Bad Movie Review: Bob Clark's Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things

[@dr.frankenstein5421]

I remember watching this when I was a kid. Was the late 70's and was on a late night horror show. It was a different time and was a movie I never forgot. All the light were off, around 12am at night, way pass bed time. When the movie was over the national anthem would play and had to go right to bed. Ah, I really miss being a kid....

[@nasalpolecat091]

FLIGHT NIGHT!! CH 9! Wor tv east coast 12 midnight! Yeah!!

[@Soundofsilence-j4d]

I SAW IT AT NIGHT SAME TIME YES I MISS BEING KID I WAS 14 WHEN I FIRST SAW IT AT NINE WHEN I SAW ADD. WHY IS THIS HOST KNOCKEN CLASSIC. LOVE THE ACTING FULL OF PERSONALITY

[@mrmusickhimself]

It's slow burn for sure, but it has one of the best "dead rising from their graves" scenes I've ever seen. Plus I love the "Wow, you're an asshole" look that the zombies give Alan when he throws her to them.

[@williamcurry4868]

I do love that moment when he throws her at the zombies, and she and them look at the director guys like, "wow, this guys a real jerk" lol.

[@tristanbaravraham6349]

william curry Yes! The “Alan, you bastard!” Look😸

[@addlecat1065]

Yes! And then - it looked like - the zombies hustled her away rather than eating her! I expected her to be queen of the zombies or something at the end!

[@OrangeElixir]

That is my favorite part of the whole movie. It's too funny. It's probably the only time when you'll see an undead horde judging the living.

[@OrangeElixir]

@@addlecat1065 That makes a lot of sense, seeing that she was on another plane, compared to the rest of the group. Hehehe...it's too bad she didn't take a plane out of there.

[@mrmusickhimself]

@@OrangeElixir I just realized that you don't hear her scream at all. They just kind of escort her out of the way so they can head upstairs, they pounced and ambushed the others. She was the only one that verbally begged for forgiveness, so I like to think they gave her a pass. Still, that poor caretaker got it bad.

[@varanid9]

Back when this movie came out, the drawn out first act was actually suspenseful because the inevitable zombie attack was more dreaded by the audiences of the time than would be by the more jaded audiences of today, who actually find zombies appealing in their own way.

[@Lurvy1963]

Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things is my cult classic of all zombie movies. It scared me when I first saw it on television in the summer of 1977. It gave me nightmares ever since. Benjamin "Bob" Clark directed it. The same director who gave us a Christmas comedy and holiday classic called A Christmas Story. Doesn't matter if you liked it or not, thanks for your review of this film.

[@bradwiehn2886]

Lurvy1963 I thought they were vampires,but I haven't seen it in a long time.

[@guygrip2120]

Your right i saw it in 1980 with vrand ma we couldnt believe it what send off. It was on satureday night i miss those times with grandma

[@Michelle-mt2gj]

This movie scared the crap out of me when I was a kid watching it on creature feature. It was the best

[@mondotwat389]

I have loved this movie since I was kid. I remember me and my dad watching it on Saturday nights in the 90s. Miss my childhood.

[@1959blantz]

You seem to forget that this movie had a very low budget. Bob Clark made a classic Zombie movie when he made this. I was also pretty young when I first saw this on late night TV as many of the comments say. The soundtrack to Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things added to the creep factor. No horror movies made today comes even close to the affect this movie had on many others. The movie has many flaws but has more positives, and that's something you need to look at.

[@michaeltnewyorknights8413]

Absolutely! Well stated.

[@jasonmorgan1543]

Agree 100%

[@MCMDoffical666]

I have seen it is fine at best

[@negativebones1887]

This movie screams classic Halloween and fun goofy B movie to me, and with the title of the film, I can't bring myself to hate it.

[@nasalpolecat091]

😁😁I Hole heartly agree! !

[@julietfischer5056]

The title alone promises cheesy goodness.

