| "It’ll Be A Scream! … Yours" |
| |||||
Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things
DVD/APPROX. 87 MINS/1972/USA PG13+
DVD/APPROX. 87 MINS/1972/USA PG13+
8.5
| All written material is © from 2006 to Present at DVD Resurrections. This website is for informational and entertainment purposes only. The opinions which are expressed within these pages are solely those of DVD Resurrections. No copyright infringement is intended or implied. |
| ||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A small theatre group led by their director Alan (Alan Ormsby) get in a sailboat and travel to a small creepy desert island that has an abandoned
graveyard. Alan attempts to resurrect the corpse of Orville Dunworth (Robert Smedley) by performing a séance using a passage out of his book of
dark arts dead on midnight. Things don’t seem to go to plan for Alan as the satanic ritual was not a success and his plan fails as the corpse doesn’
t come back to life. The group then decides to go bunk up in an old broken down house for the night, accompanied by the Dunworth’s corpse they
just dug up. Later that following night, they soon realize that the incantation did actually work and the dead are coming back to life and begin to
surround the house, as they’re hunger increases for human flesh. Alan and his acting class try to get back to the sailboat and flee the island before
the blood thirsty zombies devour them.
Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things was created by director Bob Clark in early 1972. Bob got his idea from watching George Romero’s cult
classic Night of the Living Dead (1968) whom at that time forgot to copyright his film, allowing other filmmakers an open door to create/rip off
and cash in on the zombie genre. Bob quickly began putting his thoughts on paper and within 10 days the script was finally finished, thanks to the
help of actor/special effects artist Alan Ormsby. With a budget of $50,000 the striving director was determined to make a horror comedy that was a
slap-stick, tongue in cheek version of George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead. To this very day Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things has
become a cult classic throughout the years. Sadly in April 2007 in California, Bob Clark and his youngest son Ariel Clark both died in a head on
collision due to a drunk driver crossing into their lane. Bob Clark will always be remembered as one of the world’s most talented cult directors of all
time, thanks to Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things Bob managed to create several other cult films such as Deathdream (1974) and not to
forget a film I love to death called Black Christmas (1974) which supposedly was the film that jumped start the blood splatter slasher craze
which inspired other legendary filmmakers such as John Carpenter to create Halloween (1978) and Sean S Cunningham who created Friday the
13th (1980). But horror wasn’t just this director’s only passion, as Bob was also well known for beginning the comedy classic Porkey’s (1982)
which managed to start the craze of the teenage comedy sex genre.
The cast in Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things I guess you can say was rather cheesy and annoying most of the time. Alan Ormsby still to
this very day cannot watch this film because he hates his own acting skills, but considering the era this film was made, the budget and being Bob’s
first full length featurette film I just shrug my shoulders at it and try to turn my brain off when watching it and simply just enjoy the film.
The gore factor is very low, just like Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things falls exactly into the same gore
factor. You only see a few bite marks, a bit of blood spilling down their necks and the zombie’s chins. Nothing really to get excited over, and to
despite that we don’t get to see any zombies until the last 10 minutes of the film.
The most memorable moment I enjoyed the most in this film would have been the zombies coming out of the ground. Unlike Romero’s films you
never got to see or were really told what started the whole zombie’s pandemic, even to this day we don’t really know. This is where Children
Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things kind of gets the upper hand in my books, and honestly I think this film was the first zombie film for zombies to
actually come out of the ground.
The version I had the pleasure of reviewing was Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things: 35th Anniversary Exhumed Edition which was just
recently released by VCI Entertainment. Unlike the previous version, this DVD has been jammed packed and filled with so many extras, it’s going to
keep you occupied for hours. You get an all new Audio Commentary from cast members Alan Ormsby, Jane Daley and Anya Cronin, “Memories of
Bob Clark” a tribute to the late director, Grindhouse Q&A, Confessions of a Grave Digger, Photo Gallery, 2 video film clips from the glam band from
Australia called The Deadthings, A Tribute Video to Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things by Freak 13, Trivia, Alan Ormsby Bio, Original
Theatrical Trailer and lucky last you have a Hidden Easter Egg.
