"The original Return of the Living Dead, I was attached to direct it, and I wrote the story. Production was delayed. In the meantime I went to London to do Lifeforce"
About this Quote
The most telling pivot is “In the meantime.” That phrase shrinks what could’ve been a defining film into a gap on a calendar. Hooper’s intent feels less like bragging than like quiet record-correction: he wants you to know he didn’t just arrive at Lifeforce by taste or whim; he arrived there because another door jammed. It’s a reminder that the canon is full of near-misses and alternate timelines, and that cult movies often emerge from contingency, not grand design.
Context matters: Return of the Living Dead eventually became a different creature, with a different sensibility and comic punk sheen. Hooper, associated with a rawer, sweatier American terror, instead goes to London for Lifeforce, a glossy, strange, big-swing sci-fi horror hybrid. The line frames him as a director pulled between underground credibility and studio-scale ambition, while hinting at the industry’s indifference to who “originated” what. The horror genre, he implies, is built as much by delays as by monsters.
Quote Details
| Topic | Movie |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Hooper, Tobe. (2026, January 15). The original Return of the Living Dead, I was attached to direct it, and I wrote the story. Production was delayed. In the meantime I went to London to do Lifeforce. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-original-return-of-the-living-dead-i-was-161719/
Chicago Style
Hooper, Tobe. "The original Return of the Living Dead, I was attached to direct it, and I wrote the story. Production was delayed. In the meantime I went to London to do Lifeforce." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-original-return-of-the-living-dead-i-was-161719/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"The original Return of the Living Dead, I was attached to direct it, and I wrote the story. Production was delayed. In the meantime I went to London to do Lifeforce." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-original-return-of-the-living-dead-i-was-161719/. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.
