7.9 | / 10 |
Users | 4.8 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
On his first day on the job at an army surplus store, poor Freddy unwittingly releases nerve gas from a secret U.S. military canister, unleashing an unbelievable terror. The gas re-animates a corps of corpses, who arise from their graves with a ravenous hunger for human brains! And luckily for those carnivorous cadavers, there is a group of partying teens nearby, just waiting to be eaten!
Starring: Clu Gulager, James Karen, Don Calfa, Thom Mathews, Beverly RandolphHorror | 100% |
Sci-Fi | Insignificant |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 5.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
If you’ve ever wondered why George A. Romero’s follow ups to his epochal Night of the Living Dead, films like Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead, dropped the Living part from the title, the answer can be found in the often arcane contract clauses that attend many Hollywood deals. Romero’s erstwhile partner John A. Russo (was a middle initial “A” a requirement with this duo?) retained rights to the Living Dead title, though a cursory examination of Russo’s credits seems to indicate that he never used it again (in the film world, at least) other than in 1985’s The Return of the Living Dead, a film which ironically evidently jettisoned much of Russo’s original story as it wended its way through at least a couple of directors and other production personnel. The fact that the original Night of the Living Dead appeared in 1968 and this putative “sequel” took virtually two decades to finally arrive may well argue that this supposed “franchise” never really was—a franchise, that is. The two films both feature zombies, of course, and there are certain tonal linkages between them, but “this” Living Dead is manifestly removed from much of the original Romero film, and perhaps by default from the original’s 1990 remake. I’ve been at several screenings of the original 1968 Night of the Living Dead through the years, often surrounded by folks who have never seen the film previously (yes, there are such people), and the reactions are often surprisingly similar—increasing angst combined with at least occasional titters of laughter. The Return of the Living Dead’s writer-director Dan O’Bannon doesn’t shy away from making audience laughter an actual goal, and the film is often a cavalcade of slapstick and other goofy comedic elements. As such, it may not appeal to tried and true horror fanatics who want their fear factor divorced from humor, but for those who enjoy the sort of piquant mish mash of horror and comedy that is part and parcel of films like Evil Dead 2 may well enjoy this outing more than “just” a typical zombie film.
The Return of the Living Dead is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Scream Factory, an imprint of Shout! Factory, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. As fans of the film know, there was a previous MGM Blu-ray release, and I've tried to come close to duplicating several of the screenshots from Casey's review of that version so that those interested can do side by side comparisons. Casey "hesitated" to state that the MGM version would ever be topped, and that's a good thing, because by most yardsticks we use to measure these releases, there's little doubt that this new Scream Factory release trumps the previous MGM release. The Scream version's palette is at least incrementally warmer and the overall look a bit darker (contrast screenshot 7 between the two versions), but clarity and detail are noticeably improved in this new iteration. Shadow detail is also at least incrementally better, and best of all Shout's recurrent issues with compression are largely (almost completely in fact) absent from this release. A somewhat heterogeneous look still accosts the overall appearance, with individual scenes (and even moments) looking fuzzier and less detailed than others. There are still just a few passing moments when chunky grain almost gives way to compression issues, but by and large, and especially considering how dark and rainy so much of the latter part of the film is, things look very good and my hunch is most fans will be very pleased with this release. My score is 4.25.
Scream Factory has provided three audio options on this release (not including the several commentary tracks which are detailed in the Supplements section, below). There are DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono, DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 tracks included (I've taken the unusual step of listing a DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track in the specs above, despite its 2.0 encoding on the disc in order to differentiate it from the "actual" 2.0 track.) The 2.0 mono track recreates the film's original theatrical exhibition very well, and in fact I actually preferred it to both the 5.1 track, where dialogue levels seemed a bit low and the 2.0 track, which tended to open things up in terms of the music but not enough that I was thinking "wow, what a difference!" Fidelity is generally excellent across all three tracks, and lovers of the film's many source cues will probably want to experiment with the 5.1 and 2.0 tracks. The 5.1 track does place sound effects in discrete channels, and certainly provides more low end for the music, but otherwise immersion is spotty at best.
Disc One
- Gary Smart, co-author of The Complete History of The Return of the Living Dead, and Chris Griffiths*
- Actors Thom Mathews, John Philbin and Make-Up Effects Artist Tony Gardner*
- Director Dan O'Bannon and Production Designer William Stout
- The Cast and Crew (William Stout, Don Calfa, Linnea Quigley, Brian Peck, Beverly Randolph, Allan Trautman)
*New commentary track
The Return of the Living Dead is a funny and goofy "take" on the zombie genre, and it's notable that it actually helped foster certain genre tropes that are now considered "canon". There's no doubt that this Scream Factory release tops the MGM in video quality, and there's simply no competition when it comes to supplemental features, always one of the hallmarks of this imprint's Collector's Editions. Highly recommended.
1985
DVD Packaging
1985
1985
1985
1985
Deluxe Limited Edition | Limited to 1,000 - SOLD OUT
1985
1985
1985
1985
1985
Collector's Edition
1985
Includes Enamel Pin+Exclusive Poster | Collector’s Edition
1985
1985
Collector's Edition
1988
2011
Reissue
1985
Collector's Edition
1988
Collector's Edition
1984
Director's Cut
1986
Collector's Edition
1988
1986
1988
1985
Unrated Special Edition
2008
2016
2013
1987
Collector's Series
1989
2016
2007
2016
2013
1986