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5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Barn of the Fully-Clothed Dead?, 27 July 2004
Author: TheatreX from Louisville, KY

Hey now, make no mistake, there is NO nudity in this movie, not even a little, but I guess Barn of the Fully-Clothed Dead would not have generated much interest. The cover is nice and lurid though, just like I like them. The movie is pretty much typical early 70's stuff. It's kind of creepy and atmospheric, with lots of desert scenery. Three "showgirls" are on their way to Vegas for a show, travelling in a P.O.S. Ford Station Wagon? Ford as in Found on Road Dead, that is. Because that's what it does, despite the fact that a gas station attendant tells them their thermostat needs replacing. Of course when the car breaks down they "don't know what's wrong with it"? OK. Anyway, a nice young man named Andre comes along and picks them up, of course he's not REALLY nice and takes them back to his barn so they can hang out with all the OTHER women that apparently didn't listen to the gas station attendants or however else they got there. This guy seems to be under the impression that the women are his own private little circus and they're trained animals. Cuckoo? You betcha. For extra fun there's a mutant in the toolshed too, which happens to be dear old dad after he wandered into a nuclear testing range. And he's not looking too good these days. Anyway, this is nothing great or superior, but if you're a fan of 70's drive in "horror" then you'll probably like this. I don't understand how this got an R rating though, maybe because of the abuse to women? But even that's relatively tame. Might be worth seeing once depending on what you like.

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7 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Weird, Disturbing Garbage, 26 November 2003
2/10
Author: Steve Nyland (Squonkamatic) from New York, USA

Weird, Disturbing Garbage

One axiom is true about any given art form: It did not exist before a person made it. One of my primary interests in evaluating art forms in a critical manner is to contemplate the motivation behind the decision to execute the work. I have no idea why anyone would have made a movie like BARN OF THE NAKED DEAD, though after seeing it I can understand why folks want to see it: Great title.

Existing these days as scummy old rental tapes [including a preposterous version called NIGHTMARE CIRCUS, that is worse if possible] and the occaisional underground re-record, I managed to snag one of the original rental tapes by Ariel Entertainment, whoever they were, and was able to assess an "uncut" 87 minute print of the film. I was not prepared for what it had to offer.

I love low rent "B" grade horror, especially European 1970's stuff, and have just begun delving into some of the American made examples beyond DON'T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT or COUNT YORGA. I was enticed by the name Andrew Prine, a magnetic veteran actor of many a B exploitation movie romp -- his role in SIMON KING OF THE WITCHES might be one of the great overlooked performances of the 1970's. His role in BARN OF THE NAKED DEAD is one that I hope he eventually got over, because films like this can wreck a career especially when an actor throws himself into the role, something that he was not apparently able to resist. I wonder if he got to view his daily rushes, or even if there were any daily rushes -- My thought is that the entire film was shot in about a week & a half, and exposed/edited only afterwards when nobody could stop the cinematic car wreck that unfolds onscreen.

THE PLOT: Man has lived in near isolation on former Army nuclear testing grounds in Nevada [interesting premise], family having long since deserted or otherwise been rendered ioperable. Prine compensates his lack of company by sitting up in a duck tower with a rifle and putting a bullet through unsuspecting car engines.

These cars are all driven by skanky looking 70's B supporting actresses, whom he cons into coming back to his farm. There they are taken prisoner and chained inside of a large barn. The majority of the film consists of footage of the girls chained up to these little posts and cowering with fear, trembling with cold, and discussing their situation. Between conversations Prine lurches in [sometimes dressed as a big top circus M.C.] and drags one of them off to be abused -- verbally, psychologically, physically, and in the movies sole moment of true interest [though the outcome was cut], by a snake. Ahem. He also talks to himself and plays with a toy windup bigtop. He is not a person but a mannerism -- weird behavior for a movie plot with legs attached. I doubt if he was allowed a single 2nd take.

At the end of the film a not too secret horrifying secret is revealed, and everyone dies except the two girls that went crazy during their ordeal, which I guess is to make you think, "Gee ...". The End. How they all die I will leave to be a discovery for those stupid enough to seek it out: Don't let my description of a thirty second clip of Snake Sleaze tempt you: BARN OF THE NAKED DEAD just plain sucks.

The "cinemetography", on all levels of considerations, sucks. The script sucks, apparently an attempt to adapt the Ed Gein story to a contemporary "issue", though just what that issue would be remains undefined ... Be angry at the Army for atmospheric atom testing, maybe. Don't take the long scenic route when you can fly, perhaps. Watch out for maniacs that have been exposed to nuclear fallout? Nahh -- too easy. Maybe it will come to me at some point, but like I said this film seems to have been made without any real intent, unless that intention is to disturb.

