- Directed by: Ken Wiederhorn
- Written by: Ken Wiederhorn
- Stars: James Karen, Thom Mathews, Michael Kenworthy
- Run Time: 1 Hour, 29 minutes
- Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuko2euXYxw
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
Once again, a barrel of Trioxin ends up where it shouldn’t be and is opened by a couple of clueless guys. Since it’s right next to a cemetery, hilarity ensues as the living dead return again to terrorize a community. It’s pretty entertaining. If you loved the original and wish you could see it almost the same again but not quite as good or funny, this one is for you.
Spoilery Synopsis
We’re told about the army’s experiments with trioxin, which didn’t work out. It has since all been destroyed— or so they claim. We cut to a truck full of the stuff, driving through the rain. The truck driver is having a much better time than he should, and some canisters fall off the truck into the river.
Some annoying children go to the cemetery to hang out. This leads to a foot chase, and one kid hiding in a storm drain, where the canister is. They open it up, because of course they do, and inside, they see a face. They run and lock Jesse into a mausoleum.
Ed, Joey, and Joey’s girlfriend Brenda arrive at the same cemetery. Ed’s a bit of a graverobber. They open the crypt that little Jesse’s been locked into.
The canister bursts open, and the other two kids breathe in the gas, which quickly spreads throughout the cemetery. It then rains and soaks all the gas into the ground.
Jesse’s sister, Lucy, lets in Tom, the cable guy, and Jesse sneaks outside. He goes over to Billy’s house, and Billy is really sick after breathing the gas. Jesse goes back to the canister and finds it empty now. He writes down the army’s phone number from the can and sees the “Tar Man” there. “Brains,” yells the monster, and Jesse runs away. He soon spots the dead rising out of their graves. We then get a musical montage of zombies.
Ed and Joey take a break from head hunting to have a sandwich. Brenda gets tired of waiting and comes looking for them. All three of them soon figure out that they’re in trouble. They steal Tom the cable guy’s truck and make a run for it, but Joey’s an awful driver and knocks out the phone lines.
Back at home, Jesse calls the army’s phone number and reports the canister. The colonel comes to the phone just as Jesse loses phone service. Meanwhile, Billy’s dad gets his brain eaten. Everyone piles into Jesse’s house, much to Lucy’s surprise. The head in Ed’s bag starts moving, and now they all know what’s happening. There’s a lot of screaming.
Tom fights one of the dead and accidentally turns on Lucy’s Jazzercise video, which the dead find entertaining.
The group heads to the neighbor’s house for a car, and the doctor lets them use it. There are some automotive hijinks, as Ed fights a disembodied hand. There’s a lot more screaming until the group arrives at the local hospital. The doctor looks at Joey and Ed, but they aren’t looking good. The doctor thinks they’re already dead.
Tom, Lucy, and Jesse drive into town to the police station, but it’s locked up; the zombies are already here. They break into a house and grab some guns.
Brenda loads Joey and Ed into a car and drives off. She runs into the army, which has arrived. Ed and Joey go full zombie and eat Brenda’s brain.
The rest of the cast convenes at the meat-packing plant and loads up with animal brains. They drive through town, leading the dead behind them pied-piper-style. They stop at the electric generator plant, and Tom the cable guy rewires the city’s power grid as an electrical trap.
Billy’s been a zombie the whole time, and now he’s with the others, but he’s got an axe to grind with Jesse. Jese, on the other hand, has a screwdriver and isn’t afraid to use it. Jesse throws the switch, turns the power back on, and fries all the zombies outside.
The army comes in and burns what’s left of the zombies. Tom, Lucy, Jesse, and the Doc all walk off– they’re going to have to explain this all in the morning.
Brian’s Commentary
The original “Return of the Living Dead” (1985) is a huge classic of horror comedies. James Karen, one of the stars of that film, reappears here as Ed, not the same character, and Thom Matthews is back as his sidekick. “It’s almost like we’ve been here before,” Joey jokes at one point.
The dialogue is very 80s, but it works here. The creature effects are really good, with some being makeup and some animatronic.
It’s entertaining, but definitely a step down from the original.
Kevin’s Commentary
Someone thought it would be hilarious to have Thom Matthews and James Karen return as basically the same characters with different names in different jobs, which did help the movie, I think.
The effects are excellent, and there are some laughs, but the originality is low. It didn’t do it for me as the first movie did, but it’s okay.
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