[@leerchapasr8534]

I saw this movie when it first came out in the theater, and again last night, though it didn’t have the impact as when I first saw it at a theater, it still brings back memorable moments like screaming and popcorn flying when people jumped out of their seats , but if it weren’t for movies like this we wouldn’t have the movies we have now.

[@bloodrunsclear]

Only zombie movie in which the zombies are smarter than the people who supposed have brains

[@CincinnatusPublish]

Your enjoyment of this film might depend on how old you were when you first saw it. This one is a treasure for me. The first zombie movie I ever saw, and I was 10 years old at the time. Now, if I had seen it for the first time in my 20's, my opinion might be different.

[@andygabrielgrindsted6811]

Yes. We need to give the characters good motivation. One of my favorite motivations for a main character has to be the Dude that just wanna get his rug back

[@danddoty3981]

I still have to say ( and I hope others will agree with me ) that CHILDREN is still a better zombie film then GARDEN OF THE DEAD and BURIAL GROUND. Just a note, Tom Savini has talked about remaking this film.

[@vincentvonelf6366]

Dan D Doty better than burial ground? It’s your opinion of course but burial ground to me is much better plus more action

[@jaywunder13242]

This is a movie that could do with a remake. Solid premise, a few funny moments, but some big flaws and an extremely low budget make it hard to sit through at times.

[@varanid9]

@@jaywunder13242 Back in the '70s this was sort of cutting edge independent horror. Without a serious rewrite I don't know how the obvious set up would work today.

[@jeeperscreepers8902]

They both have their charm, but nothing beats that creepy son in Burial Ground. I also enjoy Tombs of the blind dead.

[@cuddlybear4524]

Love it like it or hate it, it's still better than any zombie movie made today.

[@georgelee43211]

yea,i hate that cgi zombie crap.

[@danddoty3981]

The ending with zombie Orvil sitting there waiting for Alan ; we had forgotten about dear , dead Orvil. The zombie dog pile is slow motion was cool, as was the zombies rising from their grave. Anna is such a freak, I love her. But the scariest thing in the whole movie has to be ... Alan's pants. A movie that I defend? I say it has to be GODSPELL . A great musical that everyone seems to ignore , or they just don't know about.

[@DarkCornersReviews]

The dead coming out the graves in this film was very good, the graves actually had some depth to them.

[@mattjames5694]

I get all of that.

[@andrewyoung2796]

""Day by Day"🎵🎶🎶🎵

[@addlecat1065]

@@andrewyoung2796 We sang that at the catholic school I attended in the 70s!

[@SusannaBarrett]

This was the first living dead inspired movie where I was on the zombies side. Got their revenge for humiliating a dead body.

[@mattjames5694]

You mention, but gloss over, the character-driven plot. The petty pretentions of Alan and the uncomfortable dynamics between him and the troupe are perfect parallels to the zombie attack. The creepy, sweaty setting is almost a character always lurking throughout the film. The zombie effects are pretty cool; these guys are really selling it. I may be biased because Anya Ormsby was a serious early crush.

[@bennyshambles]

I think the problem is that the reviewer isn’t taking into account the time period in which Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things was made, its low-budget Floridian production, and the general spirit and intention of its creators. It was a very early response to-and rotten flower blossoming from the seed that was-Night of the Living Dead (another low-budget, regional, indie horror film). Inspired by Romero’s classic, aspiring filmmakers Bob Clark and Alan Ormsby knew that pitching a horror movie was the easiest way to secure funding, so they came up with what could be considered the first postmodern Horror-Comedy. It’s too subtle and scary to be a spoof, but too cheeky and campy to be pure horror. Released in 1972 (and most likely filmed a year or two earlier), it’s not at all surprising that its (minor) gay characters are shrill and stereotypical comic relief. It’s ridiculous to expect modern and complex LGBTQ+ characterization. Also, its dialogue heavy, deliberate pacing may seem slow to contemporary audience, but I’m certain it was engaging and spooky at the time of release. And as far as the “zombies don’t show up until the final twenty minutes” criticism goes, any earlier zombie action would deaden the impact of the climax. The arrival, the elaborate prank, the lengthy and stylized rituals, the wedding ceremony, etc. are all necessary in setting up the horrific “twist” of the rising dead. If you can get into that groovy Scooby Doo, Mystery Machine mindset and soak up the foggy ambience, then you’ll definitely enjoy this movie. It’s clever and a lot of fun. This channel probably wouldn’t like the subsequent Clark/Ormsby movie either, Dead of Night aka Deathdream, which another excellent low-budget zombie riff, but based on “The Monkey’s Paw” short story and ditching the comedy aspect. It incorporates drug addiction and anti-war themes (it’s one of the first films to focus on a solider returning from Vietnam) along with exploring the parent-child dynamic and how parents cope with (assumed) death of a child. It’s also an unhinged drive-in jewel with plenty of blood and creepy make-up (Tom Savini), stylized touches, bizarre and histrionic performances, and WTF moments.

