RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD: NECROPOLIS (2006)
Starring Peter Coyote and Aimee-Lynn Chadwick
A disappointing entry in the franchise that attempts to recapture some of the
punk sensibilities of the
original, but fails even as a believable continuation in its opening action scene.
This was actually directed by the guy that made the commercially viable horror comedy
"Eight Legged Freaks."
Peter Coyote takes a break from art films like Roman Polanski's "Bitter Moon" to play
a mad scientist reanimating corpses using the same zombie gas we supposedly saw in the
first film. THe one problem, however, is that, as any ROTLD fan remembers, in that universe
zombies cannot be killed with a shot to the head. But in the first scene of ROTLD: Necropolis,
Coyote visits Chernobyl in the former Soviet Union -- yes, that Chernobyl, the one where there
was a massive nuclear leak in the 1980s. The producers actually got permits to film there. ...
Anyway, in the opening scene, Coyote kills off one of these newly animated zombies with a
shot to the head. A direct violation of the continuity of the first film.
Back in the U.S., we meet Coyote's newphew and some of his high school friends. One of
their bunch is injured in a motorcycle accident and subsequently dies at the local hospital.
Meanwhile, Coyote is experimenting on dead punk rockers, feeding them brains and doing
the mad doctor stuff in a corporate lab.
There motorcycle friend disappears at the local hospital, but is seen in the corporate headquarters
of the company that owns the zombie gas. The same corporation also happens to run the local ambulance
service, it turns out. It isn't hard to figure out where the film heads next --
taking its cue from "Coma."
There are some cool scenes, including one where an animal that's being cooked comes to reanimated life --
an original idea. We also get to hear zombies say "brains" in a movie for the first time in over
10 years. There's also a
"Hellraiser"-like zombie with a buzzsaw that's at least -- mildly entertaining. But all in all, "ROTLD 4" is just plain lame. Very talky, with little zombie action
and one of the most annoying reject-rock-song soundtracks you've ever heard.
The worst of the series so far, although a fifth ROTLD was shot at the same time as this one. It is likely
even worse.
Directed by Ellory Elkayem