RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD is a Comedic Nightmare Tragedy

[@RyanHollinger]

*What's the BEST zombie movie?! ... Also, COMMENT below what I should cover next!* Go to expressvpn.com/ryan to take back your Internet privacy TODAY and find out how you can get 3 months free.

[@DDfan91]

The void, ginger snaps trilogy, hellraiser, the fear street movies and over the garden wall

[@ulqinaku8471]

shaun of the dead, baby!

[@boobootittleman7299]

Best zombie movie? Romero’s Dawn of the Dead, hands down. Also, I’d love to see you cover Doctor Sleep or the Storm of the Century mini-series. Anyway, keep up the good work Ryan!

[@theanticitizen]

Toss up between 28 days later and Dawn of the Dead(OG). And black summer might be the best zombie tv show. Also I would love to see you cover some of David Lynch’s work!

[@axelcordova8262]

The original Dawn of the Dead for me. Oh, and here's yet another obligatory request for Night in the Woods and Pink Floyd's The Wall.

[@WikiSorcerer]

The idea that the zombies are basically normal people driven mad by the pain of their rotting flesh with no hope of death ending it always made this film's zombies the most terrifying to me.

[@KatieLHall-fy1hw]

Yeah, it’s fun and silly, but you can’t stop and think or it gets pretty scary

[@Mantonization]

When I was a child, I was incredibly afraid of death because I thought your mind still existed after it. You would be buried and stuck in a box underground forever, aware the whole time and unable to do anything about it This film's concept of zombies managed to bring that horror back to me

[@NaturallyMeeee]

@@Mantonization that is terrifying 😨

[@joshuagraham2843]

@@KatieLHall-fy1hw the suicide part made me relises something

[@fosko7494]

This and Dawn of the Dead 2004 have the scarlet zombies on film.

[@DefiniteRicardo]

This movie is the equivalent of the time I got scared by a spider in the kitchen, I went out to the front of the house to look something to trap the spider on, but I accidentally locked myself out of the house and then realizing I left the tap on and the kitchen was flooding

[@skylx0812]

...imagine what would have happened if you tried to kill it with fire.

[@masstv9052]

did you go dancing naked on a graveyard mausoleum since you couldn't get in the house?

[@lanceturley7745]

All part of the spider's plan.

[@Th3Downz]

How did you end up fixing the situation?

[@cosmiceyness]

Certified three stooges moment

[@zeroanonymity9736]

It's pure schlock.... until they reveal WHY the zombies do what they do. The "Brains" scene recontexualizes everything before and informs everything after, these are still people and they're still AWARE. They're eternally suffering.

[@DinsRune]

I love that scene because it's what I would think of after viewing the film, "well could you try talking to the zombies and figuring out what they want?" It feels very much like it's playing with the rules they've established for their zombies.

[@chris7921]

When I saw this film as a kid my dad would laugh hysterically and I could never understand why as to me and my brothers it seemed like a proper horror film, only now do I realise how funny and amazing this film truly is

[@chris7921]

@@-Chadnik yeah, missed my point completely

[@noahjester8471]

@@chris7921 I got what you trying to say, sir.

[@dislike_button33]

@@-Chadnik Most do. Some kids can't appreciate it though.

[@maxpayneful4328]

Same here with my mum 😂 this films brings back looooads of nostalgia during the early 2000’s when we still used VHS Tapes, my dad got it on VHS in the late 80’s at a store that closed down and he rented it but never gave it back. We still have it now, and I can guarantee it still works the VHS is righteous.

[@chris7921]

@@maxpayneful4328 did you ever see Killer Klowns from outer space?

[@Andy-ct8be]

This movie scarred the hell out of me as a kid, I'm almost offended by how funny I find it now.

[@razinhell4519]

Same,im glad to rewatch this movie now knowing how actually good it is understanding it

[@GamerGuysReviews]

Same! Saw it when I was 12 and was rightfully freaked the f*cked out! Now, it's one of my all-time favorite horror flicks!

[@graboidfan31]

This movie scared the hell out of me at 21 when I watched it for the first time a few years ago. The concept of dying but not passing on and just suffering as you rot is soooo scary.

[@RictusHolloweye]

@@graboidfan31 - That was definitely the most horrifying aspect of the movie. Not just knowing that being dead will be a long, painful experience... but also knowing that the zombies outside were decent people driven to horrific acts by their unrelenting agony.