[@Melvinwacko]

This film has cool looking zombies, shame they take so long to show up.

[@VortexBunche]

This used to play all the time on the NYC area's Channel 9 in the 1970's and early 1980's, and many of my friends loved it while growing up. I never understood why, especially after seeing the vastly superior Night of the Living Dead.

[@dtdimeflicks6708]

It's crazy to think Bob Clark went on to direct A Christmas Story and... er, um... Baby Geniuses.

[@vincentvonelf6366]

This movie was made in 1972 just a couple years after notld, but look at the zombies! They were pure rotten zombies from the grave! And they were invoked by Satan. And whilst the first hour of the movie is a bore, the zombie parts were way beyond cool as fuck. Those were some NASTY rotting zombies!!

[@peterdoa1]

they predicted hipsters

[@bax323]

The scariest thing in this movie was Alan Ormsbys pants.

[@Barbarian857]

Sorry dude. This movie's a low budget classic. The theatre group is perfectly placed in a cemetery probing life and death, hell and Satan. Artistry, as the actress says, is all about this. The dialogue flows perfectly with this premise and is amusing and colorful. The set up is marvelous and original. The beauty of this movie and the genius is its bare bones against colorful characters. The title is even brilliant. Why else would it make a cameo appearance in Fright Night?

[@kirkplissken8454]

Amen, Sandee! I've always felt it's a genuine classic, a macabre and atmospheric mood piece, and as close to an archetypical EC horror Comics story as a film can get.

[@danielkriz7533]

Exactly, came here to say as much. People who don’t like it and can’t wait for the zombies don’t appreciate good dialogue and probably have ADD. This guy totally misses the point of this movie and probably likes watching trucks smashing into each other. The movie is like a twisted version of scooby doo, the fakeout in the beginning is part of the joke on the audience.

[@Bigbadwhitecracker]

Bob Clark: I really really really really really wanna get invited to Bohemian Grove.

[@themysteriousdomainmoviepalace]

I defend Crypt of the Vampire even though there's a gaping plot hole, or maybe a disjunction.... Its visually gorgeous and has Christopher Lee.

[@speabody]

4:00 "it should work" I argue the inverse in that it shouldn't work yet it does. I wouldn't call it S-tier but given that it was low-budget early 70s horror I expected very little going in, no doubt the clunky title limited expectations. But I was pleasantly surprised. Despite the overacting (one could argue it was intentional) the characters never get as annoying as they should be. Even though yes it takes forever to get going the sudden change in tone in the final act is executed seamlessly. For as old and low-budget as it was the last section of the film was rather effective.

[@TheMadAfrican1]

I found this film in a random, dusty DVD shop. Honestly, I didn't mind it so much. It was an interesting little film and they did their best, I think.

