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Return of the Living Dead is a
1977The year 1977 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Douglas Adams begins writing for BBC radio.*V. S. Naipaul declines the offer of a CBE....
direct sequel to
George A. RomeroGeorge Andrew Romero is a Canadian-American film director, screenwriter and editor, best known for his gruesome and satirical horror films about a hypothetical zombie apocalypse. He is nicknamed "Godfather of all Zombies." -Life and career:...
's film,
Night of the Living DeadNight of the Living Dead is a 1968 American independent black-and-white zombie film and cult film directed by George A. Romero, starring Duane Jones, Judith O'Dea and Karl Hardman. It premiered on October 1, 1968, and was completed on a USD$114,000 budget. After decades of cinematic re-releases, it...
, written by John Russo co-scripter of
Night. A
film of the same titleThe Return of the Living Dead is a 1985 American zombie film that was followed by several sequels. The film was written and directed by Dan O'Bannon and starred Clu Gulager, James Karen and Don Calfa....
was made one year after the book was published, although it bared no resemblance to the book.
Plot
The book is set ten years after the original
zombieZombie is a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft. The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli...
uprising; where the situation has been contained and life is supposedly back to normal. After a horrific
school busA school bus is a type of bus designed and manufactured for student transport: carrying children and teenagers to and from school and school events...
crash, the recently dead begin to rise again, to feast on the living.
Film adaption
Russo wrote the book with the intention of developing it into a movie property. The resultant 1985 film, also titled
Return of the Living DeadThe Return of the Living Dead is a 1985 American zombie film that was followed by several sequels. The film was written and directed by Dan O'Bannon and starred Clu Gulager, James Karen and Don Calfa....
, abandoned Russo's plot and took a splatstick approach. Nonetheless, the movie has gone on to become a
cult filmA cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...
.