Bob Clarks Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things isn’t going to be a film that all zombie fans will enjoy watching. Though if you are a huge fan
of Bob Clark or even Romero’s Night of the Living Dead then you will definitely get your monies worth with this awesome DVD. If you already own
the previous version, well here is your chance to upgrade to a much better and bigger DVD package and not to mention the interactive menus and
DVD artwork is hundred times better looking.
graveyard. Alan attempts to resurrect the corpse of Orville Dunworth (Robert Smedley) by performing a séance using a passage out of his book of
dark arts dead on midnight. Things don’t seem to go to plan for Alan as the satanic ritual was not a success and his plan fails as the corpse doesn’
t come back to life. The group then decides to go bunk up in an old broken down house for the night, accompanied by the Dunworth’s corpse they
just dug up. Later that following night, they soon realize that the incantation did actually work and the dead are coming back to life and begin to
surround the house, as they’re hunger increases for human flesh. Alan and his acting class try to get back to the sailboat and flee the island before
the blood thirsty zombies devour them.
Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things was created by director Bob Clark in early 1972. Bob got his idea from watching George Romero’s cult
classic Night of the Living Dead (1968) whom at that time forgot to copyright his film, allowing other filmmakers an open door to create/rip off
and cash in on the zombie genre. Bob quickly began putting his thoughts on paper and within 10 days the script was finally finished, thanks to the
help of actor/special effects artist Alan Ormsby. With a budget of $50,000 the striving director was determined to make a horror comedy that was a
slap-stick, tongue in cheek version of George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead. To this very day Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things has
become a cult classic throughout the years. Sadly in April 2007 in California, Bob Clark and his youngest son Ariel Clark both died in a head on
collision due to a drunk driver crossing into their lane. Bob Clark will always be remembered as one of the world’s most talented cult directors of all
time, thanks to Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things Bob managed to create several other cult films such as Deathdream (1974) and not to
forget a film I love to death called Black Christmas (1974) which supposedly was the film that jumped start the blood splatter slasher craze
which inspired other legendary filmmakers such as John Carpenter to create Halloween (1978) and Sean S Cunningham who created Friday the
13th (1980). But horror wasn’t just this director’s only passion, as Bob was also well known for beginning the comedy classic Porkey’s (1982)
which managed to start the craze of the teenage comedy sex genre.
The cast in Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things I guess you can say was rather cheesy and annoying most of the time. Alan Ormsby still to
this very day cannot watch this film because he hates his own acting skills, but considering the era this film was made, the budget and being Bob’s
first full length featurette film I just shrug my shoulders at it and try to turn my brain off when watching it and simply just enjoy the film.
The gore factor is very low, just like Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things falls exactly into the same gore
factor. You only see a few bite marks, a bit of blood spilling down their necks and the zombie’s chins. Nothing really to get excited over, and to
despite that we don’t get to see any zombies until the last 10 minutes of the film.
The most memorable moment I enjoyed the most in this film would have been the zombies coming out of the ground. Unlike Romero’s films you
never got to see or were really told what started the whole zombie’s pandemic, even to this day we don’t really know. This is where Children
Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things kind of gets the upper hand in my books, and honestly I think this film was the first zombie film for zombies to
actually come out of the ground.
The version I had the pleasure of reviewing was Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things: 35th Anniversary Exhumed Edition which was just
recently released by VCI Entertainment. Unlike the previous version, this DVD has been jammed packed and filled with so many extras, it’s going to
keep you occupied for hours. You get an all new Audio Commentary from cast members Alan Ormsby, Jane Daley and Anya Cronin, “Memories of
Bob Clark” a tribute to the late director, Grindhouse Q&A, Confessions of a Grave Digger, Photo Gallery, 2 video film clips from the glam band from
Australia called The Deadthings, A Tribute Video to Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things by Freak 13, Trivia, Alan Ormsby Bio, Original
Theatrical Trailer and lucky last you have a Hidden Easter Egg.
Bob Clarks Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things isn’t going to be a film that all zombie fans will enjoy watching. Though if you are a huge fan
of Bob Clark or even Romero’s Night of the Living Dead then you will definitely get your monies worth with this awesome DVD. If you already own
the previous version, well here is your chance to upgrade to a much better and bigger DVD package and not to mention the interactive menus and
DVD artwork is hundred times better looking.
| BUY DVD @ VCIENT.COM |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Search Review Database: |