Almost forty years ago, writer/director Dan O’Bannon delivered one of the most highly entertaining zombie movies of all time with The Return of the Living Dead (watch it Here). A company called Living Dead Media LLC claims to own the copyright to the original screenplay and the underlying script for that film, as well as other trademarks, which is why they announced last year that they’re moving ahead with a reboot. But last month, a new company called Rotld Originals LLC was formed, with Return of the Living Dead cast member Beverly Randolph, a.k.a. Beverly Dawn Hartley, signing the formation document. Judging by Randolph’s social media, it appears that some of her co-stars are involved in this company as well, their mission being to “gain back our rights of our images” and, from the looks of it, launch a website where fans will be able...

Last year, Trick or Treat Studios released an officially licensed 1:6 scale figure of the zombie known as the Tarman from the 1985 zombie horror comedy The Return of the Living Dead (watch it Here). That figure is still available for purchase at This Link, going for the price of $159.99. Now Trick or Treat Studios is accepting pre-orders for another officially licensed The Return of the Living Dead item, one that works as a standalone display or can be used as an accessory for the Tarman figure: a 245 Trioxin barrel set! This one costs $99.99 and can be pre-ordered on the Trick or Treat Studios website.

Here’s the description of the barrel set: Trick or Treat Studios is proud to present the officially licensed, The Return of the Living Dead – 245 Trioxin Barrel Set. This set is a fun standalone and a perfect display accessory for the 1:6 scale Tarman figure. Carefully...

George A. Romero's "Night of the Living Dead" was the blueprint for the zombie-horror genre we know and love today. Despite never using the word "zombie" in his 1968 directorial debut, Romero brought the shuffling undead to life while creating a tense atmosphere of dread that permeates throughout. Interestingly, all the human survivors in the film display spineless passivity save for one: Ben (Duane Jones), the only level-headed individual among the group, puts the human instinct for survival to good use in an intensely nightmarish situation. So, when Ben, the only Black person in the film, is mistakenly shot down by police officers while actual brain-eating zombies ravage the land, the ending feels like a punch in the gut, even 55 years later.

When Romero was looking to cast the core group in the narrative, he understood the importance of casting the right person for Ben, as this character formed the crux of the central conflict.

Almost forty years ago, writer/director Dan O’Bannon delivered one of the most highly entertaining zombie movies of all time with The Return of the Living Dead (watch it Here)… and in the process, spawned a franchise. There was the goofy comedy of The Return of the Living Dead Part II, the “Romeo and Juliet with zombies” love story Return of the Living Dead ///, and a couple sequels nobody paid much attention to, Return of the Living Dead: Necropolis and Return of the Living Dead: Rave to the Grave. The franchise has been dormant for eighteen years – but it may be revived very soon. It has come to our attention that Muck and Kill Her Goats director Steve Wolsh, who also happens to be the CEO of the company Living Dead Media, is developing a reboot of The Return of the Living Dead.

The only information on this reboot can...

The 1985 zombie horror comedy The Return of the Living Dead (watch it Here) has some awesome poster art, featuring green-skinned zombies that are “back from the dead and ready to party”. Now the folks at Super7, a company that’s described as being “the premier pop-culture design house and producer of lifestyle-oriented collectibles, toys and apparel”, have taken to social media to reveal that they have turned a couple of those poster zombies into ReAction Figures! These figures will be available for purchase sometime this summer, but for now you can take a look at a picture of them at the bottom of this article.

Written and directed by Dan O’Bannon, The Return of the Living Dead has the following synopsis: When foreman Frank shows new employee Freddy a secret military experiment in a supply warehouse, the two klutzes accidentally release a gas that reanimates corpses into flesh-eating zombies. As the epidemic spreads throughout Louisville,...

The 1985 zombie horror comedy The Return of the Living Dead (watch it Here) is one of my all-time favorite movies, and every now and then I like to look up the filming locations of my favorites to see what they look like these days. By watching a Sean Clark video on the locations used to bring The Return of the Living Dead to the screen, I learned that the building that stood in for the Uneeda medical supply warehouse in the movie has been converted into a private residence. So I looked up this address – 698 Moulton Avenue in Los Angeles, California – and learned that the Uneeda-building-turned-private-residence is now on the market! The property is listed on Zillow, with plenty of pictures showing off what the place looks like now that it’s a home with three bedrooms, four bathrooms, and a private pool. And if any die hard fan of...

It’s time for a new episode of The Manson Brothers Show, which is hosted by the writers/stars of the horror comedy The Manson Brothers Midnight Zombie Massacre – Chris Margetis (Stone Manson) and Mike Carey (Skull Manson) – and in this one the boys are ready to party with the 1985 zombie horror comedy The Return of the Living Dead (watch it Here)! To find out what they had to say about The Return of the Living Dead, check out the video embedded above!

Written and directed by Dan O’Bannon, The Return of the Living Dead has the following synopsis: When foreman Frank shows new employee Freddy a secret military experiment in a supply warehouse, the two klutzes accidentally release a gas that reanimates corpses into flesh-eating zombies. As the epidemic spreads throughout Louisville, Ky., and the creatures satisfy their hunger in gory and outlandish ways, Frank and Freddy fight to...