[@jbark678]

I feel the same way about It with Tim Curry

[@heyseed1673]

Man, I always felt for Suicide in this movie. He seems like one of the most legit out of the punk kids, and he meets his fate leading the charge to help a friend.

[@LynetteTheMadScientist]

Yeah I really liked him. He was a real one, he didn’t deserve to go out like that

[@NukeCaulfield]

Don't feel bad for him. All of them were doomed. At least he died a hero. Feel bad for the audience for not getting more screen time of him.

[@calessel3139]

Agreed. Also, the first act sets Suicide up as the bad ass leader of the movie, which in any other zombie film would have either had him end up being the sole survivor or going down in a blaze of glory. Instead he's off'd by the Tarman as his first (and only) victim. Suicide's only response is to blurt out "What the fuck" as the Tarman chomps down of his head. So it's a humiliating death for Suicide and one that genuinely shocked me the first time I saw ROTLD.

[@cyanidesmile7263]

Willing to die to help someone? That's totally punk.

[@CaptainKirkDiggler]

​@calessel3139 That's because Spider is the real leader of the punks, not Suicide. But I agree... would have loved to see more of him but he HAD to die to show how dangerous the zombies were and that you can't kill these with "brute force"... gotta use your BRAAAIIINNNSSS.... and you still die.

[@geoffreyfyfe2248]

"You said destroying the brain would kill it!" "It worked in the movie!!!" "Well it didn't work here!" "YOU MEAN THE MOVIE LIED?!!!" The indignant tone of that last line cracks me up. Like "How dare pop culture lie to me!"

[@robertodell9193]

My favorite line in a movie full of great lines.

[@ghostman5620]

I always heard... "Well didnt the movie lie!"

[@ghostman5620]

@@robertodell9193 "Christ Ethyl! I Dont Know!"

[@SantanicoDiabolical]

@@ghostman5620 well good for you, you're wrong.

[@ghostman5620]

@@SantanicoDiabolical matters more to you than any other soul on the planet.

[@sifatshams1113]

I love the barely-audible line an offscreen character casually makes in one scene: "Trash is getting naked again."

[@FFKonoko]

Spider, Suicide, Scuz, Trash. They broke the string of s names, but it was probably for the best.

[@thing_under_the_stairs]

I knew a punk guy like that back in the day. Always looking for an excuse to get naked. Nowhere near as attractive though.

[@manticore6963]

That tar-zombie was the reason why I wanted to see this movie, he just looked so grotesque and scary and both his costume and the animatronic are awesome. And I'm normally not scared by zombies, but that fucker still gives me the creeps. And the movie itself is wonderfull, the thought of the zombies never dying is still terrifying to me.

[@skeletspook]

Ugh that pink tongue… somehow that makes him extra gross

[@skylx0812]

That thing's teeth were pristine white even before teeth whiteners were a thing. 😁 ...makes 'im look so now and today.

[@masstv9052]

oh my god, that zombie is so iconic

[@KingNexusMOCs]

*Tarman

[@DinsRune]

Tar Man is one of those special effects that looks _so good_ that it makes modern effects look behind the times. It's just a "Movie Magic" moment whenever I see it.

[@harmonlanager2670]

I just had a kind of horrifying thought: Tarman was trapped in the canister. We have no idea how long he was in there, suffering as he feels himself rotting away. Unlike the other new zombies, he has been in pain continually. So what we originally interpret as mindless behavior is actually just a human driven to madness.

[@ash_j_williams]

Yeah and he was one of the zombies that were captured at a morgue so this wasn't the first time he was reanimated since he was in some kind of stasis inside the canister and brought back again and in even more pain since most of his flesh was melted away and he's basically a skeleton almost

[@shinbakihanma2749]

Actually, we do have an idea of how long Tarman was trapped in that canister in stasis - around 20 years. Remember, he was one of the original cadavers reanimated by the Trioxin 245 gas, in the VA hospital morgue during the 1960s. I always wondered how they got those Trioxin zombies in those canisters in the first place. Also, nothing Tarman did, looked like "mindless behavior". When he used that chain winch to try and pry open the locker door that Tina locked herself in, we knew he was built different.

[@peteywheatstraws4909]

Frank says 1969 in his soliloquy about the reference to "Night of the Living Dead" film origins. That movie was released in 1968, I believe.

