10 Double Movie Features From Hell
1. The Return Of The Living Dead And Return Of The Living Dead Part 2
The frustrating question a lot of filmmakers face is how to pay homage or respect to the works they personally love without mimicking them too much, or completely going overboard. The answer, before Shaun of the Dead found the right blend, was Dan O'Bannon's horror-comedy The Return of the Living Dead.
O'Bannon had a history as a bit of a subversive, working on John Carpenter's clearly weed-inspired sci-fi comedy Dark Star before drafting a draft of Alien that Cracked.com accurately pointed out was incredibly homoerotic. It's no surprise that his take on the zombie genre was co-written with one of the writers of Night of the Living Dead, but ultimately paid no respect to its predecessor.
The first scene sets up Night as bogus fiction, a lie made up by the phonies. This was the real deal, and the punky 80s soundtrack and dress only further sold its screw-you attitude.
One wonders, then, just what director/writer Ken Wiederhorn saw when he wrote a sequel to Return. The director of such schlocky classics like Shockwaves didn't have the same grasp of the material, and Return of the Living Dead part II is stunningly, brutally unfunny.
At first, it seems inspired to use Thom Matthews and James Karen again (both died in the original), the pair's energy and cluelessness were one of the most charming parts of the first film. In the sequel, however, they just become annoying.
Come for the first, stay for the embarrassing follow-through.
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