- RichardOctober 12, 2025This isn’t your typical zombie flick, it’s Romeo & Juliet with brain cravings and body piercings. Brian Yuzna ditches the campy tone of the first two Return films and dives headfirst into something darker, more intimate and surprisingly emotional. The love story between Curt and Julie gives the film its soul. It’s messy, tragic and weirdly tender. You feel for them, even as things spiral into gore soaked chaos. The military subplot is standard fare, but it’s the emotional core and Julie’s descent that make this one stand out. It’s not perfect some sets look like they were borrowed from a haunted laser tag arena, but it’s got heart, guts (literally) and a unique take on the zombie genre that’s still talked about in horror circles. If you like your horror with a side of doomed romance and a splash of S&M aesthetics, this one’s a cult gem.
- Jacob O’NealJuly 18, 2025What is about Brian Yuzna films? Aside from Society, a very low budget film, his films always look like sets Ed Wood probably would have called great and the films just feel cheap overall. Bride Of Re-Animator, Faust, The Dentist, even this one. I’m not saying I dislike any of those films. I just can’t figure out what makes his movies always look cheap when other filmmakers know how to make movies that cost less look better. Making a sequel to a beloved film like Return Of Living Dead is a daunting task. Part 2 has its fans, but it’s not a very good movie. People mainly like it because it brings back some of the original cast…myself included. For the third one, Yuzna took the reins. He took the film in a different direction while keeping the world Dan O’Bannon set up. This one is about a girl becoming infected and fighting the infection with pain and what essentially becomes body horror. Melinda Clark is great as the lead. Kent McCord of Farscape fame and Mr. Powell of Charles In Charge costar. It retains the pain and sadness of the zombie characters with the same sort of humor, but not as nuanced or funny. Much of that may be due to O’Bannon being a more talented writer overall. This movie is still very clever and has a lot going for it, but mostly it’s Clark’s commitment to her character that sells this film. Yuzna and Clark are enough of a reason to watch this film, but there’s so much more fun to be had above and beyond the two of them.
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Return of the Living Dead III was released on October 1, 1993.
Return of the Living Dead III was directed by Brian Yuzna.
Return of the Living Dead III has a runtime of 1h 36m.
Return of the Living Dead III was produced by Gary Schmoeller, Brian Yuzna, Tom Fox.
Curt Reynolds struggles to accept losing Julie Walker while fleeing military forces determined to reclaim her, as her reanimated condition transforms love into a relentless fight against an impossible hunger.
The key characters in Return of the Living Dead III are Julie Walker (as Mindy Clarke) (Melinda Clarke), Curt Reynolds (J. Trevor Edmond), Col. John Reynolds (Kent McCord).
Return of the Living Dead III is rated R.
Return of the Living Dead III is a Horror, Romance, Comedy film.
Return of the Living Dead III has an audience rating of 4 out of 10.
Return of the Living Dead III had a budget of $2M.
Return of the Living Dead III has made $54,207 at the box office.