The defence The Arthouse Gremlin
“Its refusal to behave is the point.”
The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.
Back to trending 
The Return of the Living Dead
Comedy · Horror · Science Fiction · 1985
Two employees at a medical supply warehouse accidentally release a toxic gas from a misplaced top-secret U.S. Army shipment, causing the dead to rise from a nearby cemetery with an insatiable hunger for human brains.
Movie details
The Return of the Living Dead
“They're back from the grave and ready to party!”
1985 Comedy · Horror · Science Fiction 1h 31m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
7.2 / 10
Community rating
Two employees at a medical supply warehouse accidentally release a toxic gas from a misplaced top-secret U.S. Army shipment, causing the dead to rise from a nearby cemetery with an insatiable hunger for human brains.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over The Return of the Living Dead?
For the defence
The Arthouse Gremlin
“The stranger, the better.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Where it lives
Watch in your region.
Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.
Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.
Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Dan O'Bannon
Written by
Dan O'Bannon · John A. Russo · Russell Streiner · Rudy Ricci
Clu Gulager
Burt
James Karen
Frank
Don Calfa
Ernie
Thom Mathews
Freddy
Miguel A. Núñez Jr.
Spider
Brian Peck
Scuz
John Philbin
Chuck
Court is in session
Put The Return of the Living Dead on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Oddness is not depth.”
A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.