The Return of the Dead

In the Uneeda Medical Supply Warehouse in Louisville, Frank hammers a drum to prove it secure, releasing toxic gas called Trioxin. The drums had sat in the basement for years after a delivery error. The gas seeps through the area and sets the stage for what follows.

The released gas causes the cadaver in the basement to melt and reanimate another corpse stored in a meat locker. The event reveals the substance's power and ability to reanimate the dead. This marks the first outbreak of the zombie threat.

Frank, Burt, and Freddy attempt to puncture the brain and dismember the reanimated corpse. Yet the zombie's parts survive independently, complicating their effort to stop it. They realize conventional methods are insufficient against a decaying, self-sustaining body.

Burt has the zombie incinerated at a mortuary crematorium with Ernie's help. The burning releases more gas into the air, triggering a toxic rainfall. The rain threatens to spread the contagion beyond the warehouse.

The contaminated air drifts over Louisville, reviving the dead in the nearby cemetery. The outbreak spreads from the warehouse to the surrounding area. The reanimated rise signals a citywide crisis.

Tina, Freddy's girlfriend, and his friends Spider, Trash, Chuck, Casey, Scuz, and Suicide reach the cemetery to wait for Freddy. They become entangled in the unfolding nightmare as the dead begin to walk.

The group arrives later to the warehouse and Tina wanders into the basement, coming face to face with the disfigured reanimated cadaver. The encounter confirms the threat is very real and deadly.

The others manage to rescue Tina from the immediate danger, but Suicide is killed in the chaotic encounter. The group is forced to retreat and reassess their predicament.

Casey recalls seeing Freddy enter the mortuary, prompting the group to push toward the building. They are attacked by the re-emerging zombies, Trash is killed, and Chuck and Casey flee back to the warehouse for safety.

Spider, Tina, and Scuz arrive at the mortuary and discover Frank and Freddy showing signs of illness from the gas, yet they remain conscious. Paramedics declare them dead, even though they are still alive in a chilling paradox.

Trash, submerged in chemical-laden mud, rises as a zombie and begins hunting the living. The infestation now includes beings that were once buried, expanding the threat beyond the initial three.

Burt and Ernie barricade the mortuary to contain the outbreak. Scuz is killed while defending the barricade, and zombies feast on arriving paramedics and police. The survivors realize they must hold the line or be overrun.

The group restrains the upper half of a zombie on a mortuary table, and she explains that reanimated corpses feel themselves rotting. She reveals that eating the brains of the living relieves the pain of being dead, a chilling insight into their condition.

Frank and Freddy show further signs of zombification. Freddy attempts to attack Tina, but they rescue her by blinding him with a strong acid. Meanwhile, Frank, still momentarily in control, climbs into the cremator and commits suicide.

Burt and Spider flee the mortuary with the others, but the sheer number of zombies drives them back. They later contact Colonel Glover, who orders the town to be destroyed to halt the invasion, a drastic and devastating plan.