RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD 2

(1988)


All notes and summary below by Chris Fischer (1998).


Notes: 89 minutes.
Jesse Wilson: Michael Kenworthy
Johnny: Jason Hogan
Ed: James Karen
Joey: Thom Mathews
Brenda: Suzanne Snyder
Lucy Wilson: Marsha Dietlein
Billy: Thor Van Lingen
Aerobics Instructor: Suzan Stadner
Tom Essex: Dana Ashbrook
Billy's Mom: Sally Smythe
Tarman: Allan Trautman
Billy's Dad: Don Maxwell
Doc Mandel: Philip Bruns
Sarge: Mitch Pileggi
Les: Arturo Bonilla
Frank: Terrence Riggins
Officer: James McIntire
Jesse's Double: Larry Nicholas
Colonel: Jonathan Terry

Directed: Ken Wiederhorn
Written: George A. Romero, John A. Russo
Produced: Tom Fox
Special Effects: Terry Frazee, Eugene Crum, Gene Grigg

Summary:
Our story begins with the army transporting canisters containing the green gas that brings the dead back to life, along with the original corpses from the big leak in 1969. One of the trucks hits a large pothole, knocking a few of the canisters into a little creek. The next day three boys find the container and begin to examine it. The canister opens up, releasing the nasty chemical along with the dead guy inside of it. Two of the three boys stick around long enough to inhale the gas, and they eventually become zombies.

The cloud of gas released from the canister floats into the nearby cemetery and brings all the dead back to life, initiating a brain-eating frenzy. The town is evacuated by the army, except for the little boy who ran away from the canister at the right time, his sister, the cable repair guy, and a drunk doctor (it's amazing the sort of people that survive things like this). It takes a while, but they eventually figure out what is going on with the army quarantine and that they need to get the hell out of town.

On their route out of town, the cable repair guy realizes that the zombies can be stopped through electrocution. Eventually the zombies are led to a power substation where they are zapped back to their graves, well done.


Commentary:
Return of the Living Dead 2 is similar in plot to the first one. However, 2 is funnier with more silly things going on. When watching number 2 you might notice a few of the characters from the first Return of the Living Dead.

Beer Factor: 3


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