What is the iRankMovies score for The Return of the Living Dead?

Name: The Return of the Living Dead
Director: Dan O'Bannon
Genre: comedy, horror, science-fiction
Released: 1985
Duration: 1 h 31 min
Rating: 7.3

The Return of the Living Dead has an iRankMovies score of 70.9/100, based on a weighted combination of IMDb (×3.0), Rotten Tomatoes (×2.0), Metacritic (×1.5), and TMDb (×1.0).

The Return of the Living Dead (1985)

They're back from the grave and ready to party!

Release:1985

Runtime:1h 31m

Country:United Kingdom

Director:Dan O'Bannon

Language:English

Genre

ComedyHorrorScience Fiction

See the best comedy movies →

Keywords

CemeteryDark ComedyCrematoriumPunk RockUndeadzombieParamedicAttic

iRank71

The Return of the Living Dead rating: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic

IMDb7.3/10· 77K votes

Rotten Tomatoes71%

Metacritic66%

TMDb7.2/10· 2K votes

With 71% on Rotten Tomatoes, backed by 7.3/10 on IMDb and 66/100 on Metacritic, critical reception of this film has been positive.

About The Return of the Living Dead

When two bumbling employees at a medical supply warehouse accidentally release a deadly gas into the air, the vapors cause the dead to rise again as zombies.

Cast of The Return of the Living Dead

Clu Gulager
as Burt
James Karen
as Frank
Don Calfa
as Ernie
Thom Mathews
as Freddy
Miguel A. Núñez Jr.
as Spider
Brian Peck
as Scuz
John Philbin
as Chuck
Linnea Quigley
as Trash
Beverly Randolph
as Tina
Jewel Shepard
as Casey
Mark Venturini
as Suicide
Jonathan Terry
as Colonel Glover

The Return of the Living Dead facts

Budget: $4M
Box office: $14.2M
Collection: Return of the Living Dead Collection

Ranked by the iRankMovies editorial teamUpdated August 2026Methodology Data sources

Audience opinions

What the audience liked

•Dark comedy horror balances body humor and crematorium chaos with infectious absurdist energy
•B horror sensibility celebrates campy atmosphere and zombie creature spectacle with enthusiasm
•Dan O'Bannon crafts entertaining undead mayhem avoiding excessive seriousness through comedic timing

What the audience disliked

•Graphic body horror imagery may overwhelm audiences seeking lighter zombie comedy tone consistently
•Thin plot prioritizes chaotic spectacle and gore over coherent narrative momentum or logic

Saga: Return of the Living Dead Collection