Thank you, Shout Factory for this updated 4K treat, complete with a badass steelbook design!
Operating as neither a sequel to or a part of George A. Romero’s Zombie series, The Return of the Living Dead doesn’t really profess to be much of anything…except a hell of a lot of gory fun. That doesn’t mean Night of the Living Dead isn’t referenced because it is. Nor does it make the idea of zombies circa 1985 any less interesting. Yet, where this film earns its wings is in how it treats the subject of zombies…with buckets of blood and humor.
When Freddy (Thom Matthews) starts a new job at a medical supply store, longtime employee Frank (James Karen) decides to show him one of the company’s secrets: a corpse tucked inside a military “tomb”. The two employees accidentally release a toxic gas that reanimates the dead. Fortunately, the reanimated bodies are self-contained in the supply story…or so they think. First, there’s a dissected dog to deal with. Then, there are the cadavers who, one by one, come back to life. Quickly enough, the two – alongside a gang of punks and mods – discover that the ENTIRE cemetery next to the supply store has also been reanimated as a result of their little accident.
And so the madness begins.
Filled with enough blood and full frontal nudity – courtesy of the living (scream queen Linnea Barbara Quigley) and the reanimated dead – The Return of the Living Dead humorously plays with the ideas Romero first presented his audience with and then turns each and every one of them on their collective head until the final product is more 80’s comedy with just a hint of cheesy horror.
Written and directed by Dan O’Bannon (of Star Wars, Alien, Heavy Metal and Blue Thunder fame), the narrative works as it delves into the connectivity of close quarter mayhem that the Medicine Supply Store workers - now including Clu Gulager and Don Calfa - unknowingly wreak upon the “inhabitants” of the graveyard by burning the first zombie body. As the exposed men start to turn into flesh-eating creepy crawlers, everyone’s best guess is poison. Yet, when the rain begins to fall on the punks and mods in the graveyard and their skin begins to burn, it’s only a matter of time before the wild skinsations of becoming the undead are manifest to all.
Still, the first attack is the best, with a warning to “watch the third step” on a creaky basement staircase foreshadowing Tina (Beverly Randolph) and Spider’s (Miguel A. Núñez Jr.) entrapment in the supply store. With the mantra of “Brains!” and “More Brains!” on the tongues of each and every zombie, The Return of the Living Dead chomps its way into action with a comedic force – full of obvious and self-parodying dialogue.
The dead “don’t move around and talk” and, yet, in The Return of the Living Dead they do both. Even scary-looking children, too. They might even dance a bit, too. When 45 Grave’s glorious “Partytime” kicks in and the dead crawl from their slimy graves in the cemetery on a path to devour the living, you can’t help but grin at the spooky flesh-eating that is about to be inflicted against the soundwaves of some gnarly 1980’s punk. It’s no wonder then that this film has spawned four sequels with a possible sixth still on its way.
The Return of the Living Dead is a campy and memorable cult classic of melodious monster guts and 40-year-old funk.
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray [Limited Edition Steelbook] + Exclusive Poster
Home Video Distributor: Shout Factory
Available on Blu-ray - June 10, 2025
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles: English SDH
Video: Dolby Vision, HDR10
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Discs: 4K Ultra HD; Blu-ray Disc; Three-disc set
Region Encoding: 4K region-free; blu-ray locked to Region A
Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the cemetery, those brain-eating zombies are back and hungry for more tasty mortals. A fiendish mix of outrageous humor and heart-stopping terror, this 'veritable smorgasbord of fun' (L.A. Herald Examiner) delivers skin-crawling jolts, eye-popping visuals and relentless surprises! When an accident at a medical supply warehouse reanimates an army of corpses, they arise from their graves with a ravenous hunger ... for human brains!
VIDEO
The three-disc collector’s release of The Return of the Living Dead fixes everything that was wrong when the film was first issued on blu-ray courtesy of MGM. First off they’ve unleashed a NEW 4K scan of the interpositive. This effectively brings a brand new look to the film, freeing it of age and any other blemishes found on the prior release. The skin tones are natural and amped up on saturation and dark levels when needed. Colors are now strong throughout. Since this is primarily set at night, the dark tones are important and with this release they are dark and natural; effective in creating a sense of disturbing moodiness.
