Return of the Living Dead III

***Maybe it’s not a good idea to resurrect your dead girlfriend with Trioxin*** This third film in the franchise deviates from the first two in that it’s not a horror-comedy. Sure, some things are so overdone that it can be sorta amusing, but it’s at heart a serious and horrifying zombie flick in the tradition of “Dawn of the Dead” from 15 years earlier. Brian Yuzna takes over the helm and brings influence from the Re-Animator series, particularly his “Bride of Re-Animator.” As such, this can be viewed as a stand-alone horror movie that throws in the Romeo & Juliet angle with the girl’s name even being Julie. Speaking of which, the stunning Melinda Clarke kicks axx in the role and is one of the highlights. The film pulsates with creativity from beginning to end, starting with the ominous military base and its secret biomechanical weapons project, yet continues with Julie’s ghastly (but somehow alluring) metamorphosis, the Latino family and corresponding fracas at the convenient mart, the interesting Riverman and his hidden abode, the melee in the viaduct sewers, and the wild close at the military installation. It surprisingly bombed at the box office but performed well on home video and has deservedly amassed a cult following.   It runs 1h 37m and was shot in 24 days from Oct-Nov 1992 at Santa Clarita Studios, just northwest of Los Angeles, with a key sequence done at the 7th Street Bridge in the heart of the big city, not to mention an early one done on the coast. GRADE: A-