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Information Exchange => Reader Comments => Topic started by: Andrew on February 26, 2005, 10:28:34 AM



Title: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: Andrew on February 26, 2005, 10:28:34 AM


Click here for the review (http://www.badmovies.org/movies/childdead/)


Title: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: kingagony@webtv.net on August 30, 1999, 08:50:55 AM
This is quite a movie, whatever that means. I bought this movie after renting it, and if you are a zombie fan its great for the collection. I noticed something weird about this movie. All the actors use their first names as their characters in this movie. And that might imply that Anya the freak and Alan, both with the last name Ornsby, are related. (Wow! what a notion) In closing, I liked this flick.


Title: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: E1V15X78@aol.com on September 25, 1999, 03:52:01 PM
Actually a pretty cool zombie movie - suspensful and with a really creepy and opressive atmosphere.  Not funny, as the US release video box suggests.  Director went on to do the porkies movies.  The final moments of the film are as creepy as the "dead gathering at the farmhouse" sequence in Night Of The Living Dead.  


Title: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: Speckntaz@aol.com on October 12, 1999, 08:23:31 PM
I was babysitting one time when the child's newborn guinea pig died. The child cried a bit, of course, cradling the newly deceased pet. Then picked it up and showing it to me, said: "Look, a clip-on!", while moving its stiffened, front paws back & forth. I couldn't help but think of this film (esp. the title). Just wanted to share :).


Title: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: paul westbrook on October 26, 1999, 10:41:25 AM
I love zombie films, I really love zombie films. This late nite fav flick met my expectations completely. Now that cardboard graveyard leaves something to be desired.


Title: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: jkistner@webtv.net on December 28, 1999, 05:33:59 PM
One of my earliest (and most disturbing) memories
was watching this film on chiller theater up late one night way past my bed time. The nightmares that ensued were unreal...make them stop please...                                                      


Title: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: on February 22, 2000, 09:03:55 PM
This is a great zombie flim, no horror movie collector should be without! The scenery is very errie and it creates a great mood. The acting is average. The zombie makeup is pretty good. great movie overall, I recommend it to all horror fans with good taste.


Title: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: Chris K. on April 18, 2000, 02:21:19 PM
A thought provoking film. CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS is a weird horror film that is really inspired by NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD(1968). Chilling photography with a great sense of atmosphere combined with good make-up effects, haunting sets, moderate acting, and a fresh original script with enough polish to make it effective. If you want to see another NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD-inspired film see TOMBS OF THE BLIND DEAD(1971) and it's three sequels THE RETURN OF THE EVIL DEAD(1973), HORROR OF THE ZOMBIES(1974), and NIGHT OF THE DEATH CULT(1975).


Title: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: geodude on June 05, 2000, 09:25:05 AM
I remember seeing this when I was about 10.  Scared the crap out of me.  Can't wait to go rent it.


Title: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: Tony on July 16, 2000, 05:56:58 AM
I love this flick! I first saw it at a drive-in theator way back in 1972 when I was 5 years old (with my parents of course) and it literally scared the s**t outta me! I've always been into zombie movies and this is definitely one of the best, even tho Night of the Living Dead is still the master of them all. The acting here is kinda amateurish, but they still get the point across. But the thing I like best about this movie is the special effects and make-up, all done by the lead actor Alan Ormsby. I also liked the bizarre storyline and creepy atmoshere of the whole thing. And you can't beat those flesh-munching zombies! Even tho this movie doesn't really compare to latter-day classics like Dawn of the Dead, its still one of the best on the subject and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves these kinds of horror movies!


Title: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: Dead X on September 06, 2000, 02:19:38 PM
I love ZOMBIES.  This movie was really good with the exception of the beginning being...REALLY...slow.  If you enjoyed this movie I recommend Carnival Of Souls.  It's weird.  It's got zomibes. It's slow...but all in all...it's a good movie also.  Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things must be good if I added it to my zombie collection.  If you have yet to see it and you're a zombie fan...ENJOY!