[@tskmaster3837]

I vigorously defend this movie online. You have to think of it like this: The zombie attack is more relief than anything else because the actors are merely children and children shouldn't play with dead things. It's a Sleazy Fairy Tail that works off dream logic; If you go out, you're dead but what's keeping them out in the first place? It's because children know "goal" is safe and you can't get tagged when you're safe. Is it good? It's fantastic. It's also too long and unbalanced but I wouldn't change anything. Throughout this review, I couldn't stop thinking "I love that shot! Wouldn't do without it." I first saw this movie on a public access horror hosted show but as I only saw it starting from the midpoint, I had to guess what the movie was called. I knew there was a movie called "Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things" and I correctly guessed it was this.

[@andrewgwilliam4831]

"Bram Stoker's Dracula" is one that really baffles me. I could get why someone might have an appreciation for certain specific elements, but for the most part I think it's rubbish and hardly the great work of cinema that some seem to think of it as.

[@VonWenk]

That reminds me-I like Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, more than Bram Stoker's Dracula.

[@jonathanalcover1539]

wholeheartedly agree. a poor excuse to show gratuitous sex and an incoherent blend of pseudohistory and spectacular FX. Coppola's Dracula is an ode to the embarrassment.

[@Al_NERi]

I've always had a tortuous Love/Hate relationship with Coppola's film. The sumptuous music score, gorgeous sets, costumes, and ultra charming old school in-camera FX I find irresistibly good. The misconceived characterizations and shoehorned reincarnated love element are a total betrayal of the source. Also, Gary Oldman, as the weepiest Dracula in screen history, is insufferable.

[@Denver_Risley]

I saw this when I was seven or eight years old and was traumatized. I saw it again recently and was so annoyed by the dialogue I couldn't finish it. Even theater people aren't that pretentious.

[@CryWolf-sm9iw]

The gay stereotypes were my favorite characters. They were hilarious!

[@thejupiter2574]

The two gay stereotypes in the first Blackula movie were also funny and horribly cliche

[@VonWenk]

Have you ever seen Martin Balsam in The Anderson Tapes or Robert Vaughn and Edward Hermann in Brass Target?

[@varanid9]

@@VonWenk The Anderson Tapes was pretty rad for a TV movie, especially for the times. So was the original, made for ABC "Don't be Afraid of the Dark" with Kim Darby.

[@danddoty3981]

Another movie suggestion. BLOOD FROM DRACULA'S CASTLE. A movie with different versions ( with and without a werewolf ) , a really wimpy Dracula , a real castle in California and where the writer/ producer may have been murdered by the mob and the director was murdered and buried under his own patio.

[@georgelee43211]

blood from dracula's castle looks like an episode from ''munsters'' or ''addams family''

[@DaveFromBrooklyn]

Dude! Did you even watch the movie? This is one of the better horror flicks, big-budget or small, that has ever been made. All of the tension, which leads up to the last 30 minutes, works! Just like the original Godzilla & Jaws, where the protagonists weren't revealed until much later in the films. Lighten up, blud!

[@toughbutsweet1]

Movies I defend most people hate are Godzilla's Revenge and Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster. I also love One Million Years B.C. Dinosaurs and one of the most melodramatic soundtracks ever.

[@varanid9]

Yeah, Mario Nascimbene did the music, it was awesome. He also did the sound effects; loved how it made the earth seem so alien and the dinosaurs so awe inspiring. Something about those Italians and music!

[@toughbutsweet1]

@@varanid9 It added a great deal to the movie.

[@madahad9]

It's one of the few zombie films where you actively root for the zombies. The human characters are all obnoxious,especially Alan and Anya, and I couldn't wait for them to be killed by the zombies. There are couple genuinely creepy moments. I made the grave (ha-ha) mistake of stumbling upon a Facebook page with the same title I saw things I can no longer unsee. Why anyone would want to see photos of dead celebrities is a mystery to me.

[@skylx0812]

I'd have said "...gurrrl, do you HAVE to be louder than your clothes"

[@JUGGALOKEMON]

Glad my dad put me on this when i was a kid. Still one if my favorites.

[@josephsmall4270]

I do like the part when the zombies tricked them to come out of the house.

[@drop830]

The director actually didn't write the invoicing of Satan part. The Actor "Allan" (real actors name) wrote his own speech. He actually wrote quit a bit of the script according to a panel discussion with the cast from 2018.

