What can I say folks; I thoroughly enjoyed this sequel to George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead. Though not in the same league as Romero’s work, this film has struck the right balance of taking itself seriously while simultaneously spoofing itself.
The action unfolds in a medical supply warehouse where the new kid Freddy (Thom Mathews) is being shown the ropes by veteran Frank (James Karen -Mulholland Dr., The Pursuit of Happyness). In an effort to impress the teen, and maybe freak him out a little, he takes him down to the basement to see the military containers delivered there accidentally many years ago. Telling him that contained within the barrels are the actual corpses from “the incident” on which the film Night of the Living was based. As soon as the characters from this sequel refer to it’s originator I knew I was in for a cheeky good time.
Chaos ensues as one of the containers is cracked open and a mysterious gas seeps out from within it. Soon the dead are rising and have but one desire….braiiiiins. As the cemetery begins to empty, much to the horror of the hooligan teens hanging out there, victim after victim is claimed. Things aren’t looking too good for Frank and Freddy either, with a strange pallor and lack of pulse; it seems even they may not be spared.
This film qualifies as a cult classic, the kind of film you know isn’t really very good, per say, but you find yourself enjoying anyway. Special features include interviews wherein, as usual, the actors all think they were part of something very special. There is also a zombie subtitle feature that is pretty much useless; however, there is a “secret” version of the same thing that is meant to be much funnier. I will let you figure out how to access it…! As an odd added bonus, the cover for this limited collector’s edition DVD glows in the dark.
Special Features:
The Decade of Darkness Featurette
Return of the Living Dead-The Dead Have Risen Featurette
Zombie Subtitles for the Film
Designing the Dead Featurette
