Good test of constitution

Press, 24 February 1987, Page 16

Good test of constitution

If you are one of those people who believe they can stomach a comedy movie any time, “Return of the Living Dead” (M) will be a good test for your constitution. For example, how would you react to seeing a reanimated corpse with a pick-axe through its skull having its head severed,with a saw (fortunately a bloodless operation!), and then still get up and stumble on its way while the dismembered portion continues to scream? How- about having your ankle grabbed by a wriggling hand that’s parted company with the corpse’s torso? That’s what happens to the wide-eyed and unsuspecting Ernie, the elderly mortuary attendant.

No problem, you say? Okay, then it’s pretty certain you’ll get a kick out of this recent release by Cannon Screen Entertainment (N.Z.), Ltd.

Frank (James Karen) and Freddy (Thom Matthews) work at a medical supply company in whose warehouse are

stored mutant corpses that have previously been reanimated by a chemical seepage, and later recaptured.

Frank accidentally fractures one of the cylinders in which the corpses are stored. All it needs is a good slap on the cylinder and the assurance, “Leak? Hell no, these things were made by the United States Army Corps of Engineers!”

That triggers the release of a gas that sends Frank and Freddy into a premature state of rigor mortis, stirs the occupants of a nearby cemetry to an insatiable thirst for human brains, and sets the scene for 90 minutes of farcical movie mayhem.

Clu Gulagher stars as Burt Wilson, the bewildered owner of the medical supply company, who is worried that the whole macabre affair will spell ruin for his business.

At the end of the night, the military comes up with its own special way of solving the problem ... or does it?