[@tylerskiss]

I had seen this on a tiny black and white 8” screen television with only antenna reception at 2am on a school night wired from asthma medicine and it scared the crap out of me! 20 years later I finally found it again and watched it start to finish and it was such a bore! I don’t know how i had such a radically different reaction the first time, but part of me wishes i just left it as a dark memory.

[@anarchiferbelial4964]

Honestly the best scene. The one that made me not regret watching the film, is the part where Allen throws Anya to the zombies; and rather than rip into her the zombies all pause and seem to glare up at Allen as if judging him. IDK if that was intentional or not, but I couldn’t help but rewatch the scene a couple times.

[@michaelmojica3862]

Saw this at 16. Just an excellent classic B-horror movie.

[@freakyzed8467]

For me, it's Alien: Reasurection. Watched as a dark comedy I find it quite enjoyable. Oddball mad scientists trying to tame a monster that is completely untameable, military general who is a complete stereotype, rebel smugglers with a heart of gold, and even the deaths are done with comedic timing.

[@Pauldjreadman]

As a rule every-time I accidentally trip over a channel I look though it. There are some BAD films out there.

[@anthonymunn8633]

I spend a lot of time defending Paul Naschy's work.Yeah,I know,everybody loves to pick on his werewolf stuff,but he did some actual good movies,such as his fantasy El Caminante (AKA The Devil Incarnate) and the true-crime drama The Frenchman's Garden.

[@woodgatejack]

As for the question of "Are there any bad movies you defend or movies that everyone else loves that you can't stand?" I answered the second half on Twitter when someone I follow asked as an open question. For me, it's the Mel Brooks film _Spaceballs._ Now, I don't _hate_ this film, I just don't think it's one of Brooks' best. Neither is it as good of a spoof of Star Wars as others out there. So, I was quite surprised to see how a lot of people online treat this film like it was the Citizen Kane of comedy.

[@13blackcats33]

According to the guy who played the corpse of Orville, Alan Ormsby was much like his arrogant character onscreen. Great interview available online.

[@kennethmartin1300]

The part where the annoying talky guy gets locked in the room with the abused/humiliated corpse. He looks over and it's sitting up on the mattress! Ahhh! scared the F*** out of me... AT THE DRIVE-IN!!! 🧟‍♂️

[@jeeperscreepers8902]

Movies like this should be on Son of Svengoolie. I would watch every weekend. Love these low budget horror flicks.

[@JetScreamer_YT]

Just came from the movie. A favorite from childhood.

[@pauls2982]

Saw this at like 9 years old on late night tv back in the day, scared the crap out of me lol

[@havareriksen1004]

That the characters risk nothing and loose nothing is taking it too far. They do after all risk being eaten alive and loose their lives. And I imagine that was the fate of all of them in the end.

[@LoneWolf81684]

Yeah this film was pretty odd. Bob Clark did a much better job with Deathdream and Black Christmas. Blacula is a film I like to defend. Yes it's very cheesy but there's a damn good story behind it, plus William Marshall had a presence that rivals any Dracula.

[@UlshaRS]

Zombie: Brainssss Brainssss Beatniks: and the dancing prose of sunset sublime grace as naked tangerine headaches. tweet tweet tweet goes my lovebirdy Zombie: *starves*

[@brettdevme7060]

i remember defending attack of the mushroom people in the 70's as my classmates didn't believe such a movie existed. may mantango sit on their faces

[@alanminne8185]

Alan looks and talks almost just like that Weird Arby's Guy who is sort of famous on KZbin.

[@richpolysorbate4328]

I liked On the Silver Globe (Poland, 1976?) even though it was only half finished due to a political coup that led to the sets being torched and the director having to flee to France. It was meant to be a fantasy sci~fi but was eventually cobbled together haphazardly and marketed as a horror. Night of the Lepus was fun to watch since no matter how they tried, they couldn't get the rabbits to look menacing and the sets were mini train set backgrounds.