And rest assured, BARN OF THE NAKED DEAD is disturbing. Folks may have some bondage romp in mind but BE WARNED: this film lacks even the slightest touch of erotic charm. There is sleaze, but it is not arousing sleaze, unless wondering how the girls go to the bathroom when chained up gives you a rise -- that was the only thing that the film made me wonder about. Then again I guess they didn't need to, since all of the barn scenes could have been shot in one afternoon, so maybe nobody had to go before they were finished.

Avoid this film. Avoid it like you would a burning car at a gas pump.

Avoid it like you would avoid an open cesspit. Avoid it like you would avoid someone with a bad case of bubonic plague. Don't be suckered in by a kinky box cover or descriptions of unspeakable horrors. They are unspeakable, allright -- so awful that I can't manage one more word.

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5 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
From the acclaimed director of "The Moderns" . . ., 6 November 2004
Author: lazarillo

From the acclaimed director of "The Moderns" and "Choose Me" we have a timeless, heartwarming tale of a deranged man living in rural Nevada who kidnaps stranded female motorists (which there seem to be an inordinate amount of for rural Nevada) and, bullwhip in hand, trains them to perform in his private circus, all the while his father who has been turned into deformed monster by radiation from nuclear tests runs amuck.

As other reviewers have noted there is a definite lack of nakedness in this movie alternatively titled "Barn of the Naked Dead", but a lot of bare breasts and female buttocks would only distract from the real (and perhaps only) reason to see this movie--Andrew Prine. Andrew Prine was second only to David Hess when it came to portraying sick psychopaths in 70's drive-in movies, but where Hess's psychos were just flat-out creeps, Prine's could be hilariously funny (even though it wasn't always clear whether the actor himself was in on the joke as he always seemed to take these roles VERY seriously). While this is far from his best work, Prine is always fun to watch.

This movie might also have a bit of "car wreck" appeal considering that it is loudly rattling skeleton in the closet of esteemed director Alan Rudolph. It has an incredibly ridiculous ending that can perhaps only be explained by Prine and the three female leads all walking off the set before the final scene leaving Rudolph to completely pull something out of his. . .well, see it and tell me where it came from. It's hard to believe that anybody would make a movie like this, let alone the otherwise respectable Rudolph.

Addendum: this movie was recently re-releaesed on DVD by Johnny Legend with brief nude scenes of overweight actresses that (partially) justify the alternate title.

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2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Mean and Ugly, 4 May 2006
2/10
Author: bensonmum2 from Tennessee

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

My, oh my! I feel like I've entered one of the seven layers of Hell. Barn of the Naked Dead is one of the worst examples of "filmmaking" I've run into. A serious critique of the movie would be ridiculous and making fun of the technical aspects of the film or much of the acting is so easy that I'll not even bother. Instead, I'll limit this to a brief comment on the plot – or lack thereof. Barn of the Naked Dead literally has no coherent plot. A few story ideas pieced together with scenes of unnecessary violence do not make for a plot. Take a look at the kind of films I like and you'll quickly see that I'm not squeamish when it comes to violence on screen, but it needs a context. Otherwise, it's just mean and ugly. Without a plot, the violence in Barn of the Naked Dead feels like that – mean and ugly.

If Barn of the Naked Dead has one saving grace that keeps it from sinking to the absolute bottom of the heap, it's Andrew Prine. While I'll never understand some of his professional decisions, he always comes across to me as a very capable and interesting actor. I've yet to be disappointed with him, just some of the movies he made.

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3 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
any old thing becomes watchable when Andrew Prine is in it., 28 October 2003
Author: bukakkefriedchicken from fabulous Las Vega$!

Prine struts through this lousy but endearing mess with a determined "yeah, but at least I'm working" charisma. He plays a young man who keeps female captives on his desolate Nevada desert property. He uses them in strange circus psychodramas. There's also a mutant on the scene for good measure, as well as a ferocious jungle cat. Non-stop cheap thrills, the kind you can only find in skid-row 70s horror flicks. 6/10

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1 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Step Right Up, Ladies And Gentlemen..., 23 August 2002
6/10
Author: Flixer1957 (wtr4423@juno.com) from Columbia County, NY

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

**Possible Spoilers Ahead**

Andrew Prine stars as yet another mother-fixated maniac who runs his own carnival in the Nevada desert. His star attractions are females held captive in the aforementioned barn. Whenever things slow down he marches them around the homestead to the tune of his cracking whip or sics his pet cougar on them. The action takes place near a former nuclear test site which gives the filmmakers an excuse to throw in a badly made-up mutant toward the end. Despite its reputation as an early splatter flick this is short in the gore department and pretty tame but the scenery-chewing Prine manages to keep things moving along. It's always a pleasure to watch this performer at work, even in a geek show like this. Rudolph, since praised for doing numerous mainstream hits, would probably like to buy up all prints of BARN OF THE NAKED DEAD and burn them.

