Return of the Living Dead (1985) (Checkpoint; Collector's Edition; Lenticular Faceplate)

Finally!

By ash  Aug 27, 2002 | 1 out of 1 found this Return of the Living Dead (1985) review helpful

I won't bother going into the plot and characters here since that has all been said and done by many others, but I certainly want to mention what a blast it was to finally see 'Return Of The Living Dead' again at long last (and on DVD to boot). I had...n't seen this old High School favorite since the late 1980s, and I have to admit some surprise at how well it holds up years later. The riotous laughs are still there, as are the gross-outs and all of the great little background details (the eye-chart in the warehouse office, for example) that made this such a twisted delight when it was on Cinemax way back in 1986 and 1987. **EXTRAS**The audio commentary was pretty amusing at times, and very self-deprecating at others (Dan O' Bannon, while having grown proud of the film over the years, still loves to point out the technical shortcomings as they come up) and is definitely worth a listen to devoted fans of the film. I wish I could say the same for the featurette, which doesn't really add a whole lot more to the experience than I had hoped. Sure, the conversations are spiked with humor and we are shown some really nice conceptual art, but very little else is offered up. Too bad.The expected addition of the old movie trailers and commercials, however, is where this DVD really stumbles. I have no issue with the two cinematic trailers offered up (which I'm glad I hadn't seen before ever watching the movie as they give too many of the nasty surprises away), but running the exact same twin TV teasers over and over again with only Mr. Movie Voice saying "Advance Showing This Friday" or "Opening August 19" instead of "Opening Next Friday" gets *really* grating -- simply showing two of these would have sufficed. Anyway, while the extras may be a bit underwhelming as a whole, it's the gleefully black-hearted main attraction itself that counts the most, and it's still well worth the bucks and a must-see for anyone who likes their zombie films served up with brains (excuse the pun) and a wink. Read more Less