20 Cult Horror Movies You Must See Before You Die

2. The Return Of The Living Dead (1985)

Cult Horror Movies
Orion Pictures

When two bumbling employees at a medical supply warehouse accidentally release a deadly gas into the air, the vapors cause the dead to rise again.

After decades of zombie movies getting released to the masses, along with numerous video games, comic books, novels and one hit TV show, we’ve certainly had an ample sampling of what is good (and not so good) in the genre. After seemingly claiming the crown as king of zombies, there is a strong case to be made that George Romero absolutely did not make the best zombie movie(s) ever with his filmography but rather it was Dan O’Bannon’s The Return Of The Living Dead.

Going all out with the film’s inside joke, O’Bannon posited The Return Of The Living Dead as “based on true events,” and had his characters directly reference 1968’s Night Of The Living Dead only to have them subsequently abandon all of Romero’s ideals. The film is severely re-watchable and is as funny as it is frightening. 

It delivers buckets of blood, tons of zombie carnage and it has Linnea Quigley stripping naked in a cemetery. What more could you ask for?  

 
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Contributor

Jesse Gumbarge is editor and chief blogger at JarvisCity.com - He loves old-school horror films and starting pointless debates. You can reach out at: JesseGumbarge@JarvisCity.com