During his first day on the job at the Uneeda Medical Supply company in Louisville, Kentucky, Freddy’s (Thom Mathews) notices some strange containers in the basement stamped with an Army logo and phone number. His boss, Burt (Clu Gulager), explains that these have been there for the past 14 years and that they contain the corpses that inspired the film Night of the Living Dead. At first it seems that Burt is just playing with his young new employee, but when he taps on the barrel to show how sturdy it is, a green gas suddenly fills the room, causing the two men to gag and pass out.

When Freddy and Burt awake they discover that the dead animals and cadavers in the building have come back to life. They try to implement the zombie-killing tactics they’ve seen in the movies, but nothing seems to kill these brain-thirsty creatures. So they finally call Frank (James Karen), the owner of the company, who is keen on quickly covering up all of this mess. He enlists the help of crematorium owner Ernie (Don Calfa) to burn the bodies. However, the smoke from the furnace, mixed with the rain, helps spread the chemicals into the neighboring cemetary, where Freddy’s girlfriend Tina (Beverly Randolph) and her punk friends—Chuck (John Philbin), Casey (Jewel Shepard), Spider (Miguel A. Núñez Jr.), Scuz (Brian Peck), Trash (Linnea Quigley) and Suicide (Mark Venturini)—are hanging out, passing the time until he gets off work. Soon things get a whole lot worse as there are over 100 brain-thirsty zombies making their way through the town. Is there any way to stop this madness before it’s too late?!

I had never seen this film (or even the original Night of the Living Dead) before watching this Blu-ray, but I have seen plenty of other zombie-themed films and TV shows over the years. I was pleasantly surprised by this movie and its overall comedic tone. During the first act of the film I was literally laughing out loud as the bumbling Burt and Freddy tried to contain the reanimated cadver—it is so over-the-top and ridiculous! It then turns into your typical zombie films where the group is slowly getting splintered and/or whittled down as they try to find ways to either kill these undead creatures or make their escape. And since this is an ’80s film, there’s a great soundtrack and fun musical moments throughout the film—like Trash’s striptease in the cemetery, and the musical montage that plays as the survivors try to board up the funeral home.

If I had one complaint about the film, it’s that the undead are a little too intelligent. When we first see the zombies they appear to be dumb, slow-walking and mumble for brains, but then they quickly become way too intelligent. In one scene a zombie use a chain and winch to try to open a door, and in another a zombie opens the door to a van in order to get at the passengers inside. They can also speak full sentences—there is a scene where a zombie hops on the police radio and orders more paramedics to the scene. However, despite this minor annoyance, overall I still found the film to be thoroughly entertaining and fun to watch.

For this release Shout! Factory has created a new 2K scan from the inter-positive, and the picture quality is fantastic. The colors are rich and the picture looks as crisp and clear as any modern-day film. For this release Shout! has also restored the original mono 2.0 soundtrack. I compared this to the included 5.1 soundtrack that was originally created for the MGM’s 2010 Blu-ray release, and the new mono soundtrack provides clearer dialogue and a much richer overall sound. The previous 5.1 soundtrack didn’t really make use of the surround or stereo channels anyway, so there was nothing really lost there.

Shout! Factory has been doing an excellent job with the supplemental material in its line of Collector’s Edition Blu-rays, and this release is once again jam-packed with bonus features! The discs include most of the features that were found on the previous MGM DVD & Blu-ray releases as well as features that had been previously only available abroad in Second Sight’s UK Blu-ray release. In total, this Collector’s Edition release includes four audio commentaries, a feature-length documentary about the film (which was previously available as a standalone DVD), a workprint cut of the film, and over three hours of interviews, behind-the-scenes and retrospective featurettes, photo galleries, trailers, TV spots and more.

The discs come packed in a standard Blu-ray case with a slipcover. The insert inside the cover is reversible, giving the viewer a choice in how to display this title in his or her collection. The alternate view for this title can be seen below.

