Boobs, bombs, and brains . . . must be another Return of the Living Dead sequel . . . .
After the death of his uncle, Charles (Peter Coyote), Julian (John Keefe) discovers an unmarked canister in his attic. In hopes of learning its contents, Julian has science dweeb Cody (Cory Hardrict) perform a chemical analysis. Cody realizes that the various compounds contained within the metal vat share many similarities with a handful of party drugs and begins synthesizing a new agent, which he dubs “Z,” for it produces temporary zombification in its user. However, the long-term effects are death, instant reanimation, and cannibalization. Unfortunately, Cody has sold the drug in bulk to Skeet (Catalin Paraschiv), the local drug dealer, who is attempting to capitalize upon the upcoming Halloween rave.
Directed by Ellory Elkayem (horror fans have yet to forgive him for Eight Legged Freaks, if–for no other reason–the omission of a hyphen in the title) and the consequence of the pens of William Butler and Aaron Strongoni, the same trio who made ROLD 4: Necropolis, NOLD 5 has no alibi for why the repeated characters have no memory of the catastrophe which came before. What’s more, the horror logistics continue to selectively dissipate and resurrect themselves at the drop of a hat as the victims of the undead return once again after taking a sabbatical in parts II and IV (the pattern now taking the fun out of the odds for Part Six). Furthermore, zombies can only be dispatched via a shot to the head as opposed to the more lethargic method of a well-placed bullet most anywhere else as witnessed for the first time in the series with Necropolis. But this isn’t to imply that Rave to the Grave is yet another example of diminishing returns in respect to sequels. Quite the contrary, aside from the migraine-inducing logistic faux pas, ROLD 5 is standard horror fare, more than can be said of its mundane precursor.
Granted, the film premiered approximately a decade too late as the height of the raver culture has all but died out. However, the work’s unintentional political leanings are haphazardly consistent throughout as Elkayem aligns the dangers of drugs with radiation/the Red Scare, which parallels and compliments the stereotypical Puritan plot, ironically solidified–given the setting of ROLD 5–by John Carpnter’s Halloween, whereby anyone engaging in lechery, drugs, or poor dispositions will inevitably be dispatched before the close of the film. Unfortunately, the feature does fail to effectively capitalize upon the storyline’s potential to satirize drug culture as it merely uses it as a ruse by which to justify the appearance of the carnivorous undead.
But what can legitimately be said about a film which houses zombie mice, a poor allusion to Marathon Man with the ominous inquiry of “Is it safe?” as a pair of Yugoslavian mafia-types . . . er, Interpol employees . . . hold their firearms (automatic pistols no less) Compton-style as they mimic Pacino’s dialect in Scarface while their musical taste–Italian opera–serenade them in their tasks? This says nothing of a film based around a substance that is an amphetamine but acts like Ecstasy and acid, in short, a drug whose intents are analogous to driving in opposite directions at the same time. However, during the course of the tale, the lesson we learned from Brian Yuzna’s Beyond Re-Animator is reiterated as we watch the effects of a reagent upon the living. We’ll also ignore the coincidental nature of the serum being a radiant, phosphorescent lime green.
Truth be told, Ellory Elkayem’s Return of the Living Dead 5: Rave to the Grave–despite the fact that it is framed and shot as if made-for-television though it was produced with the intention of a theatrical release and that its finale cheats its audience like no other in recent memory as the editing is less than assiduous–is what critics of the genre imagine when they lambaste the field. It is indeed a rote, good natured zombie flick which enjoys itself as the fairly well-balanced special effects manage to keep up with the time yet is nonetheless merely another run-of-the-mill, mind-numbing, spirit-crushing piece of horror escapism that goes nowhere but, fortunately, isn’t parading around under the misconception that it is the next Romero protégé as it proceeds to cruise through its script as if on a leisurely Sunday drive. So long as you don’t think too much about that is flashing before your eyes, you might just manage to avoid realizing that you are losing almost ninety minutes of your life. However, for all of you Return of the Living Dead die-hards, the iconic Tarman does manage to make a cameo after two decades . . . .
-Egregious Gurnow
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
