10 Horror Movies Probably Made Out Of Spite
8. The Return Of The Living Dead
What do you do when you split with your writing partner and the director of one of the most influential films in the history of horror? Why, you set about taking the remaining assets you have and making your own movie to stick it to your buddy.
That was essentially the case with The Return of the Living Dead.
Previously, John Russo had co-written the seminal Night of the Living Dead with George A. Romero. When the pair finally went there separate ways, Romero continued on to eventually make Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead, Land of the Dead, Diary of the Dead, and Survival of the Dead.
Having seen the success of Dawn, and with Day in development, Russo decided to hatch his own venture back into the world of the shuffling undead. With the rights to the "Living Dead" title to his name, John began to put together what would become 1985's The Return of the Living Dead.
Interestingly, Return does reference and acknowledge Night of the Living Dead as a movie that exists within this world - but to throw shade in the direction of that film, Return reveals Night of the Living Dead was wrong in its depiction of its ghouls.