Directed By: Bob Clark
Starring: Alan Ormsby, Valerie Mamches, Jeff Gillen
Tag line: "Experience the unexpected terror of rising rotting flesh..."
Trivia: The names on the tombstones are the names of various crew members
Produced on a budget of just $70,000, Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things is billed as a horror/comedy, and despite the limited funds at their disposal, director Bob Clark and his team were able to create some truly frightening zombies.
As for the comedy, well...that's another matter.
Alan (Alan Ormsby), the director of a theater troupe, drags his entire company off to a remote island cemetery, where he plans to perform a ritual that will bring the dead back to life. After setting up headquarters in an abandoned house, Alan and the others make their way to the cemetery, exhume the remains of a man named Orville (Seth Sklarey) and act out the ceremony. But when the corpses don't climb out of their graves, Alan remedies his disappointment by hauling Orville's body back to the house as a sort of “consolation prize”. Yet before the night is over, they'll learn, to their amazement and horror, that the ceremony wasn't the total failure they thought it to be.
I was genuinely stunned when I saw how little it cost to make this film, mostly because the zombies were damned impressive. So, kudos to Benita Friedman, Lee James O'Donnell and Judy Whalen, the make-up artists on Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things, as well as Alan Ornsby, the film's star, who's also credited as “Special Makeup Creator”. Together, these four crafted something remarkable. In fact, my only complaint about the zombies is it took far too long for them to show up!
Leading me to the comedy portion of the film, most of which I found devoid of any humor. Now, it's not a complete travesty; there are a few funny scenes in the cemetery, like the 'practical joke' Alan plays on his troupe as they're digging up Orville's body. But the film falls flat shortly after the action shifts back to the house, where Alan orchestrates a bizarre wedding, during which he 'marries' Orville's corpse. The entire sequence was meant to be comedic, yet never develops into anything of substance, and I think the performances are the reason why. As much as I credit Ormsby for his contributions in the make-up department, I have to also point out his turn as Alan was far from adequate, and, unfortunately, the supporting cast doesn't fare much better. The fact that such a large amount of time is spent in their company only magnifies the problem, and the middle of the film suffers for it.
That said, Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things is still a movie I would recommend; along with being a fine example of low-budget film making, Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things stands as a testament to what can be accomplished with a little money, and a lot of imagination.
As for the comedy, well...that's another matter.
Alan (Alan Ormsby), the director of a theater troupe, drags his entire company off to a remote island cemetery, where he plans to perform a ritual that will bring the dead back to life. After setting up headquarters in an abandoned house, Alan and the others make their way to the cemetery, exhume the remains of a man named Orville (Seth Sklarey) and act out the ceremony. But when the corpses don't climb out of their graves, Alan remedies his disappointment by hauling Orville's body back to the house as a sort of “consolation prize”. Yet before the night is over, they'll learn, to their amazement and horror, that the ceremony wasn't the total failure they thought it to be.
I was genuinely stunned when I saw how little it cost to make this film, mostly because the zombies were damned impressive. So, kudos to Benita Friedman, Lee James O'Donnell and Judy Whalen, the make-up artists on Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things, as well as Alan Ornsby, the film's star, who's also credited as “Special Makeup Creator”. Together, these four crafted something remarkable. In fact, my only complaint about the zombies is it took far too long for them to show up!
Leading me to the comedy portion of the film, most of which I found devoid of any humor. Now, it's not a complete travesty; there are a few funny scenes in the cemetery, like the 'practical joke' Alan plays on his troupe as they're digging up Orville's body. But the film falls flat shortly after the action shifts back to the house, where Alan orchestrates a bizarre wedding, during which he 'marries' Orville's corpse. The entire sequence was meant to be comedic, yet never develops into anything of substance, and I think the performances are the reason why. As much as I credit Ormsby for his contributions in the make-up department, I have to also point out his turn as Alan was far from adequate, and, unfortunately, the supporting cast doesn't fare much better. The fact that such a large amount of time is spent in their company only magnifies the problem, and the middle of the film suffers for it.
That said, Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things is still a movie I would recommend; along with being a fine example of low-budget film making, Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things stands as a testament to what can be accomplished with a little money, and a lot of imagination.