The makeup effects are tremendous, and Calfa and especially Karen are hilarious as working stiffs (no pun intended).

| Original Score: 3/4 | Feb 15, 2023

Part spoof comedy, part kitschy horror, The Return of the Living Dead was tailor-made to achieve cult status.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Apr 9, 2022

The Return of the Living Dead is the most 1980s zombie movie ever made and I say that as a compliment. Mostly.

| Nov 2, 2021

It's a mammoth amount of fun, with a sharp trashy punk/new wave soundtrack and a trio of perfect performances by middle-aged actors in the midst of posturing, attitudinizing youth.

| Original Score: A+ | Sep 14, 2020

The scares are always accompanied by silliness, though the special makeup effects are often outstanding, contributing to a considerable yuck factor.

| Original Score: 7/10 | Sep 7, 2020

There's ultimately little doubt that The Return of the Living Dead improves steadily as it progresses...

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Aug 22, 2020

It doesn't feel like a single second is wasted in its well timed 91 minutes, providing constant entertainment.

| Jul 17, 2020

Return of the Living Dead continues the Romero tradition with comic flair and enough horror to keep any fan happy.

| Apr 9, 2020

[Return of the Living Dead] stood the test of time because it blended real scares and a few honest-to-goodness, heart-wrenching moments in with its humor.

| Feb 28, 2017

Dan O'Bannon's The Return of the Living Dead is a classic of the zombie genre that delivers a good laugh with its silly, over-the-top nature, while also giving you several thrills along the way.

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Jul 18, 2016

an icon of the 80s

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jan 18, 2014

For pure eighties, punk rock, walking dead, brain eating mayhem, this is the film to watch.

| Oct 14, 2012

Essential, enormous fun.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jun 6, 2012

Bastard Son of a Prodigal Son: Interview on The Complete History of The Return of the Living Dead

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Mar 30, 2011

The Return of the Living Dead is in fact the real deal.

| Feb 25, 2011

Ed O'Bannon and John Russo may have intended The Return of the Living Dead as a comedy, but it's just too damn gory, too scary and too good to be dismissed as a zom com.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Sep 19, 2010

O'Bannon deserves considerable credit for creating a terrifically funny first half-hour of exposition, something in which he is greatly aided by the goofball performance of James Karen as a medical supply know-it-all.

| Mar 26, 2009

An amusing, punk variation on the familiar zombie theme.

| Jul 12, 2008

This is parody with brains.

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Mar 17, 2008

Equal parts horror and comedy, Return of the Living Dead finds success on both fronts.

| Oct 13, 2007