Return of the Living Dead 2 [Blu-ray]

1988's "Return of the Living Dead Part II" is nowhere near the landmark 1985 classic "Return of the Living Dead" in terms of quality. The original film which was directed and written by Dan O'Bannon was a horror film punctuated by comedy that arose naturally from the situations that the characters found themselves in. The sequel on the other hand which was written and directed by Ken Wiederhorn veered much more to straight up slapstick comedy. I actually hated the sequel for a while but over the years have warmed to its at times misguided approach. Don't go into it expecting the classic original and you can have a good time.Scream Factory brings "Return of the Living Dead Part II" to blu-ray in a fully loaded collector's edition. It had previously only been available on DVD with a strangely altered soundtrack instead of the original theatrical audio. Scream Factory did a new 2K transfer from the interpositive which looks fantastic. Presented in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1, the transfer gets a lot of room to breathe on a dual layer disc as the bit rate stays around 35 mbps throughout. Detail is superb, no digital scrubbing or sharpening was done, colors are nicely saturated and contrast levels correct with no black crush occurring during the numerous night scenes. Simply put this is quite possibly the best the film has ever looked.On the audio side, thankfully the original theatrical audio has been restored in 2 channel master audio. (The controversial altered audio track from the DVD edition is also included which is nice from a completionist angle.) Some people have complained online that the original audio track is a bit thin sounding and might have been sourced from the VHS audio or a similar analog type due to a weird slight audio anomaly that is heard at the 52:45 mark which reminds some of when a VHS tape's tracking got slightly off. I personally don't really have a problem with it as having the original theatrical audio makes me happy due to the altered DVD track was horrible with the numerous changes which were made.Extras are plentiful and as follows per Scream Factory's site:NEW Audio Commentary With Actress Suzanne SnyderNEW Audio Commentary With Gary Smart (Co-author Of The Complete History Of The Return Of The Living Dead) And Filmmaker Christopher GriffithsNEW Back To The Dead: The Effects Of “Return Of The Living Dead Part II” – Including Interviews With Special Make-up Effects Creator Kenny Myers And Special Make-up Effects Artists Andy Schoneberg And Mike SmithsonNEW The Laughing Dead – An Interview With Writer/Director Ken WiederhornNEW Undead Melodies – An Interview With Composer J. Peter RobinsonNEW Interview With Actor Troy FrominAudio Commentary With Writer/Director Ken Wiederhorn And Co-star Thor Van LingenThey Won’t Stay Dead: A Look At Return Of The Living Dead Part II Including Interviews With James Karen, Thom Matthews, Brian Peck, Kenny Myers, Susan Snyder, Michael Kenworthy, And More…Archival Featurette – Live From The SetArchival Interviews With Ken Wiederhorn, James Karen, Thom Matthews, And Kenny MyersBehind-the-scenes FootageTheatrical Trailer And Teaser TrailerTV SpotsStill Gallery Of Posters And StillsStill Gallery Of Behind-the-scenes Stills From Makeup Effects Artists Kenny Myers And Mike SmithsonFans of this film can finally rejoice that it has finally made it to blu-ray in a loaded edition that contains fantastic new extras along with all prior extras from the DVD release as well as the segment from the "More Brains!: A Return to the Living Dead" documentary DVD release pertaining to Part II. With parts 1 and 3 already having received their own fully loaded special edition blu-rays courtesy of Scream Factory and Lionsgate respectively, you cannot go wrong picking this edition of Part 2 up. Highly recommended and would someone please get that d@mn screwdriver out of my head!

It's campy and corny, but I've loved this movie for many years! The soundtrack change on the DVD release really lost me. The techno piano music was just terrible. I'm so happy that the original soundtrack was brought back for the Blu-ray release and watching it, as it was originally intended, brought back so many memories from when I watched the VHS as a kid. It just hits different! Package arrived the next day and in great condition! Movie played wonderfully!

I don't know if others were originally confused between the two "Return of the Living Dead" movies like I was but one time MANY years ago I saw THIS version on TV and was recently reminded of it's existence. This is definitely more of the comedy version and some consider it a pre-quel to the other sequel that's out there. I enjoy the hokey acting and lines, I'm excited to have this in my lineup for spooky season this year.

I grew up on b horror movies in the 80's, and the first two return of the living dead movies were always ones that stood out to me. Growing up I never forgot some of the scenes, like the graveyard dance in the first one, the whole speech, unforgettable and hilarious. I find it amusing too that watching interviews from the directors/writers that the humor in the first movie was actually unintentional! Part two could actually stand alone as it didn't strictly follow the first movie, and in fact brought back two cast members from the first film in completely different roles. I know even into my teens I found myself renting these two movies over and over. I'm glad that the first one has finally gone bluray, I can only hope they do the second one as well, but for now I'm satisfied to at least own it on DVD. Watching it cleaned up after all those old vhs rentals really is great. If you haven't seen the movies, and aren't too tired of the zombie flicks, and want to see one of the first movies that actually linked zombies to the eating of brains in specific, then give part one and two a go. The installments afterwards just don't feel the same, even though two of them did try to use some of the same actors in different roles. These movies aren't too serious, but rather creative. The characters stand out, heck if you know who Linea Quigly is she's the graveyard dancing punk girl who runs around nude through half of the first one. She kills me with her delivery of those lines "Do you ever fantasize about dying..." Anyone who's seen it know's what I'm talking about. Part two, on of my favorite moments has to be the zombie head someone has stuck "get that dang screw driver outta my head!" Overall a lot of fun.