[@lisah-p8474]

Aside from the tar zombie, my favorite is that Spirit Halloween skeleton that rises from its grave and inexplicably has completely intact eyeballs. Because that's how decomposition works, obviously. Lol. The visible puppeteering rod in its mouth is also *chef's kiss*. (I'd still rather have less than stellar practical effects than bad/overused cgi. But that's a whole other can of worms.)

[@KatieLHall-fy1hw]

I like that one too 😆

[@KH12foreve]

Fun fact: that's one of the few special effects that remained in the film that was done by the original effects artist who was fired for making really bad zombie masks and effects. Look up the original effect he tried to do with the headless cadaver, it looks like a dude with a raincoat stretched over his head.

[@lisah-p8474]

@@KH12foreve I'm going to have to look that up! I'm sorry that guy got fired but I think it was for the best. Lol

[@rynolascavio3381]

Trash turned into a Ronald McDonald zombie. For some reason, that scared me too.

[@adampoll4977]

"One character gets naked for no reason..." Yes, there IS a reason. Linnea Quigley!!

[@peteywheatstraws4909]

A fuckin men. She was bangin in this movie.

[@joshbare4828]

This is one of my favorite zombie movies ever. There's a nihilism in the movie that permeates the entire film. There's no way to stop the zombies here. No matter what you do, you can't kill them. Plus, it gave us brain eating zombies. Not to mention, I love Linea Quigley. One of my favorite 80s scream queens.

[@medusagorgo5146]

I was a teenager during this time period, I always felt a sense of looming dread over my life and my friends felt the same way. It was the Cold War and the threat of nuclear annihilation which spurred on our nihilism. We had movies like the Day After and others which if we were to fall into depression we could never recover. So instead we did stupid shit, got high and drunk.

[@masstv9052]

@@medusagorgo5146 I was at preteen during that time, and remember having the same feelings. especially the movie The Day After. I remember tearing up during that movie because of the sense of dread and the constant propaganda on TV about nuclear war, and the Cold War, and other nationalistic propaganda. it had a sense of dread over me most definitely. but now looking back at those films, whether it's this one or movies like the day after, they're almost hilarious. especially after thinking about how they made me feel as a child or a preteen. I still remember when the movie The Day After was on tv, my father was laying on the couch then there was a coffee table, and then I was laying on the floor on the other side. I think he heard me tearing up and I was trying to hide it. and I remember him asking me if I was okay and kind of giggling a little bit about it. of course I told him I was fine, he was one of those John Wayne types. be a man and walk it off type of guys. so I never wanted to let him see me get emotional or cry. not that he was abusive or anything. it was just in my own mind I didn't want seeing me cry or show emotions

[@somebrokecollegeguy]

I made the mistake of walking in on the scene where the Tar-Man was going after Tina in the basement when I was 12 years old at a friends house and I legit couldn't go in my basement for MONTHS after.

[@noahjester8471]

That's how I was at my cousins house and the "Monster Blood for Breakfast" episode of Goosebumps. Was scared of the dark and being alone for years after, on top of a night terror. Now, I lurk in the dark quite comfortably 🙂

[@Th3Downz]

MORE BRAINS

[@Malum09]

I would argue that halfway through the movie it stops being a dark comedy and becomes a 100% horror movie

[@Simon-yp7rv]

About the time Suicide gets bitten I'd say. Poor guy

[@LionmaneElsie08]

Tar Man was what sealed the deal of my fear of zombies. Even now he frightens me to a tremendous level, a slimy intelligent zombie is just a massive nope

[@Sabrelon]

I've seen an absolutely absurd amount of cult horror films at this point and while Return has always been on my list I've never managed to actually sit down and watch it--so this was the first video I paused halfway through to do before finishing. Thanks for prompting it!

[@ericjackson2787]

How was it? Me personally it’s my favorite movie of all time.

[@ericjackson2787]

Also very shocked you’ve never seen it being the fan you are.

[@stixsis4656]

This movie is a great combonation of dark comedy with its dialogue and existential dread with how crazy the zombies are. I'm glad you're finally covering it and letting more people know about this great film

[@masstv9052]

the graveyard dancing, is iconic for its era. I think every teenage boy who seen it remembers that scene has it burnt into their brain

[@soakedbearrd]

Yeah I think I was like what 7 when I saw this in the movies (80's lol) and my parents tried but failed to cover my eyes.

