Return of the Living Dead: Rave to the Grave (2005)

User Rating:

2.8/10   

Director:

Ellory Elkayem

Writers:

William Butler (writer)
Aaron Strongoni (writer)

Release Date:

31 August 2006 (Thailand)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

They will Eat your Brains Out!

Plot:

A college student creates and sells a drug called 'Z' on campus which resurrects the living dead, who wreak havoc at a Halloween rave.

Plot Keywords:

Drugs | Rave | Fifth Part | Rocket Launcher | Hitchhiking

Cast

Aimee-Lynn Chadwick	...	Becky
Cory Hardrict	...	Cody
John Keefe	...	Julian Garrison
Jenny Mollen	...	Jenny
Peter Coyote	...	Uncle Charles
Claudiu Bleont	...	Aldo Serra
Sorin Cocis	...	Gino
Cain Manoli	...	Jeremy (as Cain Mihnea Manoliu)
George Dumitrescu	...	Artie
Maria Dinulescu	...	Shelby (credit only)
Catalin Paraschiv	...	Skeet
Radu Romaniuc	...	Brett
Sebastian Marina	...	Dartagnan
Violeta Aldea	...	Rainbow
Ricky Dandel	...	Coach Savini

Also Known As:

Return of the Living Dead 5: Rave to the Grave (USA) (promotional title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence/gore, sexuality, nudity, drug use and language.

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Bucharest, Romania

Company:

Denholm Trading Inc.

Trivia:

One of the characters is named "Coach Savini". This is a "tip of the hat" to horror effects artist Tom Savini, who perfected the classic zombie look in most of the George Romero films.

Goofs:

Continuity: Becky, Julian, and Cody are the three main characters in the previous film. They seem to no recollection of zombies or anything that has happened. Also Julian is upset when he gets the news about his uncles death, yet he tried to kill him in the previous movie and as well the cause of his younger brother's and his parents and his friends deaths. Julian also remarks he didn't know what his uncle work on yet he told him and his friends in the previous film what he did.

Quotes:

Tarman: Brains!

Movie Connections:

References Super Fly (1972)

Soundtrack:

Holy

...and you thought pt. 4 was as bad as it gets!

Man, there are gonna be some seriously ticked-off fans. I mean, I'm a fan of the first 3 films (mostly 1 and 3) but I'm talking about the "die-hards" who are gonna be even more ticked than me because after 2 years of "in-the-making", THIS is what they come up with.

Sci-Fi channel can make all of the bad movies-of-the-week that it wants but making sequels to cult favorites like "Return of the Living Dead" is, well, they should really just know better.

As if part 4 wasn't bad enough (and it was awful), we get treated to something even worse: part 5. Having absolutely no redeeming qualities, it essentially plays like a 2-hour demonstration of what not to do when making a movie. Not even once does it rise to "so bad it's good" status as it's clear the writer and director aren't aware of ANY of the rules to good "bad movie"-making...such as this one: "Plot holes can exist as long as there is enough action to distract the viewer from focusing on them,"

The makers of this film apparently think every viewer has the IQ of a coat hanger because the plot holes come fast and steady from the beginning through to the end. Within the first ten minutes, we find ourselves asking: "Why is it that some of the high-school students in the P.E. class look to be about 30 years old?", "Where did the note about the guy's uncle come from?", "How can the main character have lived in his house for years (judging by the dust in the attic) without ever knowing about that secret room?" and "What exactly did Peter Coyote do to deserve this?" and then later, my favorite: "What high school lets unsupervised students use syringes on laboratory rats?" Meanwhile, we get mostly bad dialogue scenes instead of action (or camera work, atmosphere, good music, good dialogue scenes...really, take your pick), to go with these glaring questions.

Believe me, I'm not nit-picking. I normally don't mind plot-holes in otherwise entertaining movies. If I was able to overlook them while watching "House of the Dead", I'd say I'm pretty forgiving. I don't think a movie has to be completely in sync with reality, but come on, at least make an effort!

Here, it's obvious that someone was just too lazy or too inept to fix them...and that is just one problem that needs fixing! What about the fact that the zombies not only talk, but when they do, they sound just like...humans?! (Well, actually, that was more the case in part 4. Here, they only really talk when the opportunity for a lame one-liner presents itself.) Still, what about the fact that they feel pain? Or that they run (but only when convenient)? Honestly, I think this was made by people who have never seen a single zombie flick. If you don't agree, then explain the makeup effects because, let me tell you: gray face powder and latex cheekbones do not a zombie make.

Like I said, fans are gonna be ticked and die-hards may well storm the Sci-Fi Channel HQ. They would have been wise to change this to a stand-alone film instead of a sequel, but as it is, maybe "Return of the Living Dead 5: Dig Your Own Grave" would have been a better title.