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BryanBaugh — Tina and the Tarman
Published: 2011-04-10 00:09:34 +0000 UTC; Views: 33398; Favourites: 531; Downloads: 558
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TINA AND THE TARMAN:On my list of favorite movies, "Return of the Living Dead" by Dan O'Bannon, is way, way, way up there at the top. This film came out in 1985. I was in the seventh grade and saw it at the theater. I went in with average expectations. Based on the TV commercials, it looked like it should be a decent zombie movie. Instead, what I got was a horror paradise.
Its incredible mix of genuine freaky scares, good humor, exaggerated comic book style zombies, punk rockers, gory violence, great characters, memorable dialogue, excellent special effects, and a believable feeling of Midwestern American goofiness really, really hit me and charged my imagination into overdrive.
Since then I have seen it many, many times and over the years my love for this movie has only increased. I have often wondered if it might just be my number one favorite horror movie of all time. I hate to say any horror film is my #1 favorite cause there are so many I love so much. But this film is certainly in my top three.
My favorite scene in the entire film is when nice-girl Tina leaves her group of punk-friends, wanders off by herself, and gets attacked by the hideous Tar-Man zombie.
A couple of years ago, I did an illustration of the Tar-Man scene, which you can also find in my Deviant Art Gallery. But afterwards never thought much about it.
So imagine my excitement when I woke up one crisp October morning and found the following e-mail waiting for me:
“Dear Bryan,
I just saw the artwork you did for "Return of the Living Dead - Tarman." Do you sell your original art? If so how much do you sell it for? I played Tina in the movie. Enough for now... thanks for making me look sooooo cool in your artwork. I am so honored.
Beverly Randolph-Hartley
~Tina from Return of the Living Dead”
That sure knocked me out. I emailed Beverly back and we got talking online. She is a wonderful, sweet lady. I had to tell her I’d already sold my previous Tar-Man illustration but would be happy to create a new one for her, and she agreed. I couldn’t believe it. An actress who starred in one of my all-time favorite horror films, a movie I’d been watching repeatedly since I was 13 years old… wanted to commission me to do an illustration of her, in her most famous horror movie moment?? I was amazed and flattered. Well it took a little while to squeeze it into my regular work schedule. But here it is. Since then Beverly and I have kept in touch and I’m proud to say she’s become a friend.
UPDATE: MORE BRAINS!
I am excited to announce that a brand-new, feature-length documentary about the making of this film, has just been released on DVD. It's called:
"MORE BRAINS! A Return to the Living Dead"
Naturally, I would be excited about "MORE BRAINS", because cult horror films don't usually receive this level of in-depth behind-the-scenes documentation, with such candid, no-holds-barred interviews, featuring almost every single cast and crew member...
...But another reason I am so excited about this documentary - is because it features two of my illustrations!! Yes, you heard that right! Watch for my artwork to appear during the behind-the-scenes discussion of the famous Tar-Man sequence!
This wonderful opportunity came about thanks to Beverly Randolph, the actress who was menaced by the Tar-Man zombie in ROTLD (and who was also a producer on the doc). It's a long story but I met Beverly a couple years ago and we became friends. I knew nothing about "MORE BRAINS" until she let me in on it, while it was in production, about 9 months ago. It was she who requested my artwork to appear in the documentary. ...And I've been biting my tongue about it ever since! Haha.
I can't express how hugely excited and flattered I feel, to have my artwork connected, in even the smallest way, with a movie that I have loved so much, for so long. Not to mention - seeing my name in the credits of an official Return of the Living Dead - thing...? THAT was a trip! ...I wish I could be all cool and laid back and professional about this... But that would be a lie. I am just too big of a fan. Thanks a MILLION Beverly! Thank you thank you!
...And finally - speaking purely as a fan - I highly recommend all you zombified wierdos out there, track down a copy of this DVD as soon as possible, before rigor-mortis sets in! "MORE BRAINS" is one of the best behind-the-scenes docs, about one of the best zombie movies, you'll ever find. Watching it will... make the pain... go away... the pain of being DEAD... Can't you feel yourself... ROTTING???
Here's the Amazon link: tinyurl.com/6tqpsom
ORDER IT NOW!!!
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Comments: 201
Well, I got Return in the mail today and just finished watching it---and it was TONS of FUN!!!!
