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Return of the Living Dead; ****/*****
SCARE FACTOR: 5/5
Ok, so if you don't already know... since most movies aren't SCARY, persay, I also count atmosphere and twists into this category. It gets a 5 because it's the perfect film to watch with some friends on Halloween night. It was the rainy, pitch black night setting, the graveyard, the zombies, and everything. Definately a good one. Oh, and for scares - while the paramedic is radioing in for more help... a zombie jumps into the passengers seat. I was expecting it to be his buddy, but it wasn't and it moved so fast and sudden and just attacked. I found that to be if even a little scary. Just the way it moved. Y'know?
COMEDY FACTOR: 4/5
It was rather funny, hehe, I enjoyed it immensly. Not as funny as... say, Evil Dead, but it was pretty damn hillarious nonetheless. I loved how it made fun of the US army too, subtle humour like that. No need to be in your face and retarded such as... say, Scary Movie.
BLOOD & GORE: 3.5/5
It is a zombie movie after all. It has some good looking zombies, but their faces look rather comedic. Like that "black thing" in the basement. There were some nasty scenes with some brain munching that looked rather good, as well as a few other little things here and there.
NUDITY & TA: 4/5
I'll give it a 4 because of the strip & dance scene, plus her later reappearence as a zombie. It showed all of her, which I was suprised to see. Didn't expect it to go below the waist, or at least for her to keep her panties on. It wasn't nudity all the time, nor did it feature any male skin, so no 5 for it.
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Ah... the 80's. You gotta love 'em. This was a fun little romp in the horror/comedy genre. I must say I was expecting more of an Evil Dead style to it, but I found this just as enjoyable. It certainly was fun, and I can only wish that movies now of days were like this. Rather then Scary Movie with it's plain out retarded humour, and recycled collage laughs. I found this more subtle, smart humour to be more satisfying, on a large scale. Currently it stands a close second with Evil Dead 2 as my favourite horror comedy of all-time. Of course, I haven't seen many... and should invest in a few Troma videos sometime in the near future (next week's marathon, perhaps?).
What bothers me about most zombie films is the logic behind them. Zombies eat brains... why? Why not just meat? And how exactly do skeletons move on their own without any muscles or organs? Zombies only die when their brain is severed. I can see why that happens. In my perspective, zombie films should take this into heart. A zombie is technically something brought back from the dead. Reanimated. It is simply a vessel, however decayed and destoryed, that still has it's important organs. The reanimation is simply a shock that gives it more life, another chance. It makes the organs go once again, and powers the brain if only a little. Allowing movement, thoughts, and all the things a normal human can do. Now it will be flawed because it's body is weathered, and shooting it and letting it die from bloodloss won't make it die. Instead, the organs must be destoryed. The heart, the brain... and for inmobility, the muscles. If you remove the muscles, the zombie should not be able to move - yet still be alive, and if you destory the heart, it will not be able to function. That's my gripse, realism.My way is not perfect at all either, but better then what was seen in this film. I'm not holding any of this against it, however, because that would just be wrong... lol.
I was glad - however - to find a redeeming point in this. The lady on the stretcher, severed at the waist. She was human, and she explained why she ate brains. I found that moment to bea highlight, it gave it human emotions - I was actually sad for it, I felt something for the zombies instead of just... hate and disgust. They, after all, are people too. Why would they want to attack others and eat them? Well, this answered it. To stop the pain.
Oh, and something just like The Omen. The music. A+! Loving those 80's grooves. They gave the scenes a certain... class to them. I don't know why. Perhaps it just had that effect when watching the film today, because of the age, and might have been seen as just typical soundtrack pieces when originally released. Hell, who cares.
In all cases, this film has definately NOT lost it's touch over time. Perhaps it's even better now, because of it's age. Mmhm!
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