Check out the new Officially Licensed THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD merch over at BackRabbitco.com!

 

 

  One of my all time favorite horror films is the 1985 Dan O'Bannon zombie classic, THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD.   While searching around for some ROTLD shirts, I came across this website that has some amazing new ROTLD items!  The website is www.blackrabbitco.com and it has some of the coolest new items that any fan of this film will want to get their hands on!  BlackRabbit was nice enough to supply me wth a few items to check out and review, and I am happy to say that these are top notch, high quality, items. 

 Here are my thoughts on just a few of their amazing items!

 The first thing that caught my eye, that I just knew I had to have, was this amazing Tarman "More Brains" Trucker Style hat.  This is one of the coolest hats I have seen, with Tarman's face and his signature "More Brains!" comment popping off the black hat with it's crisp and bright Orange and Green colors.   Tarman is one of my favorite characters from any horror film, so I will be wearing this hat proudly!

  Next, I got two of the super cool insulated can coozies!  I got the Tarman "More Brains" one and the awesome Trioxin Barrel one.   These are so much fun and look awesome around your favorite beverage!   I especially think the Trioxin Barrell one is super cool, as it actually looks like the barrel from the movie when you insert a can in it!

  I was also lucky enough to get one of their awesome new ROTLD t-shirts!  I got the Tarman More Brains themed shirt and I can honestly say it is one of the nicest t-shirts I have ever owned.   Apparently you can get the shirts in two styles, the "Soft Premium" or the "Luxury Heavy".   I got the Luxury Heavy style and it is truly awesome.  I am not a fan of the real thin t-shirt, although I know some people love them.  I like the thicker shirts and this one is definitely a thicker, premium quality shirt.   

 If for some reason you are not a fan of THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD, don't worry!  BlackRabbit has tons of shirts and other items from many other amazing films such as ALIEN, BLACK CHRISTMAS, FRIDAY THE 13th, HALLOWEEN, HELLRAISER, THE HILLS HAVE EYES, THE EXORCIST, and SUSPIRIA, just to name a few!   There are also some non-horror and pop culture shirts as well!   Check out this awesome website and grab some great shirts or other items for you or for your horror loving friends or family today!!    Christmas is coming up, and these awesome items would make some excellent Christmas gifts!  Check them out now!

CLICK HERE to shop THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD collection

CLICK HERE to shop all items

Book Review: "The Complete History of THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD" by Christian Selelrs and Gary Smart

I recently read the book, THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD by Christian Sellers and Gary Smart.  Actually, I must confess...I haven't read all of it yet.  It will take me months to get through all of the info in this book, but I have read enough to know that is this by far the best book about a horror film or franchise I have ever read!  The book is published by Plexus Publishing (www.plexusbooks.com) and is a must have for all you Horror fans.  Here is the basic description of the book from the Plexus Publishing website:

An aficionado’s delight, The Return of the Living Dead is still one of the most influential zombie franchises of all time, spawning such modern splatter classics as 28 Days Later and Zombieland. Now more popular than ever, the films boast a loyal following of diehard enthusiasts. For the first time in 25 years, the cast and crew of all five films in the cult horror-comedy franchise reveal their secrets from behind the scenes, telling of life on set as well as the feuds, legal battles and sackings that plagued the makers. Featuring hundreds of previously unseen photos and exclusive artwork, this unique, eye-catching history is the ultimate celebration of the Return franchise and all those who contributed to its creation.
This book is a large size paperback, clocking in at 288 pages and contains over 500 photos from the ROTLD franchise. And these aren't just your regular press photos...this book is packed with rare, behind the scenes photos.  One thing I found particularly interesting was the concept art and sketches of some of the zombies seen in the films. I loved the sketches of Tarman...one of my favorite film zombies of all time!  Other photos include rarely seen storyboards and pics of publicity items for them films. 

The book mainly focuses on the first film in the franchise (and the best film, of course), in fact, almost half the book is dedicated to the classic original film.  The book does go on to cover parts 2 and 3, and then even dedicates a chapter each to part 4  (Necropolis) and part 5 (Rave to the Grave).   The authors have spared no expense here, and obviously spent numerous hours doing research and interviews for this book.   Almost every main actor from every ROTLD film is interviewed in the book along with most all the cast and crews from the films, including John Russo, Tom Savini, James Karen, and Linnea Quigley just to name a few.  

There are some great stories in this book, some of which are very humorous, but there are some that are not as funny, as we read about battles between actors and directors and the replacement of the original make-up/effects guy (William Munns) due to him and director Dan O'Bannon not seeing eye to eye on all the effects.  The book tells of O'Bannon having to step in and fix some of the effects himself, making him very critical of Munns and eventually leading to his replacement by Make-up specialist Tony Gardner.

This is just one tiny example of the behind the scenes stories you will read about in this book.  I love books about horror films like this one, and this is by far my favorite of them all.

The book is currently available from Amazon.com for under $20.  This is a steal for a book this nice full of such great photos and info on one of the greatest horror films ever made  (in my opinion).  Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of this book today!!


CLICK HERE to purchase the book from Amazon.com
CLICK HERE to visit the official website of Plexus Books