Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things (1973)

Director:

Bob Clark

Writers:

Bob Clark (writer)
Alan Ormsby (writer)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror

Tagline:

You're Invited To Orville's "Coming-Out" Party...It'll Be A Scream...YOURS!!!

Plot:

Six friends dig up a corpse named Orville. They use it in a satanic ritual to make the dead rise from their graves. Look out!!!

Plot Keywords:

Actor | Graveyard | Island | Good Versus Evil | Zombie

Cast

Alan Ormsby	...	Alan
Valerie Mamches	...	Val
Jeff Gillen	...	Jeff
Anya Ormsby	...	Anya
Paul Cronin	...	Paul
Jane Daly	...	Terry
Roy Engleman	...	Roy
Robert Philip	...	Emerson
Bruce Solomon	...	Winns
Alecs Baird	...	Caretaker
Seth Sklarey	...	Orville Dunworth
Robert Sherman	...	Ghoul
Curtis Bryant	...	Ghoul
William R. 'Bob' Smedley	...	Tallest dead thing (as Robert Smedley)
Debbie Cummins	...	Ghoul

Also Known As:

Revenge of the Living Dead (USA) (reissue title)
Things from the Dead (USA) (reissue title)
Zreaks (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | Stereo (2.0) | DTS

Certification:

Finland:K-18 | UK:18 | Germany:16 | Australia:M | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Miami, Florida, USA

Company:

Geneni Film Distributors

Trivia:

Director Bob Clark shot this film back to back with Dead of Night (1974) as part of a two picture deal. Both films were shot in Florida and featured several of the same cast members.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Alan claims the book of spells etc is in a direct line from the Druids. The Druids were a preliterate culture.

Quotes:

Val: Get out of the grave, Alan. Get out of the grave and let an artist show you how to call a curse down on Satan!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Supernatural: Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things (#2.4)" (2006)

Zombie fans need only apply...

Probably the only reason to get this film is if you're a fan of the genre.. Zombie flicks galore.. No, it's not Night of the Living Dead, but Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things does manage a creepy oompa loompa vibe with it's characters quite different from Romero's classic...

You won't consider them great actors, you won't consider this a great story, but for me, it did manage to entertain, even in the long stretches.. it could use a little bit more, but for a low budget zombie flick, I say it did pretty well with what it had.. it mainly goes for theatrics of the characters, their 'fearless' leader trying to incite unrest amongst his troop.. obviously he's deluded, sick, a little twisted, and a little off his rocker.. some might even call him annoying.. but hey, I don't think he was trying to be an audience pleaser.. nor should all characters be..

It comes down to, if you're a fan of Zombie flicks, especially George A. Romero's Dead Trilogy, then this is a must.. better than Fulci's sadly lacking Zombie.. for sure.. which had great make up effects and underwater segment, but not much else.. I can't wait for the ultimate editions of Dawn and Day of the Dead come out on DVD, which I hear'll be frickin great! Plus, Dead Reckoning looks like it'll be pushing forward.. along with Beyond Re-Animator (which has already started filming!).. Feed the appetite for zombie lust if you will, this should be sufficient enough at least for that..

Long live the horror genre...