Return of the Living Dead Part II

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

A virtual remake of its predecessor, Return of the Living Dead (1985), which itself was a tongue-in-cheek rip-off of director George Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968), this follow-up adheres strictly to a gore and gags formula. Jesse Wilson (Michael Kenworthy), is a young boy being bullied by thugs from the neighborhood when all of them discover a sealed drum containing a zombie corpse. The release of a gas from the container reanimates the dead in a nearby graveyard, thus releasing an army of the undead, which mindlessly crave living human brains. As Jesse tries to contact the military to put a lid on the situation, the zombies are dispatched through a variety of gruesome methods. Two stars of the first film, James Karen and Thom Mathews, return in essentially the same parts, but with different names, as their characters were previously slaughtered. Followed by a third entry in the seires, Return of the Living Dead 3 (1993). ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo
• Screen: Soft-Matted WSE for 16x9 TV
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 (Alternate Wide Screen)
• Subtitle: Eng/Fre/Spa
• Features:
  • cc
  • Commentary by director Ken Wiederhorn and co-star Thor Van Lingen
  • Theatrical trailer
  • Languages: English & Francais
  • Subtitles: English, Francais, & Espanol

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       James Karen - Ed
       Thom Matthews - Joey
       Michael Kenworthy - Jesse Wilson
       Marsha Dietlein - Lucy Wilson
       Dana Ashbrook - Tom Essex
       Philip Bruns - Doc Mandel
       Suzanne Snyder - Brenda
       Thor Van Lingen - Billy
       Jason Hogan - Johnny
       Suzan Stadner - Aerobics Instructor
       Jonathan Terry - Colonel
       Sally Smythe - Billy's Mom
       Don Maxwell - Billy's Dad
       Reynold Cindrich - Soldier
       Mitch Pileggi - Sarge
       Arturo Bonilla - Les
       Terrence Riggins - Frank
       James McIntire - Officer
       Alexandre Trauner - Tarman

• Director:

  Ken Wiederhorn

• Producer:

  Tom Fox

• Screenwriter:

  Ken Wiederhorn

• Cinematographer:

  Robert Elswit

• Songwriter:

  Joseph Belladonna, Charles Benante, Brian Cadd, Paul Carmen

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  David Chackler

• Songwriter:

  Julian Cope, Geoffrey Gayer, Carey Howe, Scott Ian, Joe Lamont, Mantronik, John Moon Martin, Zodiac Mindwarp, Michael Olivieri, Robert Palmer, Bobby Pickett, Dean Roberts

• Composer (Music Score):

  J. Peter Robinson

• Songwriter:

  John Rooney, Dan Spitz, M.C. Tee, The Love Reaction, Frank Bello

• Editor:

  Chalres Bornstein

• Art Director:

  Dale Allan Pelton

• Co-producer:

  William S. Gilmore

• Set Designer:

  Suzette Sheets

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  Glenn Anderson

• Special Effects:

  Eugene Crum, Terry Frazee, Dewey Gene Grigg

• Stunts:

  Gary Lee Davis, William R. Perry

• Production Manager:

  Robin S. Clark

• Casting:

  Shari Rhodes

• Makeup Special Effects:

  Kenny Myers

REVIEW:

• With higher production values and lower box-office returns than its predecessor, this teen horror flick follows familiar financial patterns. Artistically, though, it's no better or worse than the first Return of the Living Dead. Casual horror fans would probably enjoy whichever film they saw first, while genre obsessives would find enough variety in plot and special effects to sit happily through both installments. Gags this time include a clever jab at MTV, knowing nods to Tobe Hooper's Salem's Lot and George Romero's Dawn of the Dead, and plenty more horrificomic dialogue from the gruesome zombie legions. Anyone who thinks self-referential horror-comedy began with the '90s Scream franchise should take a peek at this underrated series. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi