Get Your Reps In: “The Return of the Living Dead” Is a Classic Horror-Comedy

With the help of a gang of teenage punks (and a killer death rock soundtrack), the survivors team up to save their town by kicking some zombie ass.

Return of the Living Dead (IMDB)

The Return of the Living Dead (1985)

Completely different from George Romero’s somber 1968 classic Night of the Living Dead, this horror comedy from Dan O’Bannon follows a ragtag crew of warehouse employees who unwittingly reanimate a cemetery full of zombies. With the help of a gang of teenage punks (and a killer death rock soundtrack), the survivors team up to save their town by kicking some zombie ass. Clinton, Oct. 22.


Mandy (2018)

Nicolas Cage stars in this psychedelic horror film about a couple, Red and Mandy (Cage and Andrea Riseborough), whose charmed, secluded life in the forest is upended by a cult of biker demons. After they kidnap Mandy, Red sets out on a surreal rampage of bloody vengeance to rescue her. If you missed its theatrical run a few years ago, now’s the time to see it on the big screen! Clinton, Oct. 22.


The Piano Teacher (2001)

Isabelle Huppert plays a masochistic and dangerously repressed piano teacher pursued by a student who auditions for her conservatory. As their twisted relationship grows, so do her own revelations about the true nature of her sadistic desires. An erotic psychological drama that’s both devastating and cathartic. 5th Avenue, Oct. 22-24.


Carrie (1976)

In Brian De Palma and Stephen King’s seminal horror staple, an outcast teenager (Sissy Spacek) coping with school bullies (Nancy Allen, John Travolta) and her overbearing religious mother (Piper Laurie) discovers she has telekinetic powers. See the iconic pig’s blood-drenched prom scene projected in gorgeous 35 mm! Academy, Oct. 22-28.


Deep Red (1975)

After a musician witnesses the murder of a psychic by a mysterious black-gloved figure, he teams up with a journalist to solve the case. Directed by Italian horror master Dario Argento and featuring a memorable score by Goblin (who would later score Argento’s 1977 Suspiria), Deep Red is quintessential giallo. Hollywood, Oct. 26.

ALSO PLAYING:

Academy: Friday the 13th (1980), Oct. 20-21. The Shining (1980), Oct. 22-28. Clinton: On Any Sunday (1971), Oct. 21. Eraserhead (1977), Oct. 23. Us (2019), Oct. 25. Hollywood: Twins of Evil (1971), Oct. 25.

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