Love never dies! Not for the doomed couple at the center of director Brian Yuzna’s gory zombie sequel, Return of the Living Dead 3, and not for dedicated horror fans.
Filmmaker Dustin Ferguson (Spider Baby, or the Maddest Story Ever Told) revealed on Facebook that he’s acquired the “lost” first cut of Yuzna’s film, containing 8 minutes of never before seen footage.
He writes, “Return of The Living Dead 3 fans! We have acquired the ‘lost’ 1st cut of ‘Return of The Living Dead 3’! It features almost 8 minutes of additional, never-before-seen footage not in the Unrated version! No information exists anyDwhere about this! More details soon!”
The announcement comes with a photo of the T-120 VHS Master containing the cut, with Ferguson teasing that plans are underway for a physical and/or digital release and an announcement forthcoming.
The third entry in this zombie franchise presents a gory Romeo and Juliet story only director Brian Yuzna could deliver. Curt Reynolds (J. Trevor Edmund) is madly in love with his girlfriend Julie (Melinda Clarke) and can’t bear to live without her. So much so that when a motorcycle accident claims her life, he takes her to his father’s military compound and exposes her to 2-4-5 Trioxin gas. Julie is successfully reanimated but must battle an overwhelming hunger for human flesh. As the lovers flee from the military, Julie leaves a trail of devastation and undead corpses.
This threequel shakes up the franchise in just about every way. Yuzna’s ability to balance extreme viscera with tender moments makes this entry soar.
Return of the Living Dead 3, written by John Penney, was released unrated on VHS in addition to the R-rated theatrical cut in 1993. Yuzna had to trim down some of the unrated VHS to achieve the R-rating, which makes 8-minutes worth of footage all the more enticing.
Yuzna isn’t afraid to bring the pain and gore in Return of the Living Dead 3, so it’s extra curious what footage the lost cut could contain.
Stay tuned for additional details as they arrive. In the meantime, you can stream this goopy gem on freevee, Tubi, and the Roku Channel.