[@Bluesit32]

So don't watch the whole movie...just watch the last twenty minutes. Rest in peace, Bob Clark. "A Christmas Story" is and will always be a classic...but they can't all be gold, can they?

[@VonWenk]

I'm partial to Murder by Decree, myself. "You crushed my pea."

[@Jeffrey314159]

This theater troupe is lead by a director that looks like that cult leader Charles Manson when he was young

[@suedenim]

I was just thinking the same thing. Maybe the movie would've been better if they'd leaned into that.

[@workingstiffdiogenes2195]

Movie I love but everyone else hates? Punisher: War Zone. It's the most faithful to the spirit of the comics. Especially the scene where a cop lies in wait for Frank and tries to arrest him for being a vigilante. Frank pops him, takes his gun and dumps the shells and says, "Stay out of my way." Nothing else, not a wasted word of dialog.

[@HarlequinDrFaustus]

Well, I do actually like this film. But maybe because I've spent a lot of time with theatre people. So I won't try to defend it.

[@kennethholland9021]

Of course you realize that now you've done this, you have to do Clark & Ormsby's Deathdream. Or don'tcha?

[@gregghill2059]

I was scared when I saw it. Mind, I was only 12 at the time. BTW this was likely the partial basis for "The Simpsons" walking dead Halloween episode.

[@martinradcliffe4798]

Remember watching this on a slow day at work one day. Made it even slower.

[@thejupiter2574]

Robin looks good with long hair and he looks like two rock stars from bands. Robin looks like the famed rock star Roger Daltrey of The Who :)

[@DarkCornersReviews]

Long hair is all gone next week. Savour it while you can.

[@thejupiter2574]

+Dark Corners Reviews awww shite Mannn :( Not many dudes look good with long hair but with your height and face, you had that whole cool rock star look :) To each their own.

[@DarkCornersReviews]

It goes to the Little Princess Trust to make a wig for a kid. Here is how it went down last time kzbin.info/www/bejne/qYraiKmLnsmYZ7s

[@scotth6814]

Not in the same genre exactly, but I defend "Dark Shadows" with Johnny Depp. Like everyone else it seems, I hated it the first time I saw it, because it wasn't what I was expecting. But in re-watching it, I've come to really appreciate it. It's actually very funny, with lots of clever nods to the series, such as the governess taking the name "Victoria Winters" from a poster on the train advertising the city of Victoria BC for winter vacation.

[@SUPERMEDIABROTHERS6]

Batman and Robin is the most underrated Batman movie. I’m not joking.

[@morghenmurdochlundgren8640]

I'd say this is more akin to a guilty pleasure.I like the background music and over the top ridiculous dialogue and interactions.It is severely flawed but it's good background noise late at night,lol.

[@KRhetor]

Alan Ormsby reminds me of Tom Green.

[@gregghill2059]

Speaking of someone I would love to see get killed in a movie.

[@astrocitizen]

I find myself oddly defensive of THE DEAD TALK BACK... I can't help but feel we're seeing a parallel universe version of Egon Spengler as a sort of consulting detective-type.

[@House0fwax]

I rented it on VHS back in the day and really enjoyed it. Also, where can I get some trousers like Alan's?

[@Mr22thou]

"A man who needs to hear the sound of his own voice more than he needs his next breath" is a funny way of describing what made this movie such a torture to watch. The first time I saw it, I thought the zombie scenes were actually scary, but what's good about this movie cannot overcome all the pretentious dialogue, especially Allen's. I gave it a second chance, but never again.

[@joevaughn9241]

I really wished this movie was good. At the time it was made the Manson family murders were fresh on everyone's mind. The characters were supposed to reflect the Manson family and apparently that's why they acted so crazy. It really turned out to be a gigantic overblown mess with too much dialogue. It could be reimagined and turned into a good retro flick with the right people involved.