[@richardfilanderer]

My all-time favorite horror-comedy. It’s the perfect blind of visceral body-horror and slapstick. And best of all, it’s a perfectly fun movie for the whole family to enjoy. Awesome you’re finally reviewing it!!

[@KingOfGaymes]

Idk about the “whole family”, judging by the comments of people who were scared by this as kids lol

[@ricomajestic]

Definitely not a family film!

[@arthurrimbaud7287]

It isn’t a horror-comedy. It’s a horror movie that has some comedic levity.

[@kaelang12]

ah yes, the origin of when zombies craved brains this franchise is an important piece of history

[@crimsonpriestess5519]

This was the first zombie film where I ever saw the fast moving zombie and the fact that they could chase you down always scared the crap out of me as a kid. One of my favorite horror movies! Thank you for reviewing it!

[@NoirFan84]

This movie is a hell of a fun. This & Re-animator would make for a cracking double-feature. Two masterpieces of 80's comedy-horror.

[@MandleRoss]

"HE'S DEAD!?" "Not... anymore."

[@sonicroachdoggjrraven3263]

Wow what a coincidence I just did exactly that! I watched Re-Animator first then kicked it off with this.

[@DJtheBlack-RibbonedRose]

"Comedic Nightmare Tragedy." Three words you *definitely* wouldn't expect to see in the same phrase together but somehow, this movie (& Ryan Hollinger) makes them work. 😆🌟

[@masstv9052]

with the good Freddy Krueger films count for those three words? especially during that era of filmmaking.

[@DJtheBlack-RibbonedRose]

@@masstv9052 Yes, actually, I very much think they would! 👍😉

[@Jmetclaf7053]

This was my first “real” horror movie. It scared the Hell out of me when I was 10, but after a few years I finally started to get in on the jokes. I still watch it every Halloween, as part of a triple feature with Trick or Treat and Evil Dead 2.

[@soakedbearrd]

Evil dead 2 another classic. I don't think I ever saw Trick or treat, time to put it on my to see list.

[@maxpayneful4328]

Until this very day my mother still owns a VHS copy of this film that my dad rented from an old independent film shop, but he never returned it in time and the store ended up closing so it’s just been floating around ever since. It still works now, I’m sure of it and occasionally I’ll watch it when I want to have a nostalgia fest.

[@MichaelLeroi]

I love this film. The only horror comedy that's actually as scary as it is funny! Can't wait to hear your take

[@Armored-Cat]

This is still one of my favorites! I saw it along with evil dead and aliens, they were among my 1st horror movie experiences. Rocky Erickson singing, Burn the Flames, while Frank lowers himself into the furnace, was tragically well done.

[@BOTCHED]

Tar man is one of the coolest looking zombies in a movie ever.

[@philyeary8809]

Yes it is.

[@ectofriend]

This is one of my favorite movies, so perhaps I have bias, but I never believed in the idea that the film was without commentary. With just the ending alone you have a poignant jab at US government that rang true for many people at the time of the film's release. The idea that the US government will take the quickest action in hopes that a situation takes care of itself, instead of thoughtfully or properly handling a problem, is a concern that was huge at the time and still is now. Considering the fact the film takes place right in the middle of both the Cold War and the AIDS epidemic, I don't think this is that far fetched of an idea. I also feel that plays into the zombies of the film as whole. The name given to the chemical that starts the outbreak is derivative of the proper name for Agent Orange. And the idea of a zombie plague that just spreads with no real proper way to stop it, or even a proper understanding of how it works, calls back the fear surrounding AIDs at the time. The nuclear ending makes perfect sense to me. Its also worth noting that the film takes place over the 4th of July weekend, and you can't convince me that wasn't intentional to lead into this idea. I also feel the film is drawing compression between the young person's idea of nihilism and the older person's version of nihilism. The friends (not calling them punks cause only 4 of them are proper punks) have their nihilistic view that is common among goths, punks and young people in general. They feel extremely far removed from death despite acknowledging it and fantasizing about it to some degree, as seen with Trash and her "I know how I wanna die" bit. They all have an understanding that life is fleeting and as such carries a "Let's party!" mentality. This sense of young nihilism is then gone when they're truly confronted with the idea of dying. This then contrast heavily with the adults of the film, who are all at once more preoccupied with the idea of repercussion and reputation. Despite being the most obvious and easy answer to the problem, no one wants to call the number on the side of the barrel. Upon realizing their mistake, Frank insist on not calling the army out of fear of being in trouble for hoarding the barrels for so long. He's even adamant about calling Burt out of the same fear. And once Burt is brought into the picture, he has the same reaction. Not wanting to get officials involved out of fear of what the consequences would be for his reputation and business. They have an adult nihilistic view where their ideas of what are important are out of wack, and reputation, business, and avoiding trouble comes before anything else. Based off of the story Frank tells us at the start, the army most likely could have contained the "outbreak" before it left the warehouse if called earlier. But because of the adult's lack of responsibility, despite it being the easiest and most obvious solution, they don't call until in the very end, at which point its too late.