What’s Included:

Film: (1:30:30)

• 1080p / Widescreen 1.85:1
• Audio: Original Mono 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio, 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio
• Subtitles: English SDH, Zombie Subtitles, In Their Words — The Zombies Speak

Extras:

• Commentaries:
  A solid collection of four audio commentaries. The participants provide a lot of fun behind-the-scenes and production stories, and have some interesting discussions surrounding the film.
  • Gary Smart (co-author of The Complete History of The Return of the Living Dead) & Chris Griffiths (1:30:30) NEW
    A fan-perspective commentary with author Gary Smart & documentary director Chris Griffiths. This commentary originally appeared on Second Sight’s 2012 UK Blu-ray release, but is new to U.S. audiences.
  • Actors Thom Mathews, John Philbin & Make-Up Effects Artist Tony Gardner (1:30:30) NEW
    Sean Clark of Horror Hound magazine and Horror’s Hallowed Grounds moderates this commentary with actors Thom Mathews (“Freddy”) & John Philbin (“Chuck”), and make-up effects artist Tony Gardner. This commentary originally appeared on Second Sight’s 2012 UK Blu-ray release, but is new to U.S. audiences.
  • Director Dan O’Bannon & Production Designer William Stout (1:30:30)
    Probably the blandest of the batch, this commentary originally appeared on the MGM’s 2002 DVD release.
  • The Cast & Crew (1:30:30)
    Production designer William Stout serves as moderator for this fun track with cast members Don Calfa (“Ernie”), Linnea Quigley (“Trash”), Brian Peck (“Scuz”), Beverly Randolph (“Tina”) & Allan Trautman (“Tarman”), as well as a zombie (yes, really). This is easily the most entertaining of the batch. This commentary originally appeared on the MGM’s 2010 Blu-ray release.
• Novelty Subtitles:
  • Zombie Subtitles
    When the Zombies says things like “Braaaains”, subtitles appear on the screen.
  • In Their Words—The Zombies Speak
    In addition to the actual words spoken by the zombies, their moaning is also subtitled with dumb lines like “Give me back my yummy brains”.
• The Decade of Darkness (23:23)
  A retrospective look at the 80’s horror film business, tropes and trends. Participants include author John Kenneth Muir (“Horror Films of the 1980s”), directors Stuart Gordon (Dolls), Joe Dante (The Howling), John Landis (An American Werewolf in London) and Tom Holland (Child’s Play), TV personality Elvira Mistress of the Dark, Fangoria editor Tony Timpone, and actors Bill Moseley (“Chop Top”, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2), Catherine Hicks (“Karen Barclay”, Child’s Play) and Dee Wallace (“Karen White”, The Howling). This feature originally appeared on MGM’s 2010 Blu-ray release and is presented in Full Frame format.
• Theatrical Trailers (8:31)
  A collection of four trailers for the film, the last being more of a tongue-in-cheek teaser.
• T.V. Spots (5:22)
  A collection of ten short TV spots for the film.
• Still Gallery (7:21)
  Let the slideshow auto-advance every five seconds, or use the remote to manually step through this gallery of 85 posters, lobby cards, movie stills and behind-the-scenes photos.
• Still Gallery (2:06)
  Let the slideshow auto-advance every five seconds, or use the remote to manually step through this gallery of 22 behind-the-scenes photos from special make-up effects artist Kenny Myers’ personal collection.
• More Brains: A Return to the Living Dead (1:59:43)
  This wonderful feature-length retrospective takes an extensive look back at the challenges of getting the film made, casting the film, the costumes, the story, the effects, punk music, the audience reaction, remembering writer/director Dan O’Bannon, and more. Includes storyboards, behind-the-scenes footage, outtakes and interviews with co-writer John A. Russo (Night of the Living Dead), Orion Pictures marketing executive Paul M. Sammon, production designer William Stout, co-producer Graham Henderson, special makeup effects artists Tony Gardner, William Munns and Kenny Myers, cinematographer Jules Brenner, casting director Stanzi Stokes, second assistant editor John Penney, SSQ lead singer Stacey Q, writer/director Dan O’Bannon, and actors Brian Peck (“Scuz”), Linnea Quigley (“Trash”), Thom Mathews (“Freddy”), James Karen (“Frank”), Clu Gulager (“Burt”), Beverly Randolph (“Tina”), John Philbin (“Chuck”), Miguel A. Núñez Jr. (“Spider”), Allan Trautman (“Tarman”), Jewel Shepherd (“Casey”), Don Calfa (“Ernie”), James Dalesandro (“Paramedic #2”) and Drew Deighan (“Paramedic #1”). This feature was originally released on its own DVD in 2011, but is presented here in HD.
• The FX of The Return of the Living Dead (32:49) NEW
  A look back at how the film’s special effects were done. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, storyboards, concept art, and interviews with production designer William Stout, special make up effects artists Bill Munns, Kenny Myers and Craig Caton, actor Brian Peck, effects artist Tony Gardner, visual effects supervisor Gene Warren, Jr., and rotoscoper Bret Mixon. A shortened version of this feature was first included on the Second Sight’s 2012 UK Blu-ray, but is new to U.S. audiences.
  
