More truly a sequel to Night of the Living Dead than was Dawn of the Dead, although writer-director Dan O'Bannon had nothing to do with the earlier film, and indeed has the cheek to suggest that George Romero got his "facts" wrong in it. For that matter, the scientific process here whereby a whole cemetery rotted corpses are reanimated in Louisville, Ky., is really rather vague; but there is nevertheless some interesting new information about the eternal painfulness of death and its temporary relief by way of devouring a living human's brains. The old thrill of the chase, at any rate, is still there, even if humor has now become the primary quarry. Along with the humor comes a more conscious striving after "cult" status, and a particularly direct appeal is made to the punk sensibility, through the musical selections on the soundtrack as well as through a major portion of the dramatis personae. The older or more traditional horror fan will no doubt find greater appeal in the poetic conceit about the slow onset of death in two of the characters, with rigor mortis preceding loss of speech and loss of consciousness. Clu Gulager, James Karen, Don Calfa. (1985) — Duncan Shepherd
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