This is an original Japanese B2 theatrical poster printed for the original Japanese release of The Return of the Living Dead / 「バタリアン」, Dan O’Bannon’s landmark 1985 zombie horror-comedy, released theatrically in Japan in 1986.
Combining zombie horror, black comedy, punk culture, practical effects, and an anarchic soundtrack, the film helped redefine the genre for a new generation. This spectacular Japanese poster features the unforgettable Tarman zombie surrounded by explosive neon typography created specifically for the Japanese theatrical campaign.
Film background
The film begins at Uneeda Medical Supply, where newly hired employee Freddy is told by his colleague Frank that the events depicted in Night of the Living Dead were based on a genuine military accident.
Frank shows Freddy several long-forgotten army canisters stored in the warehouse basement. When one of the containers accidentally ruptures, it releases the experimental chemical 2-4-5 Trioxin, exposing both men and reanimating the corpse sealed inside.
The chemical soon spreads beyond the warehouse and into a neighbouring cemetery, where rainfall causes the recently buried dead to rise from their graves.
Frank, Freddy, warehouse owner Burt, local mortician Ernie, and a group of punk teenagers become trapped in an escalating battle against zombies that can run, communicate, think, and withstand almost every conventional method of destruction.
Written and directed by Dan O’Bannon, the film was based on a story by Rudy Ricci, John A. Russo, and Russell Streiner.
The principal cast includes Clu Gulager, James Karen, Don Calfa, Thom Mathews, Beverly Randolph, Linnea Quigley, Miguel A. Núñez Jr., and Mark Venturini.
O’Bannon was already celebrated as the screenwriter of Alien. The Return of the Living Dead marked his feature-film directorial debut and allowed him to create a deliberately different form of zombie film—fast, funny, violent, self-aware, and rooted in contemporary punk culture.
The film is particularly associated with the idea of zombies craving human brains to relieve the pain of decomposition. Its intelligent, speaking, fast-moving, and exceptionally difficult-to-destroy undead represented a significant departure from many earlier zombie films.
Poster design
The poster uses a dramatic black and electric-blue composition filled with fluorescent Japanese typography and gruesome horror imagery.
At the centre is the film’s most recognisable creature: Tarman, the decomposing zombie released from the military storage canister.
His skeletal body appears blackened and partially liquefied, with exposed ribs, elongated limbs, tangled red ropes, vivid orange hair, and a wide-open mouth. A rough white outline separates the figure from the densely textured blue background, making him appear almost to leap from the poster.
Tarman is positioned diagonally across the composition, reinforcing the design’s chaotic energy and giving the entire poster a sense of violent movement.
Production designer William Stout designed Tarman and several of the film’s other principal zombies, although the overall Japanese poster layout and typography remain uncredited.
Across the upper section, the large pink Japanese text reads:
「これがスラップ・ホラーだ！
恐くて面白い！『エイリアン』のダン・オバノンが仕掛けた新ホラー・ムービー！」
“This is slap-horror! Scary and funny! A new horror movie unleashed by Dan O’Bannon of Alien!”
The use of the expression:
「スラップ・ホラー」
or “slap-horror,” presents the film as a combination of splatter effects, slapstick comedy, and horror.
The green, blue, and yellow text beneath it announces:
「驚異の『バイオSFX』誕生！
生態学プロジェクト＋SFXチーム。これは生きている新しいSFXだ！」
“The birth of astonishing ‘Bio SFX’! A biological project combined with an SFX team—this is a new kind of living special effect!”
This promotional phrase was used to emphasise the elaborate creature designs, prosthetics, mechanical effects, and physical transformation of the zombies.
The large pink text below declares:
「’85ホラー映画世界配収No.1」
“Number one in worldwide distribution receipts among 1985 horror films.”
The smaller white line presents the film as:
「不思議なバイオ・キャラクターに全米が騒然！いまホラー・ブームの頂点へ！」
“America is in an uproar over these extraordinary bio-characters! Now horror reaches the height of its boom!”
Beside Tarman, the yellow vertical text warns:
「もうすぐヤツらが来るよ
地球も凍る恐怖の軍団が——
バタリアン」
“They will be here soon—an army of terror that will freeze the Earth: Batarian.”
The lower section is dominated by the enormous Japanese title:
「バタリアン」
The logo is rendered in sharp white characters that transition into brilliant red, with exaggerated angular forms and a sweeping blade-like final stroke.
Beneath it appears the pink English title:
BATTALION
followed by:
DAN O’BANNON: THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD
The title 「バタリアン」 was created for the Japanese market and derived from the English word “battalion,” presenting the zombies as an advancing army of the dead.
At lower left, the poster promotes the film’s:
「バイオSFX方式上映」
“Bio-SFX presentation.”
The lower credits prominently identify Dan O’Bannon as the film’s director, screenwriter, and SFX supervisor, together with the specialist “Bio-SFX Making Staff.”
The bottom centre carries the green triangular logo of Japanese distributor Tōhō-Towa / 東宝東和.
Design note
The poster’s overall Japanese designer is uncredited, as was common with imported theatrical campaigns during the 1980s.
Its central Tarman image is combined with a distinctly Japanese arrangement of brightly coloured slogans, angled text, multiple typefaces, and an enormous customised title logo.
The black ground and electric-blue pattern create an almost nightclub-like atmosphere that reflects the film’s punk soundtrack and underground aesthetic.
The fluorescent pink, green, yellow, blue, white, and red lettering captures the visual excess of mid-1980s Japanese advertising while presenting the film as both frightening and deliberately entertaining.
The result differs significantly from the film’s principal American poster designs and is one of the most distinctive Japanese horror-poster compositions of the period.
Release note
The Return of the Living Dead was produced and originally released in the United States in 1985.
It received its original Japanese theatrical release in 1986 under the title:
「バタリアン」
This poster was printed for the film’s original 1986 Japanese theatrical release through Tōhō-Towa.
It is a standard Japanese B2-size theatrical poster, measuring approximately:
51.5 × 72.8 cm / 20.3 × 28.7 inches
It is an original period Japanese cinema poster, not a later reproduction or commercial reprint.
Condition
Excellent condition. A highly attractive example with rich colour, sharp imagery, vivid fluorescent typography, and exceptional overall display impact.
There are only light signs of age and handling consistent with an original Japanese theatrical poster from 1986, including minor surface marks and slight edge and corner wear.
These minor signs do not significantly detract from the poster, and it presents extremely well.
Reference: F299.
Please review the photograph carefully, as it shows the exact poster for sale.
This is an original 1986 Japanese theatrical poster.
It is not a reproduction or a reprint.
It is now 40 years old.
Certificate of Authenticity included.