[@crusty21]

Shot in Tamiami Park, Miami Florida.... They must have been fighting off mosquitoes not zombies. The scene where the dead come out of their graves was a very well done imo, together with that hellish soundtrack you got a horror masterpiece all made on a laughable budget....At least it got noticed enough to get a mention in Famous Monsters back in 72.

[@calebhernandez681]

5:29. Big disagree here. The dramatic gist of the film is about the petty abuse of power, particularly the kind of abuse that a wannabe dictator employer might indulge in. Alan keeps ostentatiously turning the screws on his employees and associates until they all abandon him, and he’s left in a solipsistic fantasy land with Orville… And then the zombies attack. I admit this might be a bit of a reach, but it’s tempting to take the final undead assault as a figurative representation of the tools 🛠 of Alan’s theatrical bullying style finally slipping loose of his control. The dramatic arc is essentially a would-be cult leader attempting to inscribe his ego on his followers in the classic Manson-esque fashion, using occult ritual as his main method of intimidation. It’s a routine that leaves an impression on the troupe but fails to regulate their behavior. The “success” of the necromancy ritual mirrors this failure. The dead respond to Alan’s incantation, but they do not obey. It’s a story that might resonate with anyone who’s had a s**tty boss. I’ll admit the film isn’t perfect. It definitely has pacing issues near the beginning, mostly brought about by the unnecessarily overwrought dialogue (sporadically clever and lyrical, I’d say, but definitely making the narrative proceed slower), and it was obviously made on limited resources, but I’d still argue that CSPWDT is deserving of its minor league cult status.

[@carlwilkerson9722]

I got nothing out of the three "LOTR" films. I cannot comprehend why the rest of the world thought they were masterpieces of unparalleled depth. Complexity, perhaps, but depth? Or are the terms synonymous and I'm just too superficial to know?

[@robinbailes5236]

Half of Dark Corners strongly agrees with you. The other half is wrong.

[@andrewgwilliam4831]

There is depth in the novel, although it does get somewhat lost amidst everything else. But thinking about what you've said, I'm not sure it's successfully carried over to the films; it may not even be there at all if you're not already familiar with the book and thus perhaps unconsciously see things that aren't actually there in the adaptation. Certainly, unwise changes to the story, and an unbalanced ending, don't help matters. 🤔

[@christophercleary6780]

You probably shouldn't reveal the spoilers. I almost watched this before watching it on Amazon; fortunately I ended up doing things the other way around! (Btw Alan Ormsby, who plays 'Alan', wrote the bulk of the screenplay.) I feel that this was more of a commentary than a review.

[@dbsommers1]

Dialogue costs nothing. This is one of the reasons there's so much of it and only it until the end, when all the money they had went into that. It's still not good, but it makes sense.

[@milliehayes]

I know this movie because I once played "Name that movie still" with a pal on Twitter and the still was from this movie. I guessed, incorrectly, that it was "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer" gone goth.

[@VonWenk]

I first heard of this movie through the program guide for the Detroit Triple Comic Con in 1973, where Alan Ormsby was a guest. The cover of the guide had Will Eisner's Spirit walking through a graveyard.

[@cindigrose97]

Did you look at IMCb? The director also did Black Christmas, Porky's, and A Christmas Story.

[@KRhetor]

Also Deathdream, a much-better zombie film also written by Ormsby.

[@Donathon-qx8kq]

Hard to believe...Bob Clark is also responsible for Porkey's 😅😅😅😅

[@markiangooley]

Children shouldn’t play with their food. Okay.

[@tabeccaletford408]

Yes,it did take a while to get going but when the zombies did finally make their appearance it was worth the wait. The only thing that really annoyed me was Alan's laugh It was incredibly irritating

[@lindaeasley4336]

" it takes an artist to deal with satan " Pretentious much ?

[@markiangooley]

I defend “The Last Action Hero.” Maybe a few other people do?

[@martinguzman3995]

Oh heck, just let the zombies take them all. There's some movies that I like that everybody else hates. Godzilla (1998)), Battlefield Earth, Battleship, Independence Day: Resurgence, and Norm of the North.