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Aww that's great to hear! I am proud that my artwork could inspire people to seek out horror movies that they might not have experienced before. That is a huge compliment. Glad you enjoyed ROTLD. But of course I suppose an argument could be made that I am spreading the curse of horror movies. I am SUCH a bad influence on you innocent Deviant Art kids. Haha.
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...don't forget about I, Madman...
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...All things in due time...
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OH MY GOD THAT IS SO AWESOME! The Tar-Man STILL scares the living CRAP out of me! Awesome piece of work! That movie was totally cool! Funny with some major scares (referenceto Tar-Man implied 
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Thanks! Glad you like my drawing, and yes it is an awesome movie!
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Good pic. I wish I could like the movie. It has it's charming points, but I hate -so much- that it started the whole zombies eating brains joke
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3 Points I'd like to make in response to that:
1.) Thanks for your compliment.
2.) In this movie, eating brains was not played as a joke.
3.) Your enjoyment of a movie is lessened by other people taking one of its unique story angles, and joking about it? In my opinion that is an unfair way to judge any film.
Just sayin'.
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Well. Blame one of my personal heroes, Joe Bob Briggs.
I understand that craniophagus ghouls weren't meant to be a joke, in ROTLD, but I still was annoyed by the attraction to brain. It didn't make sense. It also annoyed me that the ghouls talked.
I admire that the transformation into a ghoul was more gradual and didn't require death; almost as if you eased into death without a resting period if you were bitten.
I like OBannon, but the fact of the matter is this:
Return of the Living Dead was a major studio banking on the success of the name franchise known as "Night of the Living Dead".
I'm sure you already know that. And I'm sure you know about the legal battle between Romero and Russo, when they parted ways.
Pretty much everything surrounding the movie puts a bad taste in my mouth and makes enjoyment of the movie too difficult.
I judge films pretty harshly, because I hate art. I judge movies with more affection, but I can't say I'm unpolluted by everything surrounding the movie. I can say, however, that I saw it before I knew much of what I know now. I didn't like it much, then, either.
I dunno. Maybe it's because I saw ROTLD 1 and 2 in the same week. Maybe I need to see the first one again. I'll throw it in my Netflix queue.
For the record, however, I'm not judging the movie half as much as I'm judging its creator. I'm not saying it's a crap movie. I'm just saying I have a hard time enjoying it and the Hot Topic kids that walk around moaning "brains" doesn't help.
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Okay buddy. Well, I apologize for drawing a subject that causes you so much irritation. But it sounds like you take life way too seriously for me.
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I've got a very, very dark sense of humor that, generally, centers on the concept of futility.
So, you're probably right
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Interesting. How's that workin out for ya? Because I've got a very, very dark sense of humor that, generally centers on the concept of having fun. You should try it.
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I think futility IS fun. It wouldn't be funny, otherwise.
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You do have an interesting take on life. I might disagree with it but I can appreciate it. Ha.
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Well, I did what I said. I put ROTLD in my Netflix queue and bumped it to the top. I watched it, today. I can say that I did like it a lot more than I did the last time I saw it (about twelve years ago).
I can also admit that I was right in my assumption that I got a couple of scenes from part II mixed-in with my memories of the first. Namely, the "Come to the hospital" scene, with the zombie on the radio, and the scene where Joey tells his girlfriend that he wants to eat her brains because they smell "spicy".
Although I did like it a lot more than I remembered, I still have to say that it gets on my nerves that the zombies actually have dialogue. I understand that it's a comedy and Obannon wrote it as such, and that it is far better than other zom-coms, like the much overrated Sean of the Dead and Fido or the abysmal Zombieland. For liking it more than I should, considering how closed-minded I am towards zom-com I am, the zombies talking still got on my nerves.
The brain eating was forgivable, considering I watched Obannon's bonus material interviews before I re-watched it. He was trying to change Russo's script so that it would be less likely to step on Romero's toes and I respect that.
Zombies talking still, however, makes things far too awkward.
I understand why you like it, though, having read some of your replies to other peoples' comments and seeing how much you enjoy Day of the Dead. I do like the movie. I own a copy. The character of Bub, however, is a little heavy-handed for me. It bothers me every time Romero endows the ghouls of his later pictures with a sort-of Frankensteinian sympathy. As far as I'm concerned, the audience shouldn't need a "more human zombie" to realize the horror of a zombie movie is less about the zombies and more about the objectification of the zombies while a bunch of gung-ho rednecks/soldiers/etc take the situation as an opportunity to shoot men, women and children in the face with impunity.
