Note: My review of Part 4 originally appeared as one half of Matt Paprocki's Sci-Fi film reviews along with his views of Part 5. You can see that post here. What now have here before you is a reprint of my portion of that column. But wait, there's more! In a new never before seen written document are my thoughts on Part 5. That's right, it's two reviews in one column, one you may have seen and one you have not. Enjoy.

Return of the Living Dead Part 4: Necropolis

It's been a long time since I've seen any of the Return of the Living Dead movies, to be honest, I can't even recall if I've ever seen Part II. Being that my last viewing is a bit of a fuzzy memory, so my grasp of details is a little slim. Anyway, the returning dead are back for another go around, the first since 1993. There are 2 new sequels, Necropolis and Rave to the Grave. I am here to take a look at the first one, Necropolis.

The show starts with the introduction of a new company, very much in the vein of Resident Evil's Umbrella Corporation, called Hybra Tech. They are behind everything from consumer products to military weapons, snack food to toxic waste disposal (hmmmm, want another Twinkie?). Their main claim to fame appears to be their stopping of any zombie outbreaks, and their being responsible for keeping the world zombie free for over a decade (since Part 3).

Not everything is fine and dandy with this all encompassing company, they are also doing illegal testing on human subjects using a modified version of the Trioxin 245 gas from the original films, called Trioxin 5. The scene shifts for more than the first hour to a group of high school kids going about their daily routine, who's dating who, going to class, jumping motorcycles, you know, the usual. That is until one of the kids gets hurt and finds himself a part of the experiments.

It is up to the rest of the kids to get in a help him escape. This is where the zombie fun begins. All of the experimental creatures get loose and start wreaking havoc. For the last 40 minutes or so we are treated to a barrage of zombie violence. This includes bullets to the head, the backs of skulls getting bitten off, bodies getting run over, and more gore than I expected to see on the Sci-Fi Channel. Then there are the Borg (Star Trek) inspired zombie parents of the main kid. It ends, of course, with the good guys winning, but the battle apparently just beginning, as the chief scientist escapes with the last remaining barrel of chemical.

You may notice a lack of character names, well they were so inconsequential that I don't recall any of them.