20 Years Before 2000: Pop Culture Challenge: Zombies

This week the topic for the Pop Culture League to write about is "Zombies: The Dead Have Arisen!". This topic could not have come at a more perfect time as this past Sunday I met an actress from the one movie that really terrified me as a kid..."The Return of the Living Dead"!

I had seen Friday The 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, It, Ghoulies and countless other scary movies as a kid, but for some reason seeing the gory imagery from Return of the Living Dead at a young age (around 9 years old) really scared the hell out of me!

The character that probably gave me the most nightmare induced nights was the damn Tar-Man Zombie. He was so disgusting and his decomposing face yelling for "More Brains" just really terrified me. If there was one monster that could still creep me out today and make me go running for the covers, screaming like a little girl, it would be the freakin' Tar-Man! As a youngster I remember flipping through channels on TV and seeing the Tar-Man Zombie pop up and quickly scrolling past it, only to have my brother grab the remote and continuously go back to the movie to see my freaked out reactions. Such a jerk, but I still love my big brother anyway...because my mom says I have to!

My wife had never seen the movie before, so I'm sure she was enjoying listening me try to describe how 2 bumbling medical supply warehouse workers accidentally broke open a chemical vat that turned a half dog and cadavers alive again, which then led to a cremation of reanimated dead things, which then led to a rain that mixed with the chemicals to cause a Zombie outbreak. I also tried to explain the parts that really scarred me as a kid. This included the scene where a strapped down half of a Zombie explains that eating brains makes the pain of rotting go away!

Anyway, it had been years since I was brave enough to watch this film again. So why would I bring up the most traumatic movie viewing experience of my life? Because my wife had won us tickets to go to Magic City Monster Con where Linnea Quigley aka Trash from Return of the Living Dead would be making an appearance!

I explained to my wife that her part in the movie was pretty much to get naked and dance in a grave yard. Even though that is what I remember her for, she seemed very nice and was up to discuss everything from her movie roles to dinner recipes.

I was surprised that she did not have any copies of Return of the Living Dead at her table to sign. So after the Con, me and the misses went looking for a copy at Wal-Mart & Target with no luck and since Hastings has closed near us, there are no other options to look for this flick in town. Amazon, here I come again!

So in closing the Tar-Man is my worst nightmare, my wife listens to my crazy feverish ramblings about old Zombie movies, Linnea Quigley was a nice lady and I am on the hunt for a copy of Return of the Living Dead on DVD! Happy Halloween and try not to have your brains get eaten!