I'd like an explanation...

I have read through your comments and you say its not a great movie, could have been done better, you listed your favourites as two of the most mainstream zombie movies around, this is a cult classic, this film is one of the best zombie flicks ever and i like others cannot grasp how you can like the modern day mainstream Zmovies and not like one of the original classics.

Watch your tongue boy if you like this job!!!


It's useless to argue about taste and even more useless to litigate it.

If you don't get it there's nothing I can say to get you to, it simply rocks.

Funky, hilarious, scary, well acted and inspired.

"Mr. Treehorn treats objects like women, man."

Send more paramedics and policemen.

That made my day :). Those zombies are extremely hard to kill, by the way.

Return of the Living Dead zombies are my favorite zombies because they go against the grain:

- They DON'T die by killing blow to the brain.
- Their bite doesn't turn people into zombies(Trioxin spreads the zombie outbreak, so just because you are killed doesn't mean you'll turn).
- They run.
- They are smart(enough to talk and coordinate means to trap victims, as well as use instruments to their advantage, like Tarman using the pulley to open the door Tina was hiding in).
- Their body parts remain active even if they are detached from the head. As they said, you can chop them up into pieces and the pieces will come after you.

I think, personally, the concept is more frightening than the traditional zombie because these ones seem unstoppable. I always though, in a zombie apocalypse(I think consider it BS considering the logic behind decaying flesh, heat and such), I do think people would eventually become used to that way of life(the dead rising) to the point that, after someone dies, it would become tradition for someone(either a family member or, if civilization returns to norm, a government official/service) to come in, strap down the body and puncture the brain before it reanimates. Such initiatives would have to be a must if one wanted to be ahead of the curb and prevent further zombie outbreaks(kinda like the Romanian means to prevent vampires from rising is the pin them into their coffins via a wooden stake, then covering the graves with heavy rocks so it can never rise again). But, for RotLD, if Trioxin's in the air, there's no way to prevent the zombies from rising. I think, as far as the first movie's concerned, the only safe way is to contain them in drums of liquified Trioxin. Burning them just releases the Trioxin into the atmosphere and converts it into rain, which does more damage than help. And it's not like the brain-dead moaning, shambling zombies of Walking Dead, Romero's movies, or, well, just about the majority of zombie stuff out there. These are thinking zombies who are crafty and can set up traps so that victims can stumble into and a "no escape" situation as their fellow ghouls lay in wait, then jump out and over power you. They might not be more realistic, but if we are going down by realism, NO zombie is(especially considering the most sensitive organs of the body allow major function, the ability to hear, smell and see, would also likely be the first organs to rot away BECAUSE they are so sensitive). If I have to choose between fantasy and faux-realism, give me the zombies that are actually a capable threat(both in persistence and intelligence).

I just watched this film for the first time, I'm 25, I've seen many Zombie films and I'm a massive fan of the first 3 George Romero Dead films. most of my life I've been bothered by the whole "BRAAAAIINS!" eating Zombies, so I put off watching this film for many years because I knew this is the film that spawned that concept. Now that I have seen the film, I have very mixed feelings, I don't know if I dislike or like the film. I like the story and the whole way it tied in Night of the Living Dead as a film that was based on true events, the characters were nicely overacted too, but obviously I wasn't too keen on the Zombies. Their durability, intelligence and speed though unlike Romero's Zombies made them quite formidable, but at the end of it all, the whole brain eating concept still kills it for me and brings in much unnecessary cheesy comedy elements. It brings me to another point, the film seemed to have a massive identity crisis, I couldn't tell if it was supposed to be a comedy with horror elements, or a horror with comedy elements, it's such a twisted mixed up blend of the two that it doesn't seem to work for me. The only other film I think I could compare this to is BrainDead, which has a bland story in comparison, but more than makes up for it by being pretty funny and ultra gory, so a much superior film overall.

So all in all, an okay film, just not my type of Zombie film. I went in with very low expectations, was surprised to find a half-decent film, but I'll stick to the original Dead trilogy for my Zombie fix.

I guess i got to keep this thread open.
So the movie made two things interesting in these sub-genre, introduced fast zombies and had an interesting premise with the beginning and overall progression of the zombie creation.
But the comedy to be honest is not really there. Well apart from the zombie dressed as a traffic officer pointing the direction to the police cars. Aside from that the movie is not really funny. Also, it's not really scary because of the overall ridiculous feel it had trying to be funny. The ending is also way too harsh for that kind of film. Felt like a drama.

The moment I knew I loved this movie:

FRANK: Watch your tongue, boy, if you like this job!
FREDDY: LIKE THIS JOB?!

The writing is fast, clever and fun. Great sense of timing. Great soundtrack. Well-structured story. The actors really gave it their all. The tone of the movie is established so brilliantly with the gas leak and title sequence, makes me smile every time. The ending lands on an a dark note that gives this movie a lasting resonance. I feel like this movie just has a lot of heart and it accomplished exactly what it set out to achieve. I found it in my mid-20s so it's not a childhood nostalgia thing. I don't know if I'd say that Return of the Living Dead is superior to Shaun of the Dead, but I at least put it on par.