[@ageofdulltron2052]

You nailed it. The commentary was fairly obvious, just because it’s silly at times, that doesn’t diminish the message.

[@ectofriend]

@@ageofdulltron2052 kinda wish the video went into some of this a bit more, but what can you do?

[@ageofdulltron2052]

@@ectofriend you could make your own video! 🤷‍♂️😂

[@DinsRune]

Hot damn, sounds like you've got the start of a video script of your own!

[@calessel3139]

Very well said. I would also add one detail. The chemical "Trioxin" was a play on the name of the actual toxic byproduct of Agent Orange called Dioxin. Audiences in 1985 were well aware of Dioxin because of a high profile event known as the "Times Beach" disaster in Fenton Missouri which occured in the early 80s. This fiasco was due to Dioxin being used as a re-surfacing agent on the roads in the riverside town of Times Beach. It's a complicated story, but so many people became sick from the Dioxin that the entire town had to be evacuated, demolished and cordoned off as a toxic disaster site. The film obviously used this event as a basis to play on the very real fear that the public had of toxic contamination since it wasn't known how prevelant the use of Dioxin was in road resurfacing during this time period (it fortunately turned out to be used in this one incident only).

[@DandyGuy]

I was just thinking about this movie recently. Such a classic. The Tar Man zombie is still the best zombie monster I've seen in a movie!

[@nicolewong5971]

That was the best zombie of all time... The music was great. I paid 30$ to buy it on VHS in a bidding war back in the 90's it was out of print.

[@IndigoPhoenix21]

This is probably in the top 10 greatest zombie movies for me. It's fun, irreverent, scary and dark all at the same time. In a lot of ways, it kinda feels like a time capsule.

[@wstine79]

Zombies: "BRAINS!" Ernie: "Well, they just want brains. That's an easy fix. It can't get any worse." Zombie: "HOYEVERS!" Freddy: "It jusy got worse."

[@lornaginetteharrison7168]

“You mean the movie lied?” Words to live by.

[@nicholasdanner628]

I’ve never clicked on a video of yours faster, this is by far my favorite zombie movie of all time and was weirdly something I watched and rewatched again and again to get me through the first few months of lockdown (idk there’s something about a boring stay-at-home pandemic that makes one long for a more exciting potentially-the-end-of-the-world scenario), incredibly delighted to see you talk about this wonderful film, amazing analysis as always

[@Brittjones]

I’ve always thought that the comedy in this film is coming from stress…people use humor to cope when under stress…the characters in this film are actually in a similar way saying things that are funny but only to sooth themselves

[@SuperPal-tr3go]

Yeah the doctor guy that shows up to help really manages to capture that desperation.

[@sylph8005]

The punks were funny before anything got bad, so I don’t think it’s stress.

[@elijahbaker781]

Return Of The Living Dead is one of my favorite zombie horror movies, it really needs more recognition then it got back then.

[@atheisthumanist1964]

This is still in my top 5. I was in high school when it released and was really happy it added some comedic aspects. A few of us still get together once a year for a rewatch. It just never gets old!

[@burningmisery]

Probably my favorite zombie movie, despite the bleak ending & no escape. "Send more paramedics!"

[@livingcorpse5664]

Lifeforce is an amazing movie. We need more B-movies with A-movie budget.

[@RockySamson]

This has been one of my quintessential favorite zombie films for a long time now: conceptually terrifying, hilariously executed, completely reframed zombies in pop culture to the point where some people mistakenly credit Romero for the brain eating concept and dialogue, and utterly underappreciated. Thank you so much for coming around to it! More people deserve to know about this nightmarish undead game changer!

