Return of the Living Dead III (1993)

Film Title: Return of the Living Dead III
Released: August 1993 (Fantasy Filmfest)
Directed by: Brian Yuzna
Written by: John Penney
Starring: Melinda Clark & J. Trevor Edmond

Plot: When a teenage couple sneak into a military base, they witness a top secret test that brings the dead back to life. After they get into a motorcycle accident that kills the girl, the boy brings her back using the same process.

IMDb: 5.9/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 44/100
My Score: 3/5

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

Return of the Living Dead III is a return to form for the series after the dismal Return of the Living Dead Part II. The drop dead (pun intended) gorgeous Melinda Clark (billed as Mindy Clark) and her boyfriend, J. Trevor Howard, sneak into the military base where Howard's father (Kent McCord) works as head of a secret project researching the chemical trioxin, a gas that reanimates the dead. After they watch a test in action, they are involved in a motorcycle accident in which Clark dies. Distraught, Howard breaks back into the base and revives her using the gas. After they make their escape, they go on the run but their problems only escalate as she slowly tuns into a brain-craving eating machine. Unique to this entry is the device of using self-inflicted pain as a way to curb the zombie appetite. Clark utilizes this technique throughout the film, culminating in the look from movie's poster. The picture ends up falling apart in the third act with a logic-defying zombie escape back at the base that sacrifices plot for effects. Most of the actors are less than spectacular but the weaker aspects of the film are buoyed by a great performance from Clark, the really nice make-up effects and some surprisingly touching moments between the leads. Recalling James Karen's similar decision from Return of the Living Dead, the young lovers burn themselves in an incinerator after Howard gets bitten by zombie while protecting Clark in the climax. James T. Callahan, Sarah Douglas, Mike Moroff, Basil Wallace and Playboy Playmate Pia Reyes co-star. Clark won the Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Actress and the movie won the Silver Scream Award at the Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival and the Audience Award at the Gérardmer Film Festival.