Brian Yuzna’s ‘Return of the Living Dead III’ (1993) Turns 30

I vividly remember the first time I saw Return of the Living Dead III. Like many other sequels of its ilk, it appeared on the US video store shelf on October 29, 1993 seemingly out of nowhere, and I immediately rented it. It was a pretty lawless time for horror in the ’90s. In the shadow of the ’80s, the video store had become a fixture instead of a novelty, and a rapidly changing culture left that neon and happiness and drifted into flannel and introspection. I’m not saying that ’90s horror was bad, just very different.

Such was Brian Yuzna’s Return of the Living Dead III when in premiered in 1993. The first film was a masterpiece from the guy that wrote Alien and had been done so well that the comedy aspect ran seamlessly with the one of the best zombie flicks ever made. The second one is somewhat of a guilty pleasure for some (not me… I loved it and still do) because the humor was a double portion and eclipsed the edgy, punk rock-fueled gore of the first. When number three rolled around, the laughs are all gone. As a matter of fact, part Return of the Living Dead III is pretty nihilistic. It’s a good watch, but not a fun watch like the other two.

Brian Yuzna (Society, From Beyond, Beyond Re-Animator) helms part three, and we know he’s always been a cool dichotomy. He looks like my high school math teacher, but whenever I see his name in the credits, I know it’s going darker than usual. His films always exist in this purgatory of American and Italian horror. There’s something about them making them seem more like Italian horror, but no one seems to have their voices dubbed.

Return of the Living Dead III centers around Curt Reynolds played by J. Trevor Edmond (Pumpkin Head 2: Blood Wings), whom I remember seeing everywhere. He was to the ’90s what Jason Hervey was to the ’80s, if you want to keep the ’80s to ’90s comparison going. He was freaking everywhere… TV, movies, you name it. He was pretty versatile. He could play a douchebag like nobody’s business, but here, he’s a sympathetic character. The female lead is Melinda Clarke, who is perfect as an unconventional beauty that changes into something very different.

To part three’s credit, it goes in a pretty bold direction. There’s always one or two characters that change in these films. In part one, it was Freddy and Trash. In part two, it was Joey and Billy the bully from the subdivision. Julie was brought back Pet Sematary-style by a heartbroken boyfriend. Her boyfriend’s dad just happens to be head of the military’s 245 Trioxin research group. What then transpires is pretty shocking. Without any spoilers, I always feel bad for the Riverman (Basil Wallace: Blood Diamond 2006).

Now that it’s been 30 years, I’m still a fan of Return of the Living Dead III. It was daring, and it set a tone that was hard to get used to after the first two. The film still holds up with some crazy arcs like body modification and piercings to help curb the hunger for human brains from a reluctant Julie. It also fits right into the Yuzna catalog. This film has more in common with Re-Animator than it does with its namesake. I definitely recommend it, but anyone expected the feel of the first two will definitely be surprised.