Reviews like this are tough, because a movie like Return of the Living Dead has been discussed-to-death on the internet for at least the last two decades. What can one possibly say that another hasn’t already? In addition to that, this is also the third Blu-ray release of the film I have seen. There was the disappointing MGM release in 2010, and then much better Second Sight release from the UK that dropped in 2012 and resurrected the original audio track containing the songs that were cut from the Us release. And here comes Scream Factory to topple them all. Sorry to spoil my review, but this is the definitive Blu-ray release of Return of the Living Dead. I have never seen this movie look so beautiful in all the years I have watched it. Couple with that, the fact that there are several audio options for you to choose from,...

Since it was announced at last year’s San Diego Comic-Con, The Return of the Living Dead Collector’s Edition Blu-ray has been eagerly awaited by fans looking to party with Dan O’Bannon’s unique brand of zombies. Scream Factory is now making those fans happy with their official July release details for the two-disc Blu-ray that contains more than twelve hours of bonus features, comes with new cover art, and is available in two separate editions:

Press Release: Writer/director Dan O’Bannon (Alien, Lifeforce) puts an uproarious spin on the zombie apocalypse movie in 1985’s cult classic The Return Of The Living Dead, starring Clu Gulager (A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge), James Karen (Mulholland Drive) and Don Calfa (Weekend at Bernie’s). Considered one of the campiest undead romps of its time, the film helped launch the career of scream queen Linnea Quigley (Night of the Demons,...

You may have seen recently that Joss Whedon “endorsed“ Mitt Romney for President saying, “You know, like a lot of liberal Americans, I was excited when Barack Obama took office four years ago. But it’s a very different world now. And Mitt Romney is a very different candidate. One with the vision and determination to cut through business-as-usual politics and finally put this country back on the path to the zombie apocalypse.”

Joss Whedon is absolutely right to invoke zombies in a political discussion, because zombies are the most political of monsters. Or to put it another way, Zombie films are the most political of all horror films.

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Wait. What?

Let me explain.

Roger Ebert, in his review of Zombieland, wrote about Zombies:

Vampires make a certain amount of sense to me, but zombies not so much. What’s their purpose? Why do they always look so bad? Can...

Interviewed by Michael Juvinall, MoreHorror.com

I recently had the great opportunity to talk with writer/producer/director John A. Russo at Days of the Dead convention in Indianapolis, Indiana. Russo is best known as co-writer of the groundbreaking film, Night of the Living Dead along with director George A. Romero.

His career has spanned 45 years in the entertainment industry. Some of his notable projects include co-writer of Return of the Living Dead, director of such films as Santa Claws, Heartstopper, and Midnight.

He has written3 books on filmmaking that are considered the bible by industry insiders such as Quentin Tarantino and Darren Lynn Bousman among others. Russo has also partnered up with fellow Notld alum Russ Striener to create one of the most highly regarded college courses on filmmaking there is.

Read on as we discuss Night of the Living Dead, Return of the Living Dead and more.

Michael...

The world created by the legendary George A. Romero suffered an additional blow recently as yet another key component of the films that we love is no longer with us.

Rudy Ricci passed away a few weeks ago on March 8th following a fall likely exacerbated by health problems. He was 72. Ricci was the co-creator of the original Night of the Living Dead and played a ghoul in the film. However, fans will best remember him as the lead biker in the original Dawn of the Dead.

We here at Dread Central would like to take this time to offer our sincerest of condolences to Rudy's friends, family, and constituents. Godspeed, good sir, and thank you for all that you gave and the onscreen mayhem that you caused.

Thanks to DC reader William Wilson for the heads-up!

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Celebrate Rudy's...

From my inbox… an excerpt taken from the new book titled Night of the Living Dead: Behind the Scenes of the Most Terrifying Zombie Movie Ever, by Joe Kane. Of course, it’s about the making of George Romero’s 1968 classic zombie movie, Night Of The Living Dead, which starred Duane Jones.

And if after reading this excerpt, you decide that you want to read more… Click Here to buy the recently published (September 1 is the publisher’s date) 272-page paperback via Amazon, for just about $12.

Here’s the excerpt:

… As originally written, Ben was a resourceful but rough and crude-talking trucker, a role initially envisioned for Rudy Ricci. Those plans changed when a 31-year-old African-American actor named Duane Jones competed for the part.

“A mutual friend of George’s and mine was a woman by the name of Betty Ellen Haughey,” producer Russ Streiner relates. “She grew up in Pittsburgh,...

Back in 1976, from the minds of Rudy Ricci and John Russo, sprang forth The Booby Hatch. Come on Over! It's Crazy & Sexy -- You'll Laugh Till It Hurts!!

In case the names don't ring a bell, Russo and Ricci were both involved in Romero's Night of the Living Dead as an actor and co-writer, respectively. They re-teamed for The Booby Hatch, which tells the tale of a scientific genius who invents equipment that tests the erotic levels of people. If nothing else, it should be worth a watch just to see a cameo by David Emge, who is best known as Flyboy from Dawn of the Dead.

"For boobs only!"

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