[@VonWenk]

I liked Emmerich's Godzilla, especially the part with the choppers chasing it through the city.

[@rickdrais9737]

Wasn't Bob Clark also the director of A Christmas Story? Maybe he got better with practice...

[@angelotro]

I force-fed myself a lotta VHS horror rentals when I was a teen, but I always skipped this one. Either because it seemed real sick & twisted or really corny. In hindsight, I think I was legit scared of it.

[@bigdad1211]

I'm sorry, but I love this movie! I have the DVD. Some hippie dude was selling movies in a park in NYC and recommended it to me. Loved it ever since!

[@predatorsilver]

Meatballs Part 2. It's my guilty pleasure film.

[@sixbladeknife44]

Isn’t that the one with the ET looking creature? 😅

[@CoryAlphin]

I found and watched this movie around 2007. Reviews made it sound fun but I 100% agree that it was boring as hell and had no character development of any kind. Other than the sheer fact alone that it has zombies, I am honestly dumbfounded that it seems to have such a devoted fan base around it.

[@theneonchimpchannel9095]

I just watch this film. I'd describe it as Night Of The Living Dead but where the victims kinda deserved it. Especially Alan. I don't think it's a great film but I think it's worth watching as an example of camp low budget horror. If they could make this on that budget in 1974, maybe I could manage to make my own horror film.

[@samborgensjr6456]

It was 1972 at that. I also have my movie concept that I could share to you if you like. It centers around a singing female android AI plaguing the human population with catchy autotuned pop music!

[@cristerowarrior1450]

The stuff and Q the winged serpent are great movies as well as Empire of The Dark

[@robertfliss2584]

Yeah we know……..however, a masterpiece of nincompoopery!

[@powpuck5031]

I thought this week's question was going to be which other movie was ruined by a loquacious character. Answer: Hudson of Cloverfield.

[@DarkCornersReviews]

Correct

[@VonWenk]

Did Clark write this, or was it Alan Ormsby, who went on to write My Bodyguard? Also, the caretaker is tied up in the first half-hour, so something did happen. There's also the estranged couple where the boyfriend is killed trying to reach the boat. In the previous decade, they would have likely been the survivors. I feel the point of the movie is in the title, which is similar to the premise of House of Seven Corpses and, to a lesser extent, Evil Dead and Baron Blood: Characters reciting incantations not really believing they're going to do anything and evoking evil. If this makes me a rabid defender, so be it. I feel like I'm a bigger fan of Starship Troopers and Diamonds Are Forever than most people who bother to comment online, not that I bother engaging them.

[@wolfcrow4822]

Diamonds are Forever is my second or third favourite Bond movie. Live and Let Die has to be my favourite as Roger Moore is as wonderfully camp as ever, the voodoo element adds another layer to the movie and for once not everyone's white. I can't stand the last three movies as they take themselves far too seriously - but I could say that for a lot of recent cinema.

[@DarkCornersReviews]

Both Clark and Ormsby are credited as writers - in hindsight we could have made more of the fact Ormsby was writing his own lines. The fight in the lift in Diamond Are Forever is one of the most brutal. I was channel hopping the other day and stopped on this film with astronauts on the moon... suddenly Connery popped up behind a moon rock... it was very surreal.

[@VonWenk]

I'll take any of Daniel Craig's Bond movies over any of Roger Moore's. I'm not a fan of camp. You say "camp" and I think the Batman TV series, Man from U.N.C.L.E. season 3, and color episodes of Lost in Space. Unless it's a comedy, I want the characters to take the situation seriously at some point. It's like the difference between the Philip Hincliffe-produced Doctor Who and the episodes from the producer who came after him who brought in K-9 and the Keys to Time story arc.

[@ferociousgumby]

This. Is. A. Cult. Classic. Yawn

[@raincoaster99]

I know it's out of your wheelhouse because it's a good movie, but I think you'd have a blast reviewing Eye of Satan, which is on YT with Korean subtitles. Sharon Tate, Donald Pleasence, David Niven, Deborah Kerr.