THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD is one of my all-time favorite films, and in fact I absolutely love the first three of the five films in the RETURN series. A lot of horror fans will understand why I'm so into RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD III, but less will get my appreciation for RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD PART II. It is definitely the black sheep of that initial trilogy. And fittingly, it's the focus of the latest video in Lance Vlcek's The F*cking Black Sheep series.
Written and directed by Ken Wiederhorn, RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD PART II has the following synopsis:
A new generation of ghouls is spawned when a barrel of nerve gas, fallen off an Army truck, is cracked open by neighborhood toughs. The escaping greenish vapor turns the living into zombies and the dead into the not-so-dead. Of course, the vapor seeps into the local cemetery… with groundbreaking results.
Outlandish special effects are plentiful. A severed zombie hand goes on a spree in the backseat of a crowded car. A zombie torso – and its missing legs – haplessly search for each other along a hospital corridor. Fright fans needn't search any longer: this tale of the undead is a feast of fun.
While the first RETURN had a strong sense of humor already, Wiederhorn cranked the humor level up into goofball territory, and brought the first film's stars James Karen and Thom Mathews back as different characters who get a sense of déjà vu when they run into zombies all over again.
I think RETURN II is a lot of fun, and it will always have a special place in my heart because it was the first horror movie I ever requested that my mom record off television for me, since it was going to be airing after my bedtime. I watched that recording many times throughout my childhood.
To find out why Lance enjoys RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD PART II, check out the video below:
