They Won't Stay Dead: A Look at 'Return of the Living Dead Part II' (2011)
Retrospective documentary about the making of "Return of the Living Dead Part II."
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Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies
Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.
Within moments I was stunned how critical the documentary was of Return Of The Living Dead II, this was not a promotion it was a castration.Clearly a sequel in terms of the feature length Return Of The Living Dead documentary as it features many of the same interview segments this documentary is pretty dire.The movie is outstanding, they have the cast to interview, so how did they make such a hatchet job of this? It's too short, its too critical and it just isn't very interesting.Watch the movie instead or if you want a documentary then watch the first More Brains A Return Of The Living Dead (2011) The Good: Passable interviews The Bad: Oddly critical Too short Documentary actually makes the movie look bad Things I Learnt From This Documentary: After making the first documentary everyone simply couldn't be assed making another
This documentary about the making of "Return of the Living Dead Part II" offers an interesting and illuminating glimpse at the troubled production of this sequel, which many feel was strictly made to capitalize on the success of the first one. The original ideal was to bring back the cast members from the first one (Don Calfa reveals that he auditioned for a role, but didn't get it), but this concept was ultimately nixed. Production designer William Stout threatened to sue if they reused any of his designs, both make-up artist Kenny Myers and actor Allan Trautman were dissatisfied with how the Tarman looked in the second one (Myers also says the key failure with the second one was that it was way too comedic in tone), and Thom Matthews flat-out admits he was unhappy with how the picture turned out (James Karen politely refuses to say he doesn't care for the movie). However, both Michael Kenworthy and Suzanne Snyder have much happier memories about acting in the film. It's also revealed that the notorious Michael Jackson zombie was improvised on the spot and writer/director Ken Wiederhorn wasn't a fan of the horror genre (he reportedly didn't even know who Forrest J. Ackerman was!). Loaded with neat behind-the-scenes stills, this overall sizes up as an enjoyable and informative documentary.
They Won't Stay Dead: A Look at Return of the Living Dead Part II (2011) *** (out of 4) This documentary clocks in at 25-minutes and talks about the rather unhappy time making RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD PART II. The film starts off talking that the original idea was to have the entire cast from the first film return but then the movie just took off into another direction and to many it never recovered. Linnea Quigley, James Karen, Thom Matthews, Kenny Myers, Brian Peck, Beverly Randolph, William Stout, Allan Trautman and Tony Gardner are on hand to discuss what they thought was going to be in the sequel and it's clear many were unhappy with the new direction. Suzanne Snyder and Michael Kenworthy, two new cast members to the sequel, are also on hand to discuss their feelings on the movie. It's clear, as most fans already know, that this sequel was made for money and both Matthews and Karen are honest in their hatred for the film. Everyone has an opinion on why the film didn't work and most either blame the director not caring for the project or the fact that they went for way too much humor. Fans of the series or those who defend this film will enjoy hearing these stories even if we don't learn anything that you probably haven't already heard. I think the film isn't as bad as its reputation and I still remember seeing it in the theater when I was seven. The movie certainly isn't as good as the original but then again how many sequels are? No matter what your opinions are in regards to the film, this documentary is still a fun look at the making of the film and it's clear that most involved just want to forget it.