AUDIO
The Blu-ray is presented in DTS-HD 5.1 lossless Master Audio and contains a good mix of levels for multiple channels requiring no tweaking from its audience in order for dialogue to be heard.
Supplements:
Commentary:
The are four commentaries now included with the release. They are listed below:
- NEW Audio Commentary With Gary Smart (Co-author Of The Complete History Of The Return Of The Living Dead) And Chris Griffiths
- NEW Audio Commentary With Actors Thom Mathews, John Philbin And Make-up Effects Artist Tony Gardner
- Audio Commentary With Director Dan O'Bannon And Production Designer William Stout
- Audio Commentary With The Cast And Crew Featuring Production Designer William Stout And Actors Don Calfa, Linnea Quigley, Brian Peck, Beverly Randolph, Allan Trautman
Special Features:
Shout Factory adds A LOT of depth to the madness in the film. They know exactly what we want and spoil us with the NEW 4K Scan Of The Interpositive, the TWO NEW commentaries, and the NEW featurettes that focus on the special effects and the music of the motion picture. Also NEW is the episode of Horror’s Hallowed Grounds that revisits the locations used in the movie. There are interviews with almost everyone associated with the film’s release and history. It truly is a celebration!
DISC ONE (4K UHD, FEATURE FILM):
- 4K Scan Of The Original Camera Negative
- In Dolby Vision (HDR-10 Compatible)Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, 2.0
- Audio Commentary With Gary Smart (Co-Author Of The Book, The Complete History Of The Return Of The Living Dead) And Chris Griffiths
- Audio Commentary With Writer/Director Dan O'Bannon And Production Designer William Stout
- Audio Commentary With Actors Thom Mathews, John Philbin And Make-Up Effects Artist Tony Gardner
- Audio Commentary With Production Designer William Stout And Actors Don Calfa, Linnea Quigley, Brian Peck, Beverly Randolph, And Allan Trautman
- Zombie Subtitles
- In Their Words – The Zombies Speak
DISC TWO (BLU-RAY, FEATURE FILM):
- 4K Scan Of The Original Camera Negative
- Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, 2.0Audio Commentary With Gary Smart (Co-Author Of The Book, The Complete History Of The Return Of The Living Dead) And Chris Griffiths
- Audio Commentary With Writer/Director Dan O'Bannon And Production Designer William Stout
- Audio Commentary With Actors Thom Mathews, John Philbin And Make-Up Effects Artist Tony Gardner
- Audio Commentary With Production Designer William Stout And Actors Don Calfa, Linnea Quigley, Brian Peck, Beverly Randolph, And Allan Trautman
- The Decade Of Darkness Featurette
- Theatrical Trailers
- TV Spots
- Still Galleries – Posters, Lobby Cards, And Behind The Scenes
- Zombie Subtitles
- In Their Words – The Zombies Speak
DISC THREE (BLU-RAY, SPECIAL FEATURES):
- The Return Of The Living Dead Workprint
- More Brains: A Return To The Living Dead – A Feature-Length Documentary On The Making Of The Film
- The FX Of The Return Of The Living Dead
- Party Time: The Music Of The Return Of The Living Dead
| Movie |  |
|
| Video | |
|
| Audio | |
|
| Extras |  |
|
|
Composite Blu-ray Grade
|
||
MPAA Rating: R.
Runtime: 91 mins
Director: Dan O'Bannon
Writer: Rudy Ricci; John A. Russo
Cast: Clu Gulager; James Karen; Don Calfa
Genre: Horror
Tagline: They're Back From The Grave and Ready To Party!
Memorable Movie Quote: "Watch your tongue, boy, if you like this job!"
Theatrical Distributor: Orion Pictures
Official Site: https://shoutfactory.com/products/the-return-of-the-living-dead-limited-edition-steelbook-exclusive-poster
Release Date: August 16, 1985
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: June 10, 2025.
Synopsis: When two bumbling employees at a medical supply warehouse accidentally release a deadly gas into the air, the vapors cause the dead to rise again as zombies.
