|
 |
| MOVIE
REVIEWS |
|
Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things (1972)
| TAGLINE |
| You're Invited To Orville's "Coming-Out" Party...It'll Be A Scream...YOURS!!! |
There's nothing like watching a low-budget zombie flick from the 70's. While watching this one, I kept expecting a disco ball to lower from the trees and the zombies to start layin' down the disco to "Saturday Night Fever". I'm talking about the clothes these people used to wear back then, what were they thinking!? It's not like you can blame the costume designer, that's just the way people dressed in 1972, unfortunately for them. All 70's clothes aside, this movie was a very pleasant surprise.
Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things centers
on an acting troupe following their not-completely-right-in-the-head
director (Alan Ormsby) to a remote burial island. What some
people won't do for a big break in Hollywood! I guess it
was a good idea at the time..."Hey, let's go to a remote
island that's used as a big cemetery. And since we're here,
why don't we dig up a corpse?" Alan, the director, is bringing
them there to play a big joke. I won't give away what the
joke is, but let's just say that there would a pretty boring
movie if something didn't go wrong. Alan does his best impression
of a warlock and tries to raise the dead while he's there
(hey, who wouldn't!). Does he succeed? Just take a guess.
I wasn't very impressed at the beginning of the film, but
it definitely grew on me. And once I stopped staring at
Alan's multicolored pants, you can really get into the feel
of the movie. As if under some kind of voodoo charm given
off by my TV, I started liking this movie. The cemetery
setting that was unimpressive at the start was now getting
spookier. The actors playing actors seemed to come into
their own. And the music score which had initially annoyed
me...well, it still irritated me. Oh that's right, the score
never really got any better. It's the only real downer,
I think with a better one it could have added to the film's
creepy factor.
Alan Ormsby's performance of the director was once described
by a critic as "...one of the most obnoxious screen performances
in history!". I think it's a bit harsh. He indeed was obnoxious,
but in a B-horror flick good kinda way. He does a pretty
good job of getting the audience to dislike him. He's more
of a dictator then a director, and treats everyone around
him like slaves...but of course they let him, so I can't
feel sorry for them. The actors are looking for their big
break, so hey, what's a little grave robbing if it will
further your career. That makes it okay, right? The rest
of the crew give good decent performances, but nobody else
steps up and makes you take notice. Overall, I give a thumbs
up to the acting.
Thumbs go up for the zombies in the film as well. The makeup
and effects were pretty good for the low budget and the
fact it was 1972, so no complaints there. You get to see
zombies with a little bit more strength then you're usually
used to. And in the end scene, you see a glimpse of intelligence,
or maybe they just lucked up (You'll know what I mean when
you see it). If you're a fan of lots of gore, you're not
going to get it here. They're just evidently wasn't enough
room in the budget for it on this one, as there was little
of it. While I'm a fan of well-placed karo syrup and animal
entrails as the next guy, it's refreshing to see that to
make a decent film you don't need a lot of gore.
| DEAD KEV'S ADVICE |
| Pick this bad boy up, the DVD is dirt-cheap these days so it's worth it. And remember kids, don't try this at home...and especially not in your neighborhood graveyard. |
| ZOMBIE LESSONS LEARNED |
The lessons from this movie should really be common sense...
1. NOBODY should ever play with dead things!
2. Don't screw with Satan! Just don't mess with that stuff, it will bite you in the ass every time. |
| FAVORITE QUOTES |
-"The dead are losers. If anyone hasn't earned respect,
it's the dead.
-"I peed my pants!" |
| DIRECTOR |
| Bob Clark (Porky's, A Christmas Story, Black Christmas) |
| WRITERS |
| Bob Clark |
| Alan Ormsby |
| PRODUCERS |
| Bob Clark |
| Gary Goch |
| CAST |
CHARACTER |
| Alan Ormsby |
Alan |
| Valerie Mamches |
Val |
| Jeff Gillen |
Jeff |
| Anya Ormsby |
Anya |
| Paul Cronin |
Paul |
| Jane Daly |
Terry |
| Roy Engleman |
Roy |
| Robert Phillips |
Emerson |
| Bruce Solomon |
Winns |
| Alecs Baird |
Caretaker |
| Seth Sklarey |
Orville |
| PRODUCTION COMPANY |
| Geneni |
| STUDIO |
Geneni
VCI Home Video (DVD) |
| COUNTRY OF ORIGIN |
| United States |
| RUNNING TIME |
MPAA RATING |
| 87 mins |
PG |
| INTERESTING TIDBITS |
| The film's budget is estimated to be between $40,000
and $70,000. |
| Six of the actors used their real names as their
character names (why not, it's easier that way!). |
| AKA : Revenge of the Living Dead (1972) [USA:
reissue title]; Things from the Dead (1972) (USA:
reissue title); Zreaks (1972) [USA: working title] |
| AROUND THE WEB |
| Interview with Seth Sklarey - Badmovies.org
|
PUT YOUR OWN REVIEWS ON THE MESSAGE BOARD!
|
|
Copyright © 2002-06 - All Things Zombie.com
Best viewed with IE 6 at 1024x768
Trademarks belong to their respective owners.
All Rights Reserved.
|
| MORE
DATES |
|
03/03
Ultraviolet
03/24
Stay Alive
04/14
Scary Movie 4
04/21
Silent
Hill
05/19
See No Evil
06/06
Omen 666
08/11
The Visiting
08/18
The Messengers
08/18
Snakes On a Plane
|
|
|
