If you thought that the Return of the Living Dead series couldn't get any worse than the pointless third sequel, you'd be right. While this is still an awful, stupid mess; at least it's a (slight!) improvement over the first of the 2005 offerings; but of course, that isn't saying anything. Quite why someone has had the bright idea to resurrect a series that was never massively popular anyway is anyone's guess; and the fact that the resulting movies are a complete waste of film stock aptly shows what a bad idea it was. The subtitle, 'Rave to the Grave', should be enough to put any sane movie-goer off seeing this film...but anyway, this time the stalwart bunch of teens that always inhabit this kind of movie are having fun getting stoned off their faces with a new drug. 'Z' will get you high...but it will also turn you into a brain eating zombie. It doesn't take long for the whole school to be infested with zombies; and the rave that they've all been looking forward to may well turn out to be what it's name suggests; a rave to the grave.
Ellory Elkayem, the genius behind Eight Legged Freaks, is in the director's chair for this film, and gives us a tour-de-force of forgettable direction once again. The film uses dreary nu-metal trash for its soundtrack far too often; as if the rest of the film wasn't enough of a turn off on its own. The zombie design is nothing to write home about, although in fairness; it's not the worst I've ever seen. There is a zombie in the movie that seems like a nod to the first zombie in the original movie, which would have been nice if this film wasn't a pointless load of crap. The reason why this entry in the series is ever so slightly better than the third sequel is because it takes in more of the humour that the Return of the Living Dead series is notable for. The humour isn't funny really; but at least the film acknowledges its roots somewhat. Most of the cast from the fourth film return, and basically do what they did in that one; i.e. fail to make an impression. To be honest, I can't believe I wasted time on this after wasting time on part four. My only advice where this film is concerned is simple; ignore it!