[@TheVeryAngryShrimp]

I have a fond memory of being 11-12 and watching the Tar Man scene at midnight with all the lights off and everybody asleep. I miss the days where I could get scared by movies like that :(

[@Lionel212001]

The most terrifying zombies. They are conscious and in constant pain. They 'feel' everything and brains are the only way to alleviate their suffering.

[@elwarrior7967]

I remember watching this movie at like 2AM when I was 8/9 years old just surfing through channels. It scared me to death and I could not get some of the scenes out of my head for years. I'm 22 now and I still watch it from time to time, although I'm laughing instead of hiding under my sheets. Definitely a classic!

[@m88nlighter]

Love to see you cover this movie! It holds a special place in my heart, I grew up surrounded and in love with horror but a few scenes from this movie really stuck with me, not because they were scary but just because they were a different and fun twist on the zombies I was accustomed to. Most notably the dog model, its a scene I think about all the time to this day.

[@robertdochter277]

Thank you for this review, Ryan. Return of the Living Dead is my favorite zombie flick!

[@Atelier_Nictus]

The movie is hilarious for most of its run, and then "I can feel myself rot." Chilling. 10/10.

[@davidhuster2700]

At 12 years old, newly obsessed with punk rock and already into zombies, I loved this movie in a way that hasn't really been matched at age 39.

[@wrestlingbuff87]

Genuinely LOVE the absolute nihilism in the movie. I only recently discovered it a few years ago when I got the Scream Factory release and every time I watch it, I'm always watching thinking there's a way of escape but there's not and I love it all that more for it. Great analysis!

[@andu1854]

The Zombies outsmarting everyone was a nice added touch

[@michaelbarbarich3965]

The overwhelmed and cowardly moaning by "Frank" throughout his experiences in this film is comedy gold. I'm genuinely saddened every time I see him put himself into the crematorium. Frank might have been overwhelmed and terrified, but he wasn't going to harm anyone.

[@JnEricsonx]

Reminds me of a audio log in the Dead Space games where a guy is recording him cutting off as many of his limbs as he can to lessen the chance that he once made into a necromorph that he can hurt anyone.

[@LilithLovewolfe]

This was a gift on an otherwise awful day, thank you. ROTLD has been a favourite of mine since childhood and I have Tarman tattooed on me haha. The perfect mix of comedy, horror and early zombie movie tropes 🖤

[@KryptiKFred]

Me too!🤘🏼

[@osmaromolina753]

I use to wonder why Tarman didn't attack Freddy and Frank when he got out of that tank...they were already dead. Tarman just waited in the shadows for a victim to wander in

[@kingbash6466]

I was always confused about this movie since I thought it was part of the Night of the Living Dead series. I do love this film purely for giving us Tarman, one of my favorite horror movie villains ever.

[@RydiaMerchan]

I LOVE this movie. I met Thom Matthews a bit ago, it was surreal talking about it. I still have nightmares about acid rain!

[@dantecarpenter6202]

The first The Return of the Living Dead is my favorite zombie movie of all time.

[@d4mdcykey]

Yes, so glad you got to this one! This is at the top of my list of hilariously entertaining comedy-horror films of all-time. Now I got to go watch it again after countless viewings over the years. A perfect get-together-and-drink film for parties.

[@taylorlsonars4237]

Literally watched this yesterday. Well paced and lots of setups and payoffs.

[@lukaspatel]

watching this film made me fall in love with horror. it’s not so dark that it’s unbearable, but has some terrifying story and atmosphere. i loved horror before this movie, but holy shit it’s so good.

[@johnathanmiller8765]

Ive been waiting for you to cover this is is my all time favorite movie since i was a child. Thank you ryan.

[@cassidyfriedman73]

Love this movie so much! I was so excited to see you cover it!

[@ghostman5620]

For a zombie movie...RotLD has some fantastic acting. Top notch. Especially James Karen and Don Calfa. The scene where Freddy is being lowered after the bruise on his back is discovered...watch how Thom Matthews gives a little trailing laugh as he agonizes. Fantastic. So many good memories associated with growing up with this movie.

[@smashfanwii]

The tar zombie is such a good design. Right down to its movement, it's instantaneously iconic.

[@worm9862]

Such a goddamn quotable movie. My favorite moment though is them screaming after trying to cut the head off, you really just need to see it and it's in your brain forever as being hilariously TRAGIC.

[@masstv9052]

or when they have the dog split in half but still alive, as a kid that upset me and scared me, not to mention the slimy zombie.