• Party Time: The Music of The Return of the Living Dead (29:31) NEW
  A look back at the film’s music and the punk rock scene at the time. Includes interviews with music consultants Budd Carr and Steve Pross, and musicians Dinah Cancer (45 Grave), Greg Hetson (The Circle Jerks), Joe Wood (T.S.O.L.), Karl Moet (SSQ), Roky Erickson, Chris D. (The Flesh Eaters), John Sox (Straw Dogs) and Mark Robertson (Tall Boys, The Meteors). A shortened version of this feature was first included on the Second Sight’s 2012 UK Blu-ray, but is new to U.S. audiences.
  
• Horror’s Hallowed Grounds (10:15) NEW
  In this episode of Horror’s Hallowed Grounds, host Sean Clark tracks down the original filming locations used in the film.
  
• A Conversation with Dan O’Bannon: The Final Interview (28:32)
  This is the final interview with writer/director Dan O’Bannon before his death in 2009. He talks about his lost film, what it was like working on The Return of the Walking Dead, and more. This feature was originally included on the More Brains documentary DVD in 2011, but is presented here in HD.
• The Origins of The Return of the Living Dead (15:12) NEW
  John A. Russo, the co-writer/co-producer of Night of the Living Dead and co-story writer of Return of the Living Dead, talks about the origin of the flesh-eating zombie, and how the “sequel” came about. This feature was first included on the Second Sight’s 2012 UK Blu-ray, but is new to U.S. audiences.
• The Return of the Living Dead: The Dead Have Risen (20:34)
  Retrospective look back at the film with the cast members Clu Gulager, James Karen, Don Calfa, Brian Peck, Thom Mathews, Beverly Randolph, Linnea Quigley and Allan Trautman.
  This feature originally appeared on MGM’s 2010 Blu-ray release and is presented in Full Frame format.
• Designing the Dead (13:39)
  The feature cuts back and forth between interviews with writer/director Dan O’Bannon and production designer William Stout. O’Bannon talks about how he got the job directing the film, and how he wanted to make a zombie comedy rather than the more serious films being made by Romero. Then both men discuss creating the look of the film, and the things that influenced them. This feature originally appeared on MGM’s 2010 Blu-ray release and is presented in Full Frame format.
• Return of the Living Dead Workprint (1:48:05) NEW
  An extended workprint version of the film presented in full frame, standard definition format. The quality of the picture is not that great—it basically looks like a copy of of a copy of a VHS tape. The picture is blurry and not very detailed, and some scenes are quite dark. That said, it’s still a great to see it included!

Final Thoughts:

The Return of the Living Dead is an extremely fun, comedic zombie film that still holds up well over 30 years later. Shout! Factory’s Collector’s Edition release is a Must Own for any fan of the film. It features a stellar new audio and video presentation, and comes jam-packed with loads of excellent bonus material, a lot of it brand new. Even if you’ve never seen this movie before, I highly recommend picking up this release as the film and bonus material will provide hours of entertainment!