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Return of the Living
Dead (directed by Dan O'Bannon)
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As the story goes, Night of the Living
Dead co-writers George Romero and John Russo parted ways
before a follow-up script to the original zombie classic was
completed. Romero went on to make Dawn of the Dead
and Day of the Dead, while Russo penned the script
for Return of the Living Dead. Eventually Russo's script
ended up in the hands of Dan O'Bannon, who had written Alien
and was looking to direct. O'Bannon decided to go in the opposite
direction from Romero, making his Living Dead movie
into a humorous genre spoof.
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| Peter,
takin' no shit. |
Remarkably, both films came out great. Dawn
picks up where Night left off, with the world trying
to come to grips with the relentless hordes of flesh-eating
zombies combing the streets. Return treats the first
movie as a fabrication of what "really" happened:
a toxic chemical spill causing several corpses to become reanimated,
a fact that was later suppressed by the government. While
Dawn is essentially a serious drama about human survival,
it was much more humorous than either of Romero's other zombie
films. Return doesn't even try to be serious, placing
a group of punk and new wave teen stereotypes smack dab in a
cemetery filled with brain-eating ghouls. Unlike in the Romero
series, a shot to the head doesn't faze these bastards, and
they can actually think and talk!
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The
original Suicide girl.
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From a technical standpoint, the films are
about equal. Return looks a bit more professional,
but it was shot on a much smaller scale during the 1980's.
Dawn looks completely low-budget, but it is a much
"larger" film with some pretty intricate set pieces
(namely the tenement raid at the beginning and the biker showdown
towards the end). The principal actors in Dawn do a
pretty good job, especially Ken Foree (From Beyond)
as the black guy who, like in Night of the Living Dead,
has to hold everything together when all the dumb honkeys
start falling apart. The acting in Return is a bit
more on the hammy side, but you have to give them credit for
casting a young Linnea Quigley (Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers,
Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama, etc.) as
the goth chick who gets naked early on and stays that way
for the rest of the film.
Both
films feature pretty cool soundtracks, with "Dario Argento
and the Goblins" providing the Dawn of the Dead
score, and a plethora of creepy greats (Roky Erickson, the
Cramps, the Damned) rocking all over Return of the Living
Dead.
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Some
of the realistic zombie makeup from "Dawn of the
Dead."
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Apparently there is a deluxe foreign Dawn
of the Dead DVD which features both the director's cut
and the shorter Dario Argento cut. Additionally, there is
a theatrical cut that is also supposed to be shorter and Romero-approved.
I've only seen the director's cut, and that bitch is LONG!
I'm glad I watched it, because I like exposition and character
development, but if you're on a tight schedule I recommend
seeking out one of the other versions. Anchor Bay is supposed
to be releasing a deluxe Dawn package sometime this
year, so maybe that will have all three versions. As it stands,
the only extras here are some trailers.
The Return of the Living Dead DVD features
interviews with O'Bannon and conceptual artist William Stout,
a commentary track featuring both, and a gallery of Stout's
artwork. This is especially cool if you are a fan of Stout's
E.C.-inspired comic art, which you should be if you're any
kind of respectable horror geek. 
It's tough to pick one of these
films over the other. Neither are particularly scary, but
both are pretty gross. Dawn is certainly a tenser,
dark affair. Return is a lot of fun, with cheap thrills
to spare. You could say that Dawn is the quintessential
70's zombie film, and Return is the 80's equivalent
(all apologies to the decent Day of the Dead). I recommend
that you buy them both. I've gotta go, 'cuz all this analyzing
has made me hungry for BRAINS!!!
Choice Quote:
New Wave Geek: "How about you…do you like sex and
death?"
Punk Rock Chick: "Yeah…so FUCK OFF and DIE!"
(Return of the Living Dead)
(Click
Here for Dawn of the Dead's Technical Specs)
(Click
Here for Return of the Living Dead's Technical Specs)
RYAN-O
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