Return of the Living Dead: Necropolis
Encyclopedia
Return of the Living Dead: Necropolis (also known as: Return of the Living Dead 4: Necropolis), is a 2005 zombie television horror film
directed by Ellory Elkayem
, starring Aimee Lynn Chadwick, Cory Hardrict
, John Keefe
, Jana Kramer
, and Peter Coyote
. The plot revolves around a group of teenagers attempting to rescue their friend from an evil corporation
. In doing so, they wind up releasing a horde of blood thirsty zombies.
An edited version of the film aired on the Sci-Fi Channel
on . The R-rated version of the film was released on DVD on . The film was originally advertised as Return of the Living Dead 4: Necropolis but once it was finally released, the number 4 was removed from the title.
) traveling to Chernobyl
to collect the last 6 canisters of Trioxin 5. Two Russian sellers take him to an empty power station which contains the Trioxin. One of the Russians get Trioxin on his hands, turning him into a zombie. Upon hearing screams, Garrison runs to see the zombie eating the other Russian partner. Garrison promptly shoots the zombie in the head.
It is then revealed that the parents of Julian and Jake "Pyro" Garrison (the nephews of Charles) were volunteers who died a year earlier at Hybra Tech. Julian leaves the house to go motor biking with his friends. During a stunt, one of Julian’s friends, Zeke falls and gets knocked unconscious. At the hospital, a doctor tells Julian that Zeke had an unexplained reaction to the painkillers
and is pronounced dead on arrival.
One of Julian’s friends, Katie, works at Hybra Tech and notices Zeke being brought in. Julian and his friends manage to hack their way into Hybra Tech website and discover Zeke is to be used as a test subject and decide to rescue him.
Meanwhile, Charles is experimenting with the Trioxin. He manages to reanimate an arm and a corpse. However, some of the gas manages to escape through the pipes (unexplainably not affecting Charles) and reanimates a dead rat that two homeless men were eating and it proceeds to attack them.
By using fake IDs, Julian and his friends manage to get into Hybra Tech, with Katie at the security center giving them advice over walkie-talkie
s. They end up sneaking through the ventilation shaft and find out that Pyro had followed them. They get out of the vent and find themselves in an armory
. After some searching they are found by Charles, who shows them where Zeke is.
The group discovers a room full of zombie clones. Uncle Charles explains that they are to be the new test subjects. He also reveals that Julian’s parents are alive before managing to escape. Katie tries to deactivate an alarm, but in the process releases all the zombies in the complex. During the chaos, Zeke is bitten on the neck by a zombie, and the group manages to make it to the armory and escape into the vents. Julian, Carlos and Cody separate from the group to find Julian’s parents, however Carlos is bitten shortly after entering the building.
Zeke, Becky and Pyro manage to make it to the parking lot and are able to find keys to a jeep
. Zeke begins to behave abnormally, without Becky or Pyro noticing that Zeke's eye color has changed to a pale gray. Unfortunately, Zeke turns into a zombie and tries to eat them, causing them to crash. Julian meanwhile has found the building where his parents are being held. He finds his zombie parents in a holding tank and sees they have been suited up with circular saw
s and minigun
s to become “uber-soldiers.” They leave the room in disgust and after being chased by zombies, escape to the roof. A few minutes later Uncle Charles appears in the room with Julian’s parents and releases them from their tanks.
Julian manages to abseil down the building from the roof. At the bottom, he encounters two zombies. The zombies are killed as Katie appears in a new truck
and runs the zombies over. Julian and Cody get in the truck.
Meanwhile, Pyro and Becky are trying to fend off zombies. Zeke runs towards Becky before she is pushed out the way by Pyro. Zeke then eats Pyro’s brain
s. Becky manages to scare Zeke off just before Katie arrives in the truck. They pick up Becky and escape the zombies. As they drive, Julian’s dad appears and shoots the truck with the mini-gun. After he has finished shooting, Becky gets out the truck and throws a grenade
at him, nearly destroying him.
They all get out of the truck and start running, but encounter Julian’s mother. Zeke starts a fist fight with Julian, whilst the group attempt to destroy Julian’s mother. They succeed while Julian manages to destroy Zeke with a grenade that was attached to him, when Julian pulls the clip.
The SWAT
team arrives and shoots the remaining zombies, including Julian’s dad, who began shooting moments after the police arrived. He shoots Katie before the SWAT team is able to kill him. The film ends with the SWAT team disposing of the bodies, and Uncle Charles escaping with the barrels of Trioxin 5. The closing scene of the movie shows a newscaster reporting about a supposed zombie outbreak which Hybra Tech denies. In the end the newscaster is attacked by a zombie as the screen goes black.
was a bit more positive, "It might seem like Necropolis offers nothing special to the viewer but the film still suggests a simpler time in Sci-fi and Horror, when a few gruesome effects, a cheap script job, and a cast of pretty-but-bland stereotypes could make a Friday night schlockfest seem like the best time ever. If for nothing else, Necropolis deserves a mountain of credit for giving it the old college try."
