The Return of the Living Dead

Play trailer

The Return of the Living Dead

R

Released Aug 16, 1985

1h 31m

Horror

Comedy

Sci-Fi

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

91%

Tomatometer

44 Reviews

80%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

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

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Critics Consensus

A punk take on the zombie genre, The Return of the Living Dead injects a healthy dose of '80s silliness to the flesh-consuming.

Read Critics Reviews

Chris Hewitt (UK)

Empire Magazine

Essential, enormous fun.

Rated: 4/5

Jun 6, 2012

Full Review

Simon Abrams

House Next Door

The Return of the Living Dead is in fact the real deal.

Feb 25, 2011

Full Review

Variety Staff

Variety

O'Bannon deserves considerable credit for creating a terrifically funny first half-hour of exposition, something in which he is greatly aided by the goofball performance of James Karen as a medical supply know-it-all.

Mar 26, 2009

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

The makeup effects are tremendous, and Calfa and especially Karen are hilarious as working stiffs (no pun intended).

Rated: 3/4

Feb 15, 2023

Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Part spoof comedy, part kitschy horror, The Return of the Living Dead was tailor-made to achieve cult status.

Rated: 3/4

Apr 9, 2022

Full Review

Chris Plante

Polygon

The Return of the Living Dead is the most 1980s zombie movie ever made and I say that as a compliment. Mostly.

Nov 2, 2021

Full Review

Read all reviews

El R

A classic cult dark comedy that captures the spirit of the eighties and entertains a lot! Iconic zombie as tar man has never been topped! Brains!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/24/25

Full Review

Laurian D

"Send more cops!" Enough said 🤣

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/16/25

Full Review

Omar G

Return of the Living Dead (1985). Some good shots, The three sexy chicks Beverly Randolph, Jewel Shepard and Linnea Quigley my favorite. A good cast Clu Gulager, James Karen, Don Calfa, Thom Mathews, Miguel A. Nunez Jr. Generational meeting of the fiftys and twentys year olds. 1969 in Pittsburgh, hospital for veterans. A chemical Trioxin-245 was spilled, it leaked into the morgue and made the corpses move as if they were alive. Dan O'Bannon director and screenwriter, Will Stout drew some scenes. I liked the shot of the old 50s car with the residue of the punks Suicide and Scuz. The name of Resurrection Cemetery. Good The soundtrack and the songs my favorite Surfin' Dead - The Cramps, with the sexy redhead guitarist Ivy Rorschach. The ending where the government destroys the city with all its tax-paying civilians, who later plagiarized O'Bannon in Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004) and Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007). The walking decapitated corpse was before Re-Animator (1985). The zombies are very dangerous, gliding, running and almost invincible. The classic scene of interrogating a corpse in half by O'Bannon as in Dark Star (1974), Alien (1979), Lifeforce (1985).

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

12/09/24

Full Review

Payton M

Girl please put some clothes on.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

12/06/24

Full Review

Dead I

Love it‼️💯🪦 Never gets old‼️💯🪦 They can't and don't make them like this anymore‼️💯🪦

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/29/24

Full Review

Tyler B

This is a hot, hot movie! I give it three wet kisses, and half of a punk rock punch!

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

11/25/24

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Dan O'Bannon

Director

Clu Gulager

Burt Wilson

James Karen

Frank

Don Calfa

Ernie Kaltenbrunner

Thom Mathews

Freddy

Beverly Randolph

Tina

Vampire's Kiss

63%

54%

Vampire's Kiss

Watchlist

Slither

87%

63%

Slither

Watchlist

Lifeforce

58%

46%

Lifeforce

Watchlist

From Beyond

81%

70%

From Beyond

Watchlist

The Blob

69%

59%

The Blob

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Blob

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Swiss Army Man, Blade Runner, 12 Angry Men and More Available on Netflix, Amazon Prime, and FandangoNOW

View more photos

Synopsis

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

Director: Dan O'Bannon
Producer: Tom Fox
Screenwriter: Dan O'Bannon
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Co: Cinema 84, Hemdale, Greenberg Brothers Partnership, Fox Films Ltd.
Rating: R
Genre: Horror, Comedy, Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 16, 1985, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 16, 2008
Runtime: 1h 31m

Most Popular at Home Now