The Return of the Living Dead (1985) - Behind the Scenes Featurette
6Behind the Scenes Featurette from the movie The Return of the Living Dead (1985).
The Return of the Living Dead is a 1985 American comedy horror film written and directed by Dan O'Bannon (in his directorial debut) from a story by Rudy Ricci, John Russo, and Russell Streiner, and starring Clu Gulager, James Karen, Thom Matthews, and Don Calfa. The film tells the story of how a warehouse owner, accompanied by his two employees, a mortician friend and a group of teenage punks, deal with the accidental release of a horde of unkillable, brain-hungry zombies onto an unsuspecting town.
The film, described as a "mordant punk comedy," is known for introducing multiple popular concepts to the zombie genre: zombies eating specifically brains, as opposed to eating any form of human flesh; and zombies being invulnerable to a gunshot to the head. Additionally, the film's soundtrack was noteworthy, as it featured several Los Angeles-based deathrock and punk rock bands of the era.
The Return of the Living Dead was released in the United States on August 16, 1985, by Orion Pictures. The film was a critical success and performed moderately well at the box office. It spawned four sequels.