[@worm9862]

@@masstv9052 Ah yes, "Tar man" I first watched this when I was 11 or 12 and I am still very young but now as an adult looking back I acknowledge how that could've scared most younger people watching it. But every time I re-watch this movie I just laugh my ass off when his head gets bitten into like a crispy fruit.

[@Kris-wo4pj]

Fun part about dying. Ya can feel youre nerves dying if ya dont die instantaneously which is burning sensation and extremely painful until theyre fully dead or if youre lucky until shock happens. So the dead coming back to life would be in extreme amount of pain but their brain might be too damaged to allow shock to happen. And nerves being dead doesnt stop phantom pain.

[@lazarussolomon3541]

It's never been confirmed but I believe Return of the living dead was based on a real life incident In real life there was a town in Missouri that was abandoned due to a company that housed agent orange canisters was just getting rid of them without following regulations. Those canisters found their way into a local man's hands who unknowingly used it to pave roads. Canisters holding chem weapons not properly being handled, and finding themselves in a private hands who mistaking let it lose in a random American town which causes all hell to break lose. And the fact that the weapon in RTLD they said the weapon was a prototype successor to agent orange that failed.

[@peteywheatstraws4909]

Yeah so in 1969, in Verona, Missouri, there was a plant that manufactured the more aggressive chemicals for agent orange, the names are almost identical to the ones in "Return". Then they paid some guy to use leftover chemicals, mixed with used motor oil, to spray all the roads and highways for dust and vegetation suppression. In 1971, horses and livestock started getting sick and dying, then came the humans and pets. In 1974, the Center for Disease Control traces the dioxin deaths back to the plant. In 1983, the Meremec River flooded, and the dioxin spread and infested the entire city of Times Beach, Missouri, which was evacuated, bought by the government in 1984. Industrial incinerators were brought in, and an estimated 40,000 tons of toxic materials, including all the buildings, houses, and portions of the river were burned. The ashes were made into a gigantic mound. Then the government opened up a trail park in 1996, said it's "all good now". So there's the story.

[@sledgerivera3298]

I just rewatched this with my wife who saw it for the first time! And now my favorite film reviewer made a video on it awesome!

[@Jekyll_Jackal]

"You think this is a fuckin' costume? This is a way of life." - Suicide

[@93baby38]

My love for horror movies started at a young age. I remember watching horror movies with all my family and remember being terrified as a kid. But being around family created a balance of safety. And everytime i would watch horror movies i would be with alot of family so in a sense it brings alot of comfort because it reminds me of those intimate moments we shared

[@jeepamir508]

What makes this movie great is how rule-breaking it was. Running zombies, who are practically unkillable, and it's before Snyder and Boyle... And, after all, finding a balance between horror and comedy in a zombie movie is hard to achieve. Which is why we must value this movie even more

[@ghiacciolitelite6915]

This movie still terrifies me as an adult, it's just SO bleak and hopeless. Tarman has haunted my nightmares for over 20 years!

[@vicwolfrin]

A good zombie movie to do a video on would be Frankenstein's army, a cool different take on zombies with the director referring to them as zombots as they are rebuilt with machine parts.

[@TheyfoundRickGrimes]

The bit when the guy has turned and is trying to get to the others in the attic scared the shit outta me when i was little! 😨 but now its one of my fave zombie flicks - the effects still hold up today, most of the characters are likeable and actually hearing the zombies speak and what its like from their point of view was different ( 2 and 3 are pretty good too imo ☺) fab vid 👏👏👏

[@Thenewbagman]

One of the best without a doubt. Humoristic, terrifying and technically pretty impressive. The fuckin black gooey zombie is particulary creepy. Always unssetling to look at it, always fun as hell on heart.

[@jaekardzjr]

My good friend brought me to your page ... Good work thank you. I've always loved this movie

[@benjaminrondeau1]

I'd love to see you go over The Ghost and the Darkness, or maybe the novel of Jurassic Park since it's got a completely different tone from the moviw

[@DonPandemoniac]

Great review. A movie with many ideas, leaning on various genres, yet it blends them together very well. The first sequel wasn't much, but Return of the living dead III is very much worth a watch.

[@inquisitorlev8456]

That slimy zombie is the best zombie of all time.