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2 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Siskel and Ebert's favorite director's first effort!, 23 April 1999
Author: William (williamnorton316@hotmail.com) from Seattle, Washington

Played in Seattle as TERROR CIRCUS in 1980 (!) as a bottom half of a double billing with MOTEL HELL. This film is just sick and boring at the same time. A car full of girls takes a short cut to Vegas and get stranded in the desert, only to be prisoners to a madman (Andrew Prine, who is really good in this film). The film has a bad theme song, sloppy editing, a creature who lives in a shack, and whipping girls like animals. The film is made by Alan Rudolph, who now makes art house films. Many of you might see this film and say, it can't be the same guy who made this, but it is. He also made ROADIE with meatloaf! The video print NIGHTMARE CIRCUS is grainy, and the title is video tacked in. I hear it played in most cities in the early 70's as BARN OF THE NAKED DEAD.

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5 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Quite possibly one of the worst movies ever created, 21 January 2004
1/10
Author: slm1998 from St. Louis metro

I honestly see no reason why this movie should exist, it does not benefit anybody in any way. You can see a summary in the other reviews, but I will just say that I agree with what everyone else has said...this movie is truly awful. The cougar is amusing because it is more than likely just stock footage of a cougar that is poorly edited in. I saw this movie under the title "Barn of the Naked Dead" which is quite misleading. There is a barn, but I don't recall any naked dead people at all. This movie did teach me a valuable lesson, never rent a video that has an index card with an amusing title in a plastic case instead of an actual box, nothing good can come of it.

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0 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
fun, in a twisted perverted way...., 6 March 2008
10/10
Author: rathatchet

BARN OF THE NAKED DEAD

I just got finished watching this new release by Legend House and to say I was more than pleased would be an understatement. I was always fascinated by this title when I was a kid but never got a chance to see the film, but when it ran at the New Beverly a few years back as part of Eric Cadien & Brian Quinn's "Grindhouse" monthly exploitation festival in Hollywood, I was blown away. The print they had that night was okay, the print the Legend House got a hold of is great. The film looks fantastic and it sounds great. This is a fun movie, just read the title again, "Barn of the Naked Dead", if you are looking to fill your cinematic cravings with dry boring art house fodder, you will go hungry. But if you really want to have a good time you can feast on this celluloid sampler on good old fashion tasting pulp and menace. Andrew Prine gives a great performance as Andre, who has a strange but strong lineage to another alienated outcast that runs a motel and goes by the name Norman. The extras are a blast. Johnny Legend, the white bearded namesake of Legend House, has fun talking with Prine and also there is complimentary segment where Legend talks with filmmakers John Landis (who no matter what he says is enjoying being there) and other fun cult movie directors. I don't know what other reviewers are talking about when they say that this copy is not of good quality, I may not be an anal retentive cineaste like some, but I can tell you the print looks great, it is NOT a cheap VHS dupe or knock off (maybe these cinefile experts really don't know what they are talking about) and if you want to have a fun time watching something that isn't going to tax your brain and something that will tickle and entice those dark little corners of your mind, pick up Legend House release of this film.

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1 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
A choice scuzzy chunk of hardcore nasty 70's psycho exploitation horror sleaze, 31 January 2008
8/10
Author: Woodyanders (Woodyanders@aol.com) from The Last New Jersey Drive-In on the Left

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Simone (Manuela Thiess), Sheri (Sherry Alberoni), and Corrine (Gyl Roland) are three showgirls en route to Las Vegas who find themselves stranded when their car breaks down in the middle of the remote Nevada desert. They run afoul of Andre (a truly inspired portrayal of full-tilt intense insanity by the one and only Andrew Prine), a severely deranged Oedipal wreck misogynistic psycho who abducts lovely young stray ladies so he can use them in a menagerie for his own personal circus. Meanwhile, Andre's grotesquely disfigured mutant father occasionally gets loose and murders folks. Director Alan Rudolph, who went on to helm such acclaimed art-house hits as "Welcome to L.A.," "Remember My Name," "Choose Me," and "The Moderns," does an expert job of creating and maintaining a grim, sordid, and unpleasant tone of seething madness and depravity. The raw, unflinching violence against women is genuinely brutal and ugly stuff; this picture reaches its skin-crawling nasty peak when Andre has a large boa constrictor wrap itself around one hapless lass. Moreover, we also get a decent smattering of tasty nudity and a handy helping of grisly gore. E. Lynn's rough, but fairly accomplished cinematography astutely captures the dingy, dusty, and desolate aura of the isolated desert location. Tommy Vig's wonky, spacey, droning score likewise adds considerably to the overall harsh and unnerving quality of this resolutely foul-minded trash. Jennifer Ashley pops up as a traumatized mute hippie chick; she was mistreated by Prine some more in the even sleazier and hence better "The Centerfold Girls." The groovy theme song "Evil Eyes" and the nihilistic bummer ending totally hit the slimy spot as well. A satisfyingly mean'n'grungy serving of vintage 70's grindhouse junk.

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