A virtual remake of its predecessor, Return of the Living Dead (1985), which itself was a tongue-in-cheek rip-off of director George Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968), this follow-up adheres strictly to a gore and gags formula. Jesse Wilson (Michael Kenworthy), is a young boy being bullied by thugs from the neighborhood when all of them discover a sealed drum containing a zombie corpse. The release of a gas from the container reanimates the dead in a nearby graveyard, thus releasing an army of the undead, which mindlessly crave living human brains. As Jesse tries to contact the military to put a lid on the situation, the zombies are dispatched through a variety of gruesome methods. Two stars of the first film, James Karen and Thom Mathews, return in essentially the same parts, but with different names, as their characters were previously slaughtered. Followed by a third entry in the seires, Return of the Living Dead 3 (1993. actors. .James Karen - Ed Thom Matthews - Joey Michael Kenworthy - Jesse Wilson Marsha Dietlein - Lucy Wilson Dana Ashbrook - Tom Essex Philip Bruns - Doc Mandel Suzanne Snyder - Brenda Thor Van Lingen - Billy Jason Hogan - Johnny Suzan Stadner - Aerobics Instructor Jonathan Terry - Colonel Sally Smythe - Billy's Mom Don Maxwell - Billy's Dad Reynold Cindrich - Soldier Mitch Pileggi - Sarge Arturo Bonilla - Les Terrence Riggins - Frank James McIntire - Officer Anne O. Marshall - Special Zombie Steve Neuvenheim - Special Zombie Larry Nicholas - Jesse's Double Peachy Keene - Worm Woman Richard Moore - Special Zombie Brian Peck - Special Zombie Forrest J. Ackerman - Special Zombie Derek Loughran - Special Zombie Alexandre Trauner - Tarman David Eby - Special Zombie Douglas Benson - Special Zombie