The Return of the Living Dead (1985) (2025)

The Return of the Living Dead is a 1985 American comedy horror film written and directed by the late Dan O'Bannon, and starring the late Clu Gulager, the late James Karen, Thom Matthews, the late Don Calfa, Beverly Randolph, Linnea Quigley, Brian Peck, Miguel A. Núñez Jr, Jewel Shepard and John Philbin. The film, described as a "mordant punk comedy", is known for introducing the popular concept of zombies eating specifically brains, as opposed to eating any form of human flesh, like previous zombie iterations. It is also known as the first film to ever show zombies running, as well as zombies being able to speak. The film is also quite different from virtually all other cinematic depictions of the living dead, in that the zombies portrayed in the film cannot be killed by a standard "head shot".

It got four sequels and a hard to find unofficial continuation graphic novel.

The film tells the story of how a warehouse owner, accompanied by his two employees, mortician friend, and a group of teenage punks, deal with the accidental release of a horde of unkillable, brain-hungry zombies onto an unsuspecting town over the Fourth of July weekend.

Victims[]

• Five Unnamed People - Died of unknown causes off-screen, skeletons seen.
• Unnamed Man - Died of an unknown cause off-screen, body seen. Revived as a zombie.
• Unnamed Man - Died of an unknown cause off-screen, body seen in a trioxin barrel. Revived as a zombie.
• Two Unnamed People - Died of unknown causes off-screen, bodies seen in trioxin barrels.
• Dog - Cut vertically in half by an unknown person off-screen, body seen. Revived as a zombie.
• 13 Butterflies - Died of unknown causes off-screen, bodies seen. Revived as zombies.
• Zombie - Cremated in an incinerator by Erine Kaltenbrunner and Burt Wilson.
• "Suicide" - Brains eaten by Tarman.
• "Trash" - Mutilated by four zombies. Revived as a zombie.
• Paramedic Jerry - Brains eaten by zombies.
• Paramedic Tom - Brains eaten by zombies.
• Two Unnamed Paramedics - Brains eaten by zombies.
• "Scuz" - Bled out after being bitten in the head by the female skeleton zombie.
• Unnamed Homeless Man - Face bitten off by zombiefied Trash.
• Two Unnamed Police Officers - Brains eaten by zombies.
• Freddy Hanscom - Turned into a zombie after inhaling the toxic fumes.
• Frank Johnson - Turned into a Zombie after inhaling the toxic fumes.
• Two Zombies - Blown up after Burt Wilson crashed the police car into them.
• Zombified Frank Johnson - Committed suicide by cremating himself alive to prevent himself from killing anyone.
• Ten Unnamed Police Officers - Brains eaten by zombies.
• 14 Unnamed Police Officers - Brains eaten by zombies.
• Unnamed Police Captain - Face bitten off by Zombiefied Trash.
• Burt Wilson - Blown up by a nuke on the orders of Colonel Glover.
• Ernie Kaltenbrunner - Blown up by a nuke on the orders of Colonel Glover.
• Tina - Blown up by a nuke on the orders of Colonel Glover.
• Zombiefied Freddy - Blown up by a nuke on the orders of Colonel Glover.
• Zombiefied Trash - Blown up by a nuke on the orders of Colonel Glover.
• 400 Zombies - Blown up by a nuke on the orders of Colonel Glover.
• Chuck - Blown up by a nuke on the orders of Colonel Glover.
• Casey - Blown up by a nuke on the orders of Colonel Glover.
• "Spider" - Blown up by a nuke on the orders of Colonel Glover.
• Tarman - Blown up by a nuke on the orders of Colonel Glover.
• Female Skeleton Zombie - Blown up by a nuke on the orders of Colonel Glover.
• Two Radio Zombies - Blown up by a nuke on the orders of Colonel Glover.
• Zombiefied Homeless Man - Blown up by a nuke on the orders of Colonel Glover.
• Zombiefied Police Officer - Blown up by a nuke on the orders of Colonel Glover.
• Zombiefied Paramedic - Blown up by a nuke on the orders of Colonel Glover.
• Legless Zombie - Blown up by an airstrike on the orders of Colonel Glover.
• Zombiefied Half-Dog - Blown up by an airstrike on the orders of Colonel Glover.
• 13 Zombie Butterflies - Blown up by an airstrike on the orders of Colonel Glover.
• 3,583 Unnamed People - Blown up by an airstrike on the orders of Colonel Glover.

Deaths[]

• Total - 4,495
  • 4,051 Humans
  • 429 Zombies
  • 13 Insects
  • 1 Animal

Kill Counts[]

1. Colonel Glover - 4,434 (Alive)
2. Burt Wilson - 3 (Deceased)
3. Trash - 2 (Deceased)
4. Ernie Kaltenbrunner - 1 (Deceased)
5. Tarman - 1 (Deceased)

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