Regardless, I have to say I might end up purchasing a copy of ROTLD, considering I can usually find a copy for $4.50. I'll probably re-watch it almost as much as I do any Romero movie, but I can't say that the sentience of the zombies will ever fail to get on my nerves at least a little bit.
I do suppose, however, that I am over my hang-up on the movie's legacy of having inspired comments like the one below (although I consider said comment to be forgivable due to its being in actual context)
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I never saw ROTLD as a "zom-com" (your term). Or a comedy. Rather I saw it as a horror film which happens to have humorous moments. Like "An American Werewolf in London", it allows for humor while keeping the monsters and horror moments scary/freaky. You could compare these types of horror films to drama films by the Cohen Brothers, Or mystery films by Hitchcock, which clearly belong to their own genre but happen to have funny characters and occasional funny dialogue. Just because a movie has some amount of humor in it does not automatically make it a comedy.
I am not a huge fan of "Shaun of the Dead" or its like, either... In my opinion those are satires, pure and simple. They are well-done satires, but not my cup of tea. The only thing that annoys me about these films is that they are often (annoyingly) considered "zombie films" by people who don't really have any true interest in (or knowledge of) the real horror genre. I don't think ROTLD fits in that category at all.
Nice to hear you gave it another try. As for your remaining complaints about it, or your criticisms of Romero, what can I tell ya dude. Apparently no horror film is up to your standards. Though when you get into bagging on early classic Romero I am damn certain the whopping majority of true horror fans will completely disagree with you. You stand alone on that one, my friend.
You should make a zombie film yourself and show us horror fans, and the makers of ROTLD, and Romero, how it should be done "correctly".
Sorry I don't have much sympathy for your gripes. I am the type who just enjoys movies and has fun watching them. I have different opinions about different movies, but I don't get any satisfaction out of nit-picking the ones I like, to death.
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O'Bannon flat-out called it a satire, in his interview about the movie. And, personally, I'd have to say that saying "ROTLD" isn't a satire is the same as saying "Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2" wasn't a satire.
I agree on the American Werewolf point, but I think American Werewolf actually does blend the two genres more evenly, rather than leaning more towards comedy. The difference between the two is that the violence and the horror (aside from Griffin Dunn's quippy, smarmy post-mortem attitude) is not a punchline. The horror isn't in on the joke that the rest of the movie is in on. I don't think the same can be said for "ROTLD". It makes it no less of a good movie, just because it's a comedy. I just beleive in calling a spade a spade. I mean, I understand what you say about Coen Bros movies, but I think most of those qualify as comedies, too. Even "Barton Fink"and "Blood Simple". I'd have to say the only exceptions would be "No Country for Old Men" and "Miller's Crossing" and "True Grit".
I actually consider "Sean of the Dead" and "Fido" to be quite well done satires. I just think it's unfortunate zombies got thrown-in for lack of a more creative selling point or angle. Just like vampires.
I wasn't, for the record, bagging on older, classic Romero. I said that Bub got on my nerves a little, but I still love the movie. I, more or less, was bagging on his efforts in "Land of the Dead", "Diary of the Dead" and "Survival of the Dead" for putting an overbearingly sympathetic angle to the walking corpses.
I like a movie for being a movie, but it has to be genuinely entertaining which, for me, means you can't rely too much on gimmick.
It's why I have a problem with the Nightmare on Elm Street franchize. There's a lot of horror fans that would disagree with me on that, too.
I really don't care. Not that I'm picking a fight with you - I'm actually hoping you're enjoying this conversation as much as any other you might have about movies.
I just tend to disagree with peoples' opinions on a lot of genre classics.
