More Brains! A Return to the Living Dead (2011)

The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Let it be known I love the Return Of The Living Dead franchise, well 3/5 of them anyway.I rank them up there with Romeros work, they are campy energetic fun zombie flicks.This documentary focuses on the legacy of the first movie and as per this type of film tells the story of its origins, production, special effects and whats happened with it since.Including interviews with all surviving cast members this was a real treat as many of them are very charismatic and delivered fantastic dialogue.Sadly it starts slow, the first quarter of the documentary regarding its financing and opening production is very boring.By the sounds of it the whole thing was a nightmare, full of arguments, dangerous work environment and creative issues.Thankfully the end result turned out to be an iconic great piece of cinema and this is essential viewing for fans of the movie.Kudos to the cast, you delivered in the movie and provided fantastic content here as well.The Good: Interviews are awesome Comedy artwork is a nice touch The Bad: The movies background is alarmingly boring Things I Learnt From This Documentary: Dan O'Bannon sounded like a very questionable human being James Karen needs to be interviewed more, dude is a riot Leslie Nielsen was nearly in Return Of The Living Dead!

...but obviously of little interest to anyone other than fans of said film (and its lesser follow-ups) or, at the very least, fans of the late Dan "Alien" O'Bannon, who wrote and directed it. This tidy little doc is essentially a video version of "The Complete History of the Return of the Living Dead," by British fan/co-authors Christian Sellers and Gary Smart (with some help from a fellow responsible for a "Nightmare on Elm Street" retrospective which was released a half year prior). This DVD-only release includes several shorter pieces devoted to the first two sequels of "RotLD," as well as a number of other entertaining features including the last interview with O'Bannon before he died. For fans this is easily a "10"; I only give it a "7" due to its limited appeal.

This nearly two hour documentary on the much beloved 1985 horror comedy cult classic "The Return of the Living Dead" gathers together an assortment of cast and crew members to discuss the various aspects of the making of this movie that include the genesis of the project, the casting, the make-up f/x, two weeks of rehearsal, the wardrobe, the often miserable filming conditions shooting at night with simulated rain, the picture's inspired and ingenious blend of horror and humor, the Tarman zombie (Tarman actor Allan Trautman has fun stories to relate about portraying this iconic undead figure), the punk rock soundtrack, the positive box office and critical success, and its exceptional longevity and enduring popularity throughout the decades. Among those interviewed are writer John Russo, cinematographer Jules Brenner, production designer William Stout, co-producer Graham Henderson, make-up artists William Munns (who got fired early in the production), Tony Gardner, and Kenny Myers, casting director Stanzi Stokes, singer Stacey Q., and cast members Don Calfa, Clu Gulager, James Karen, Thom Matthews, Linnea Quigley, Beverly Randolph, Jewel Shepard, Brian Peck (who also narrates), Miguel Nunez Jr., and John Philbin. Quigley has some great stuff to say about her famous cemetery striptease and the resurrection of her character as a zombie, Gulager reveals that he frequently clashed with writer/director Dan O'Bannon throughout the production, Karen talks about coming up with the idea for his character to kill cremate himself in order to avoid becoming a zombie, and there's a touching tribute to O'Bannon at the very end. Loaded with choice clips and a wealth of nifty behind-the-scenes stills, this is absolutely essential viewing for fans of the film.

More Brains! A Return to the Living Dead (2011) *** 1/2 (out of 4)If you were disappointed with what MGM extras was on their Special Edition of THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD then have no fear because this documentary will be what you're wanting. Clocking in just under two-hours, this documentary features interviews with the majority of the cast and crew including Clu Galager, James Karen, Thom Matthews, Don Calfa, Brian Peck, John Russo, Jules Brenner, James Dalebandro, Graham Henderson, Tony Gardner, Kenny Myers, Jewel Shepard, William Stout, Beverly Randolph, Paul Sammon, Allan Trautman and of course Linnea Quigley. Director Dan O'Bannon died a couple years before this was released so he's only featured at the end in a touching archival interview, which ended up being his last and this can be seen in its full version as a featurette on the disc. It should go without saying but just about everything you'd want to know about this film is discussed here and some of the best moments are stories about the early stages of production. This includes John Russo's original version of the story and what legal issues he had in regards to the name and George Romero. We also hear about why Tobe Hooper had to back out of the film and then we start to hear about getting the cast together and the six weeks of filming. Fans are really going to eat this thing up since the majority of the major crew are on hand and all of them tell some great stories. There's talk about their favorite scenes, how certain scenes ended up in the film and it seems everyone is mixed on how they ended the movie. If you're a fan of the movie then I can't imagine you not being entertained by this thing and it's certainly great getting to see the cast members as they are today. It's clear that they all have fond memories on the movie and are thankfully that it's still so highly regarded today. There's also a fitting tribute to O'Bannon but once you see his separate featurette/interview you'll notice that a lot of his relationships with the cast and crew were sugar coated here.