A mourning son makes a deal to re-animate his mother, who's already been dead for a year, however, things go a very unexpected direction. Ed Chilton (Steve Buscemi) inherits his family's hardware store following the death of his beloved mother, Mabel (Miriam Margolyes). He lives with his maternal uncle, Benny (Ned Beatty), who appears to be happy that his annoying sister is out of his life. One morning, Ed is approached at work by salesman A. J. Peddle (John Glover), who offers to resurrect Ed's mother for just $1,000. Ed is skeptical, but Peddle insists that it must be done immediately, as she has been dead for too long to risk further delays. Ed accepts, disturbing Uncle Benny, who believes the act to be immoral. Mother's behavior becomes increasingly bizarre and when she begins chasing neighborhood dogs with a knife, Ed is forced to admit that something may be wrong. He seeks help from Peddle, but the salesman wants more money. Her behaviors become so outlandish and dangerous, he realizes his only way out is to remove his mother's heads and finally tell her goodbye. But nothing is this simple, mom's head refuses to die and bites him on the lip when he gives her a final kiss. Disgusted, he throws her head back into her grave, finally free of his zombie mommy.