Return of the Living Dead: Rave to the Grave

Plot

The film opens with Charles Garrison arriving at a mortuary with a canister of Trioxin. He is greeted by a team of Interpol agents who aim to destroy the last canisters to avoid another incident. Nevertheless, one of them sprays three corpses with the gas and revives them. Charles is killed during the incident, along with the mortuary owner and one of the government officials.

It's Halloween, and Jenny, with Julian, Cody, and Becky, the last three survivors of the previous film, are now in college, and they receive notice of the "murder" of Charles. Julian and Jenny search for and possibly sell what belonged to Charles, and they find the last two barrels of Trioxin. One is taken to Cody, who tests the chemical inside it. Jeremy, Jenny's brother, tastes the chemical when he thinks that it is a drug similar to ecstasy, but he goes into a spasm, in which he foams at the mouth, and later describes what it was like. The chemical is named "Z" for its zombie-like effect on the living.

Cody, Jeremy, and Shelby extract the chemical from the canister and put the liquid extract into pills, which they sell to Skeet so he can sell the drug around the school. While Skeet informs everyone to only take one pill at a time for health reasons, most take more, which speeds up the process that causes humans to reanimate as zombies.

Gino and Aldo Serra, the only survivors from the beginning of the movie, recognize what is going on when they are shown the severed head of one of the zombies. They go to question Julian, knowing he is familiar with Trioxin, but he does not tell them anything about the canisters he and Jenny discovered. Sometime later, people are turning into zombies, and the drug is being passed around a rave and getting out of control. Cody and Shelby are killed. Jenny kills Zombie Jeremy. Seeing no other option, Aldo calls in military assistance, but he is told that an American bomber plane is already on the way to the rave location. The plane launches a bomb, which detonates in the center of the rave. Jenny and Julian emerge from the rubble alive, and Aldo asks where Gino is and tries to find him. It is unclear if Gino died during the blast. At the film's end, the Tarman desperately tries to hitchhike a ride to the party, but to no avail. After scaring away a woman who almost gave him a ride, he has no choice but to walk to the party, yelling his trademark "Brains!" as he goes.

Cast

Aimee-Lynn Chadwick as Becky Carlton

Cory Hardrict as Cody

John Keefe as Julian Garrison

Jenny Mollen as Jenny

Peter Coyote as Uncle Charles

Claudiu Bleonț as Aldo Serra

Sorin Cocis as Gino Corelli

Cain Mihnea Manoliu as Jeremy

George Dumitrescu as Artie

Maria Dinulescu as Shelby

Catalin Paraschiv as "Skeet"

Radu Romaniuc as Brett

Sebastian Marina as Dartagnan

Violeta Aldea as "Rainbow"

Ricky Dandel as Coach Savini

Allan Trautman as Tarman Zombie

Sandu Mihai Gruia as Mortician

Aureliu Surulescu as Guitarist

Dan Bordeianu as Tyler

Eduard Opaski as Fat Gouged Eye Zombie

Diana Vladu as Roommate

Maria Roman as Serenity

Vlad Coada as Janitor

Elena Ghenoiu as Cheerleader

Production

The film was shot immediately after Return of the Living Dead: Necropolis using locations and actors in Romania and Ukraine. Multiple scenes were filmed in the suburbs of Bucharest. Peter Coyote, Aimee-Lynn Chadwick, Cory Hardrict, and John Keefe returned from the previous installment.

Release and reception

An edited version of the film aired along with Return of the Living Dead: Necropolis on the Sci-Fi Channel on October 15, 2005. The R-rated version of the film was released on DVD on March 20, 2007 by Lionsgate Home Entertainment.

The film has received generally negative reception. Film critic Felix Vasquez, Jr. gave the film a negative review, though writing that "this kind of bad film gives you perfect opportunity to improvise mocking".