So, you might have heard about the new “sequel” to The Return of the Living Dead that was released this past weekend. It’s called The Return of the Living Dead: Aftermath, and it’s a mostly-AI-generated “movie” that is set during and just after the events of the original 1985 movie. Reactions to it from people who have seen it have been overwhelmingly negative from what I’ve seen. When I posted about this previously, I hadn’t seen it yet. Since then I’ve skimmed through it a bit, and yeah, it’s not something I’d like to spend 82 minutes of my life watching.
Beverly Randolph, who played Tina in the 1985 movie, has been the public face of the original actors’ opposition to certain people trying to take advantage of The Return of the Living Dead name. Specifically, she publicly led the charge to sue Living Dead Media for using the original actors’ likenesses in merchandise, a matter which was officially settled out of court. Beverly, along with Linnea Quigley and a few other of the original actors, have also been involved with Richard Driscoll and his Dragon Studios productions for the past couple of years or so.
In a recent interview Beverly and Linnea did with The Caffeinated Horror Dude on YouTube (released Nov. 5), they talk about their reaction to the movie Richard Driscoll released on November 1, The Return of the Living Dead: Aftermath. Like the fans’ reactions, they didn’t like it.
But it’s especially bad for them because they were involved. Beverly actually filmed scenes, but for a different movie. According to Beverly, she filmed a role for what was then going to be titled Trash’s Revenge. She and Linnea were told that movie would be something like Sunset Blvd. I’ve written about the movie multiple times, so check the link in the comments for more information about that.
But the point for this post is, Beverly filmed scenes for Trash’s Revenge, and that movie isn’t happening. It’s being turned into a documentary on Linnea which is scheduled for a Nov. 20 release. The Return of the Living Dead: Aftermath is a movie that, as I was told by someone directly involved with Driscoll, was made out of what the prologue of Trash’s Revenge would have been.
When the announcement for Aftermath came out last week, even Beverly was surprised. She was also confused, just like the rest of us. In her interview with The Caffeinated Horror Dude, she said that she only got to see it once it was released to the public (it was sent to her, but on the same days as its public release). Here was her response to the movie in that interview:
“This is not what we signed up for,” Beverly said.
“[Richard Driscoll] sent it the morning it was released. I was almost hysterical,” she said a little later in the interview. “I was up all night writing him nasty letters. I was just like, ‘How could you do this to us?’”
Beverly explained that the footage she filmed was used with the generative AI that fills the movie, often turning her filmed part into an AI generated recreation. “I said, ‘Just take me out of it. Just put anybody else in that position. If you can do it that quick, just remove me completely. Get me out of it.”
Towards the end of the interview she added, “I want my face off of it. I just want out of it. I want to be done.”
We’ll see what happens from here, but I wish the actual rights holders for the franchise would step in.
Also, go check out the full interview with Beverly and Linnea on the YouTube channel: The Caffeinated Horror Dude
For more information about this whole mess, start here:
- ‘The Return of the Living Dead’ in Legal Battle Ahead of Its 40th Anniversary: An Explainer
- The Case Against the ‘Return of the Living Dead’ Cast is Dismissed! So What’s Next?
- Two ‘Return of the Living Dead’ Movies are Being Made in 2025…
- So, That “Official Sequel” to ‘The Return of the Living Dead’ Did Come Out This Weekend