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
directed by Ellory Elkayem
Ellory Elkayem
Ellory Elkayem is a New Zealand film director.Born in Christchurch, Ellory Elkayem began making films at a young age. He later attended a film school designed to give students practical experience and preparation for a career in the film business...
, starring Aimee Lynn Chadwick, Cory Hardrict
Cory Hardrict
Cory D. Hardrict is an American actor and film producer.-Life and career:Born in Chicago, Illinios, Hardrict began his career on television during the late 1990s, with appearances in weekly prime-time programs including Smart Guy, Felicity, Once and Again and ER...
, John Keefe
John Keefe (actor)
John Keefe is an American film and television actor, best known for playing Julian Garrison in Return of the Living Dead: Necropolis, and its following sequel, Return of the Living Dead: Rave from the Grave. He also played the main character in "Not Another High School Show" . He played as "Brad...
, Jana Kramer
Jana Kramer
Jana Rae Kramer is an American actress and country music singer.-Career:Kramer played Noelle Davenport on Friday Night Lights and Portia Ranson on 90210. She played a sorority girl interested in Turtle in Entourage...
, and Peter Coyote
Peter Coyote
Peter Coyote is an American actor, author, director, screenwriter and narrator of films, theatre, television and audio books. His voice work includes narrating the opening ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics and Apple's iPad campaign. He has also served as on-camera co-host of the 2000 Oscar...
. The plot revolves around a group of teenagers attempting to rescue their friend from an evil corporation
Evil corporation
An evil corporation is a staple of science fiction , usually a big multinational company which values profits over ethics....
. In doing so, they wind up releasing a horde of blood thirsty zombies.
An edited version of the film aired on the Sci-Fi Channel
Syfy
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
on . The R-rated version of the film was released on DVD on . The film was originally advertised as Return of the Living Dead 4: Necropolis but once it was finally released, the number 4 was removed from the title.
Plot
Set 10 years after Return of the Living Dead 3, the film starts out with Charles Garrison (CoyotePeter Coyote
Peter Coyote is an American actor, author, director, screenwriter and narrator of films, theatre, television and audio books. His voice work includes narrating the opening ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics and Apple's iPad campaign. He has also served as on-camera co-host of the 2000 Oscar...
) traveling to Chernobyl
Chernobyl
Chernobyl or Chornobyl is an abandoned city in northern Ukraine, in Kiev Oblast, near the border with Belarus. The city had been the administrative centre of the Chernobyl Raion since 1932....
to collect the last 6 canisters of Trioxin 5. Two Russian sellers take him to an empty power station which contains the Trioxin. One of the Russians get Trioxin on his hands, turning him into a zombie. Upon hearing screams, Garrison runs to see the zombie eating the other Russian partner. Garrison promptly shoots the zombie in the head.
It is then revealed that the parents of Julian and Jake "Pyro" Garrison (the nephews of Charles) were volunteers who died a year earlier at Hybra Tech. Julian leaves the house to go motor biking with his friends. During a stunt, one of Julian’s friends, Zeke falls and gets knocked unconscious. At the hospital, a doctor tells Julian that Zeke had an unexplained reaction to the painkillers
Analgesic
An analgesic is any member of the group of drugs used to relieve pain . The word analgesic derives from Greek an- and algos ....
and is pronounced dead on arrival.
One of Julian’s friends, Katie, works at Hybra Tech and notices Zeke being brought in. Julian and his friends manage to hack their way into Hybra Tech website and discover Zeke is to be used as a test subject and decide to rescue him.
Meanwhile, Charles is experimenting with the Trioxin. He manages to reanimate an arm and a corpse. However, some of the gas manages to escape through the pipes (unexplainably not affecting Charles) and reanimates a dead rat that two homeless men were eating and it proceeds to attack them.
By using fake IDs, Julian and his friends manage to get into Hybra Tech, with Katie at the security center giving them advice over walkie-talkie
Walkie-talkie
A walkie-talkie is a hand-held, portable, two-way radio transceiver. Its development during the Second World War has been variously credited to Donald L. Hings, radio engineer Alfred J. Gross, and engineering teams at Motorola...
s. They end up sneaking through the ventilation shaft and find out that Pyro had followed them. They get out of the vent and find themselves in an armory
Armory (military)
An armory or armoury is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, issued to authorized users, or any combination of those...
. After some searching they are found by Charles, who shows them where Zeke is.
The group discovers a room full of zombie clones. Uncle Charles explains that they are to be the new test subjects. He also reveals that Julian’s parents are alive before managing to escape. Katie tries to deactivate an alarm, but in the process releases all the zombies in the complex. During the chaos, Zeke is bitten on the neck by a zombie, and the group manages to make it to the armory and escape into the vents. Julian, Carlos and Cody separate from the group to find Julian’s parents, however Carlos is bitten shortly after entering the building.
Zeke, Becky and Pyro manage to make it to the parking lot and are able to find keys to a jeep
Jeep
Jeep is an automobile marque of Chrysler . The first Willys Jeeps were produced in 1941 with the first civilian models in 1945, making it the oldest off-road vehicle and sport utility vehicle brand. It inspired a number of other light utility vehicles, such as the Land Rover which is the second...