Most people, for instance, who like "The Goonies" or the original "Karate Kid" like them for entirely nostalgic reasons that they won't admit to. Neither movie captured my interest enough for repeat viewing, as a kid. So, now, when a friend watches one of those movies, when I'm around, I can't get past how horrible they are. I'm actually a pretty big fan of Romero's and I like a lot of 70's and 80's horror, but I'll stand by my assertion that most classics are simply considered such because people grew-up on them until the day I die. In this, I'm not saying that your opinion means nothing to me. I'm just saying that regardless of the opinions (or, more likely, feelings) of legions of horror fans, I have my reasons for thinking what I think in the same way that "Aliens" will always be my least favorite Alien movie, no matter how many James Cameron cultists jump down my throat about how it's the best of the series and I must only be voicing this opinion to stir up controversy.
I like movies. I think they're fun. I prefer them to award winning films and most so-called story-driven indie crap any day of the week. But I can't not say that movies, in the end, are a product. Not only that but, unlike film, movies admit they're a product. They're not claiming to be pure art. And, as a consumer, I just want to know my product is of, at least, decent quality. So, yeah, I will pick movies apart to a degree for the same reason I might pick apart the flaws of a car, blender or any other product; to ensure I'm getting something of good quality and to, possibly, help set a standard for the continuation of that quality in future products. What's wrong with that, right?
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It's okay dude. I never thought you were trying to "pick a fight" with me. Like I said before movies are not something I take seriously enough to get angry about.
But I mostly just watch movies for fun and enjoy them. No movie is perfect. But if I mostly enjoy a movie I tend to forgive its shortcomings, and just sorta roll with it. An imperfection in an otherwise entertaining movie, is not the same as a fly in a bowl of soup. It does not ruin the whole thing for me.
But so far you have found something negative to say about (almost) every movie you've mentioned. It's no fun to discuss movies that way... for me at least. Nothin personal.
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That is Awesome!!
No bigger honor than to have someone from one of your favorite movies wanting your work,congrats my friend. ^^
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Thank you for your comments!
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Yeah it's all very flattering.
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man that's awesome!
I want to rewatch this movie soon! I caught the tail end of it and remembered how funny/scary it is. I remember the scenes in the morgue quite well, some really creepy stuff.
I wonder if I should start making tribute pieces to the Neverending Story Princess....
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Haha!! You never know who might see your work when you post it online. Thanks for commenting!
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Considering all of the derivative zombie dreck to roll down the pike.... ROTLD is especially precious to me.
It showed that you could tweak zombies (so many people fail to realize that THIS is where "Braaaaaaaaaaains" comes from!) and come up with something classic.
An awesome illustration from an awesome movie.
And for the trifecta, you have an awesome story to go with it.
And in honor of my favorite line from ANY zombie in the film:
Tar Man: MORE brains!
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Haha, true about the zombies. Thanks for your kind words on my art.
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One of the creepiest zombies ever. The tarman scared the living crap out of me when I first saw the movie. Great job with the detailing, colors, and lighting. The expressions are fantastic.
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That's pretty awesome! 
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Tar man was responsible for a lot of diving under the covers as a kid. Normal zombies - I was able to deal. Tar man... I just now got over my fear.
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I was SUCH a wuss back then.
Well, I still am, but now I prepare for the inevitable zombie apocalypse.
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Haha, well it sounds like you have the right attitude about it. Haha.
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And because I have no brains, I forgot to say what a good job you did on it
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Haha, no problem, thank you for your comments!
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I have movies 1-3 on DVD and I watch them every few months 
The split dog and all the way they tried to kill the freezer corpse in the frist movie are outstanding
BRAINS! BRAINS! BRAINS!
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Soundtrack was realy good and i loved the ending just when u think the film is going to jump the shark and come up with a ridiculous excuse for the characters to survive they just drop a nuclear bomb on them a great dark yet logical ending. Great stuff.
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Haha, yes the soundtrack is perfect.
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Hows the Transformers thing going?
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Oh wow well done you! You totally deserve such recognition 
I remember seeing a clip for this on a horror movie moment countdown. It was then shown on tv not too long after so I checked it out. It blew my mind! I was similarly thinking that it would be hilarious for all the wrong reasons. But the zombies make for truly terrifying opponents and the laughs come from purposefully written jokes. The gore is fantastically gruesome and the Tarman was a brilliant mess of repulsive make up.
You've recreated the basement wonderfully and I love the addition of the half dog (though I really did feel sorry for those little guys when they came back to life!) I love how the Tarman just looks like he's melting and dripping slime and he's such a contrast to curled up Tina in her bright blue jump suit. Well done man!
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