Return of the Living Dead Stars Speak Out About AI in Aftermath: This Is Not What We Signed Up For

When DragonFlix released Return of the Living Dead: Aftermath on Halloween, it advertised a reunion of the original cast. Linnea Quigley and Beverly Randolph, who played Trash and Tina in the 1985 film, say they signed on for a musical.

“This is not what we signed up for,” Randolph told The Caffeinated Horror Dude in a November 5 interview with both actresses.

In 2024, filmmaker Richard Driscoll launched a crowdfunding campaign for Trash’s Revenge, with Quigley and Randolph listed as producers. Quigley described the idea as a cross between Sunset Boulevard and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, with an older Trash looking back on her glory days.

DragonFlix billed Aftermath as a “direct feature film sequel” with the “ROTLD Originals” back in action. The release announcement also promoted a separate featurette in which the actresses revisit the making of the 1985 film. It made no mention of AI. Kotaku described the feature itself as almost entirely AI-generated.

Quigley said she helped recruit cast members and promote the project. She recalled telling Driscoll, “Whatever you do, do not do any AI because people don’t like it. The fans do not like it.” When she learned how extensively AI was being used, she said she withdrew before filming a scene.

Randolph said she filmed for three days, including a scene with original co-star Thom Mathews. She knew the filmmakers planned to use CGI for a cemetery sequence. What surprised her when Driscoll sent her the film on the morning of its release was hearing her own performance.

“We all sound like robots through the entire thing,” Randolph said. “I said just take me out of it.”

Here’s the full interview.