[@Transblucency]

I've always loved this movie for the same reason that you identify initially as to why you love it. Bad luck and bad decisions become an inexorable cascade, It actually did subvert my expectations, shaped by almost two decades of watching movies with a more conventional story structure. After ROTLD, anything seemed possible in movies.

[@CGCGCG91]

Makes me sad that the Return series never got a decent Blu-ray release. Sure they're not as poignant as Romero's The Dead series, but these are zombie history too

[@DanFloresII]

I remember watching this movie in high school and totally missing all of this. I thought it was goofy as hell and dismissed it as that. Now I want to watch it again with enlightened eyes. Thank you for everything you do for horror, Ryan.

[@mr.checkyourself4672]

The first 3 Return Of The Living Dead the only trilogy to watch not those Syfy movies that ruined this franchise.

[@paulaatkins4955]

Saw the preview showing of this in '85 . Loved it! Gotta free t-shirt that I wore til it was ragged!

[@dantilion7915]

This was my favourite zombie movie of all time even to this day, the way the US army had to drop a bomb on them just to kill them was so cool

[@kylefields3951]

This is one of my all time favourite movies period not just zombie movie. I think it's the perfect example of how the way a story is told is much more important than the technical aspects of creating a narrative.

[@JanetSnakehole28]

Roanoke Gaming did a really good 'if this was real, how would it work, biologically' video about what it is about eating brains that helps the zombies' pain. I've always had a really big soft spot for Return of the Living Dead 3 & the whole oddly beautiful Romeo & Juliet vibe of it.

[@Tat2dDude67]

I remember these movies and how much fun they were back in the day. It's interesting to note that the same two actors who are responsible for starting the zombie outbreak are cast in the same sort of roles in the sequels. Thanks for the video Ryan.

[@CTKaraokeQueen]

Having taken a film class in college called Freud and Feminism in Zombie films (having never seen any zombie films beforehand), this stood out as being my favorite of the bunch I watched that semester (not counting the original Romero Living Dead films, naturally). So glad to see one of my favorite youtubers talk about this film and give it the love it deserves! Well done indeed!!

[@LynetteTheMadScientist]

I found it really fascinating how they present the idea of your humanity being eclipsed by your suffering. Every one of those zombies is a person who has people they care about in their lives but they no longer have the strength to behave in a loving way because their suffering is too great. The idea of spending your entire existence focused solely on easing your pain to the point where you neglect/abuse the people you love? That I think speaks to something we are all capable of.

[@StarShipGray]

Good people with good or at least benign intentions constantly making mistakes. ROTLD works because the characters make so many of the same choices that the rest of us would in a similar situation, and it’s genuinely painful to lose them because they weren’t bad people who deserved what happened to them - especially poor Frank and Freddy.

[@TheLight965]

LETS HAVE A PAAAARTEEEHHHYYYYY!!!

[@billjones5741]

That scene when it’s just screaming under the ground of the grave yard is so good. Never even thought of that. Being brought back to life but trapped in a coffin 6 ft under. Metal.

[@Platikum]

Best movie to watch on Halloween

[@MCLamb1984]

How did I miss your review of this!! Is this without doubt one of my favourite zombie movies of all time!! It’s ridiculous and I LOVE IT!!! I used to rent it from the video store repeatedly in the late 90s early 2000s

[@alvarocalcedoriveiro4731]

This is my favorite movie of the genre. I revisit it every year. it's as funny as is scary. Unlike current attempts; it depicts a terrible universe to live in where only a fate worse than death awaits you... I think its meta style and an ecological message could be defended; a precept in which the natural norm reinforces the unnatural effect of zombie-gas... the environment becomes the worst enemy imaginable.

[@Rise2Resist]

The nuke at the end that only continues and even expands the unnatural effects of the gas was a perfect punk rock nihilist ending.

[@ccomega929]

this movie was love at first sight, from the effects, the characters, even to the soundtrack, it was such a fun film, and than the added fact that it broke all the zombie tropes created by Romero, definitely made for a more grim story, knowing that there truly was no surviving this

[@Titan990]

Whoa I haven’t been this early.

[@allaninaet2835]

I love every character except for Scuz because of who played him. (He was one topic of the Nickelodeon documentary so he's not small.) I'm glad the female zombie ate his brain. Too bad he's the one everyone remembers that says the famous line of "You're dead and you're gonna turn into one of those THINGS!!" right behind Tarman giving us the now famous zombie trope.