Return of the Living Dead Part II in 1988. The movie was written and directed by Dan O'Bannon and produced by Hemdale Film for Orion Pictures. It is based on a book written by by John Russo. The film was released theatrically in the United States on August 16th, 1985. The Return of the Living Dead stars Clu Gulager and Thom Matthews as Burt and Freddy - two bumbling morgue attendants, who unwittingly open a sealed canister containing the remains of a zombie. As with many such instances, this of course begets a zombie plague that overtakes the town of Louisville, Kentucky. Adding to Burt and Freddy's woes is the presence of a gang of punkers who must contend with the hungry jaws of the brain-eating living dead.

Cast

Main cast

Actor	Role
Clu Gulager	Burt
James Karen	Frank
Don Calfa	Ernie
Thom Matthews	Freddy
Beverly Randolph	Tina
John Philbin	Chuck
Jewel Shepard	Casey
Miguel Nunez	Spider
Brian Peck	Scuz
Linnea Quigley	Trash
Mark Venturini	Suicide
Jonathan Terry	Colonel Glover

Supporting cast

Actor	Role
Cathleen Cordell	Colone's wife
Drew Deighan	Paramedic #1
James Dalesandro	Paramedic #2
John Durbin	Radio corpse #1
David Bond	Radio corpse #2
Bob Libman	Tac squad captain
John Stuart West	Riot cop #1
Michael Crabtree	Riot cop #2
Ed Krieger	Riot cop #3
Robert Craighead	Cop #1
Paul Cloud	Cop #2
Derrick Brice	Gunnery sergeant
Leigh Drake	Dispatcher
Terrence M. Houlihan	Yellow cadaver
Allan Trautman	Tarman
Robert Bennett	Headless Tarman
Jerome "Daniels" Coleman	Legless corpse
Cherry Davis	½ lady corpse

Uncredited cast

Actor	Role
Rick Askew	Officer
Dan O'Bannon	Loudspeaker officer
Larry Odien	Yellow corpse
William Stout	Bum with shopping cart

Notes & Trivia

• The full title of the film is The Return of the Living Dead.

• Tagline: They're Back From The Grave and Ready To Party!

• Production on The Return of the Living Dead began on July 4th, 1984. Principal photography concluded on August 28th, 1984. The movie was shot on location in Louisville, Kentucky.

• Story developer John A. Russo is credited as John Russo in this film.

• Actor Miguel A. Núñez Jr. is credited as Miguel Nunez in this film.

• Actor Terrence Houlihan is credited as Terrence M. Houlihan in this film.

• Actor Robert J. Bennett is credited as Robert Bennett in this film.

• One of the most notable elements of The Return of the Living Dead is the introduction of the concept of zombies eating brains. As explained in the film, zombie eat brains because it alleviates the pain of being dead. The notion of zombies as brain-eaters has since become a staple of zombie lore and has been included in dozens of films, comics, video games and even pop songs.

• This film marks the directorial debut of Dan O'Bannon. O'Bannon is best known for co-creating and writing the screenplay for the 1979 sci-fi survival horror classic Alien. His only other work as a director is Shatterbrain (also known as The Resurrected) in 1991, which is based on a short story by H.P. Lovecraft.

• Another movie produced by Hemdale Film is The Howling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf, which was also released in 1985.

• Actor Miguel A. Núñez, Jr., who plays Spider, is credited as Miguel Nunez in this film.

• Actors Rick Askew, Larry Odien and William Stout are all uncredited for their participation in this film.

• Director/writer Dan O'Bannon makes a cameo appearance as the helicopter loudspeaker officer. He is also the voice of the bum outside the warehouse.

• The characters of Ernie and Burt are named after the two infamous Muppet characters as seen on sketches on Sesame Street.

• The two main actors from the film, Clu Gulager and Thom Matthews also appear in the film's sequel, Return of the Living Dead Part II, playing two different characters. Outside of this series, they have also appeared in other major iconic horror franchises. Clu Gulager played papa Ken Walsh in A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge in 1986, while Thom Matthews will go on to play Tommy Jarvis in Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives.

• This is Linnea Quigley's second role in a horror film. She previously played impaled crazy Santa victim Denise in 1984's Silent Night, Deadly Night.

• Actors Miguel Nunez and Mark Venturini both appear in the slasher film Friday the 13th: A New Beginning, which was also released in 1985. Miguel plays a character named Demon, while Mark plays a character named Victor J. Faden.

• This is the movie that begins the trope of zombies eating brains as opposed to just being flesh-eaters.

Recommendations

Beyond Re-Animator Bride of Re-Animator City of the Living Dead City of the Walking Dead Corona Zombies

Hell of the Living Dead Night of the Living Dead Re-Animator Return of the Living Dead III Walking Dead, The

External Links

Return of the Living Dead at AMG Return of the Living Dead at IMDB Return of the Living Dead at Wikipedia Return of the Living Dead at TV Guide Return of the Living Dead at Terror Hook

Return of the Living Dead at The Terror Trap Return of the Living Dead at Rotten Tomatoes Return of the Living Dead at Horrormovies.org Return of the Living Dead at Popcorn Pictures Return of the Living Dead at Obscurehorror.com