. Zeke begins to behave abnormally, without Becky or Pyro noticing that Zeke's eye color has changed to a pale gray. Unfortunately, Zeke turns into a zombie and tries to eat them, causing them to crash. Julian meanwhile has found the building where his parents are being held. He finds his zombie parents in a holding tank and sees they have been suited up with circular saw
Saw
A saw is a tool that uses a hard blade or wire with an abrasive edge to cut through softer materials. The cutting edge of a saw is either a serrated blade or an abrasive...
s and minigun
Minigun
The Minigun is a 7.62 mm, multi-barrel heavy machine gun with a high rate of fire , employing Gatling-style rotating barrels with an external power source...
s to become “uber-soldiers.” They leave the room in disgust and after being chased by zombies, escape to the roof. A few minutes later Uncle Charles appears in the room with Julian’s parents and releases them from their tanks.
Julian manages to abseil down the building from the roof. At the bottom, he encounters two zombies. The zombies are killed as Katie appears in a new truck
Truck
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, with the smallest being mechanically similar to an automobile...
and runs the zombies over. Julian and Cody get in the truck.
Meanwhile, Pyro and Becky are trying to fend off zombies. Zeke runs towards Becky before she is pushed out the way by Pyro. Zeke then eats Pyro’s brain
Brain
The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...
s. Becky manages to scare Zeke off just before Katie arrives in the truck. They pick up Becky and escape the zombies. As they drive, Julian’s dad appears and shoots the truck with the mini-gun. After he has finished shooting, Becky gets out the truck and throws a grenade
Hand grenade
A hand grenade is any small bomb that can be thrown by hand. Hand grenades are classified into three categories, explosive grenades, chemical and gas grenades. Explosive grenades are the most commonly used in modern warfare, and are designed to detonate after impact or after a set amount of time...
at him, nearly destroying him.
They all get out of the truck and start running, but encounter Julian’s mother. Zeke starts a fist fight with Julian, whilst the group attempt to destroy Julian’s mother. They succeed while Julian manages to destroy Zeke with a grenade that was attached to him, when Julian pulls the clip.
The SWAT
SWAT
A SWAT team is an elite tactical unit in various national law enforcement departments. They are trained to perform high-risk operations that fall outside of the abilities of regular officers...
team arrives and shoots the remaining zombies, including Julian’s dad, who began shooting moments after the police arrived. He shoots Katie before the SWAT team is able to kill him. The film ends with the SWAT team disposing of the bodies, and Uncle Charles escaping with the barrels of Trioxin 5. The closing scene of the movie shows a newscaster reporting about a supposed zombie outbreak which Hybra Tech denies. In the end the newscaster is attacked by a zombie as the screen goes black.
Cast
- Aimee Lynn Chadwick as Becky
- Cory HardrictCory HardrictCory D. Hardrict is an American actor and film producer.-Life and career:Born in Chicago, Illinios, Hardrict began his career on television during the late 1990s, with appearances in weekly prime-time programs including Smart Guy, Felicity, Once and Again and ER...
as Cody - John KeefeJohn Keefe (actor)John Keefe is an American film and television actor, best known for playing Julian Garrison in Return of the Living Dead: Necropolis, and its following sequel, Return of the Living Dead: Rave from the Grave. He also played the main character in "Not Another High School Show" . He played as "Brad...
as Julian Garrison - Jana KramerJana KramerJana Rae Kramer is an American actress and country music singer.-Career:Kramer played Noelle Davenport on Friday Night Lights and Portia Ranson on 90210. She played a sorority girl interested in Turtle in Entourage...
as Katie Williams - Peter CoyotePeter CoyotePeter Coyote is an American actor, author, director, screenwriter and narrator of films, theatre, television and audio books. His voice work includes narrating the opening ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics and Apple's iPad campaign. He has also served as on-camera co-host of the 2000 Oscar...
as Uncle Charles - Elvin Dandel as Zeke Borden
- Alexandru Geoana as Jake Garrison
- Toma Danila as Carlos
- Diana Munteanu as Mimi Romero
- Serban Georgevici as Hector
- Gelu Nitu as Boris
- Claudiu Trandafir as Nicholai
- Boris Petroff as Crusty
- Constantin Barbulescu as Joey
- Razvan Oprea as Darren
- Dan Astileanu as Garcia
- Lorena Lupu as Genie
- Esther Nathalie as Ms. Rayburn
Reception
The film was called "the worst cinematic atrocity to wound your retinas" in Rue Morgue's 2006 year in review. Bloody DisgustingBloody Disgusting
Bloody Disgusting is a website that covers horror movies with reviews, interviews and news. It is currently run by Brad Miska, and Tom Owen. According to one source, the site has 1.5 million unique visitors and 20 million page views each month. It is widely considered to be the "world's most...
was a bit more positive, "It might seem like Necropolis offers nothing special to the viewer but the film still suggests a simpler time in Sci-fi and Horror, when a few gruesome effects, a cheap script job, and a cast of pretty-but-bland stereotypes could make a Friday night schlockfest seem like the best time ever. If for nothing else, Necropolis deserves a mountain of credit for giving it the old college try."