Search - Return of the Living Dead 3 on DVD

A much better third film in the series, but lacking the come

A. Sandoc | San Pablo, California United States | 08/15/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"In 1993 horror fans were greeted with the release of Return of the Living Dead III. This third film in the Return of the Living Dead series produced by John Russo ends up being a very good zombie movie and actually has genuine horror that the second film lacked. What ROTLDIII, its writers and directors seem to have left behind was the comedy side of the series which made them cult-classics to begin with.

Taking up directing duty this time around was genre-veteran Brian Yuzna (Beyond Re-Animator) who films this third film purely on a horror standpoint. This film is serious horror from start to finish. This time around the military is still trying to find a way to use 2-4-5 Trioxin as a way to create zombie soldiers, but ones that could be easily controlled by them. To say that this project hasn't met with success was an understatement. But it's the story of the son of the military project director and his girlfriend who dominate the film's plot. As portrayed by James T. Callahan and Melinda Clarke, these two star-crossed lovers find themselves enmeshed with the dark secret of the project being held in secret. Son soon uses the Trioxin gas to try and ressurect his girlfriend who gets killed early on during an accident. What he gets instead is an undead girlfriend whose hunger for live brains (for some reason the zombies in this ROTLD sequel also feed on other bodily parts) can only be controlled when she causes herself bodily pain through extreme forms of piercing. The rest of the film deals with the father trying to save his son not just from himself and his undead girlfriend but from the hordes of escaped zombies in the facility.

The horror in the film was actually pretty good and this was helped alot by the gore effects work which surpasses anything the first two films in the series had. The acting was decent enough with Melinda Clarke as the zombiefied girlfriend putting on a sexy, albeit creepy performance. If it wasn't for the brain and flesh-eating she sure would've made for quite a poster girl for teenage boys.

In the end, Return of the Living Dead III continues the ROTLD series admirably. Despite not having much humor and comedy in the film, this third film in the series more than makes up for it with high levels of gore and a definite sense of horror the first two didn't much have."

FEAR : THE FINAL FRONTIER - DEATH : THE FINAL FRONTIER ?

Juscelino Liberato De Aquino | MANAUS, AMAZONAS ,BRAZIL | 04/23/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Being a horror enthusiastic,owing every horror flick you can imagine- from the classics to the watchable ones-I,perhaps I am the most qualified person to say something about this movie.Definitely it's one the best !The story was masterfully told and shown.Part one is excellent.Part two is good,but this part three is among the best in horror history!Regardless of what narrow-minded /envious critics ,fake horror fans or would-be highbrow watchers say,it's wonderful.We all fear death and this is what it is about!It's about young people (a boyfriend and a kooky pretty girlfriend)who discover that death is not the final frontier, but a kind of unconscious state,from which escape is impossible because when resurrected /brought back to life and to the real world these people gradually lose what they had and can't be human anymore.They lose their sanity and their human side and become what we fear most : becoming barbaric,wild,uncontrollable animals.After paying an illegal visit to a military facility ,a youth and his girlfriend (MINDY CLARKE)discover that the army has been doing experiments with the dead!That's how the story starts!Mindy does an excellent job(always!) as a zombie girl full of love,compassion and conscience,a girl who knows what she has become and what she'll have to do sooner or later - kill.She changes from a sweet,lovely slaphappy teen to a frightening, scaring and scared zombie with conscience!This is what the movie is about! The special effects are extraordinary,Brian Yuzna is a great director,the plot is finely written.This movie is not suitable for those who do not love horror movies because they'l never grasp the full significance of what these films really mean!THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD SERIES,especially PART 3,IS and WILL ALWAYS be a MASTERPIECE- Enough said !"