Title: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: Bob Martin on November 25, 2006, 04:09:49 PM
Okay, this movie will never rank up there with the all time great zombie pics but, for me, it carved its own little niche that I really miss nowadays ... Creepy.  It's a creepy little film.  Creepy ain't easy to do. This movie creeps.  Those hardened on George Romero's trilogy or Fulci's horde will probably find this movie lacking and that's too bad because where unrestrained horror has its place in our weird world cinema, creepy has been overlooked.  It has to do with images and music and cuts and...a lot of stuff that swells from the shadows of the filmakers mind....Yeah, it could have profited from scenes that would have earned it an R rating but... then again ... it might have lost something ...this is a movie about atmosphere ... yes, it stole, yes, it borrowed, but in the process it created something unique that hasn't been attempted or aquired since.  Creepy!



Title: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: Aimee on November 25, 2006, 04:10:12 PM
This movie became one of best worst movies ever right after I had seen it!  I've been searching for information for it for ages, and I find it, of all places, in a "bad movie" archive.  For shame!

This movie hit a high point in my life when a friend and I did a home-movie remake of it, substituting a green plastic alien blow-up doll for Orville.  Quite the resemblance!!


Title: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: Cham on November 25, 2006, 04:09:49 PM
The worst zombie movie I have ever seen. That is not to say it isn't funny and cool. It takes some effort to watch the whole thing. Its really bad. I give it a 3/5, partly because of the title.



Title: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: Rodney on November 25, 2006, 04:09:49 PM
One of the greatest zombie films - no, wait...one of the greatest films ever. Alan Ormsby (the Orsen Wells behind this & Deathdream) later won an Oscar for his work on Cat People. It was the Academy's way of making up for overlooking CSPWDT.
I own a copy and, at least once a month, my wife & I watch it with all the respect that I give Midnight Cowboy & The Producers.
Alan, if you're reading this, take heart - someday there'll be film school classes devoted to CSPWDT.


Title: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: Mr. Bates on November 25, 2006, 04:10:12 PM
This has to be one of the creepiest zombie flicks I have ever seen. One time, I dropped some acid (tell no one), and was waiting for it to kick in. I walked into my room 20 minutes later, disappointed, and looked at my bed. Orville was sitting there staring at me. I was so f**kin' freaked out, I had just watched the film on DVD. Knowing this was a hallucination, I sat down on the bed and started to speak to him, he looked right at me, saying nothing. All of a sudden, he pulled a bottle of vodka from his ribcage, spilling what was left of his insides on my floor. He took a huge swig, smiled, and said... "I hope I didn't scare you too much dog." He talked just like me, this was definitely spawned from my mind. "No, dude." I said. "I was kind of expecting you." Orville rose from the bed, and exited the room, taking his organs with him. "Before I leave," he said, "I'm think I'm gonna snatch some food before I go, zombies get the munchies too y'know." I thought he meant me, but I was relieved to see that he had found a bag of 3-D Doritos. He opened the door and left... This is a true trip story. Needless to say, I never tripped on acid again, just weed thank you very much.


Title: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: penny on November 25, 2006, 04:09:49 PM
I wathched this movie when I was about 6 or 7 years old.  I was/am a horror movie fanatic.  I haven't watched the movie since then (about 24 years ago) but I remember the movie vividly.  It is one of my all time favorites, along with Black Christmas and the Amityville Horror.  All of which, I watched as a kid.  Funny though, as B rate as they were,  they were the greatest..........


Title: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: Amber on November 25, 2006, 04:09:49 PM
  Anya Ormsby is right up there with Mary Henry from Carnival of Souls...the only 2 characters I've ever been able to relate to. Anya will brighten your day! Watch this movie and drink a bottle or 2 of Robitussin (you'll get the full understanding of this movie).


Title: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: mike on June 05, 2001, 10:35:46 PM
this is the worst piece of trash i have ever seen.  not scary, horrible plot, awful acting and not suspenseful in any way.  anyone who likes this movie also thinks porkys 2 the next day is an academy award winner.


Title: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: rich on November 25, 2006, 04:09:49 PM
i bought this video without watching it, and i was surprised at how good it actually was...while not the scariest film i've seen, it was pretty good, and i'm a zombie film critic.
definately, definately one for a post p**s up viewing.


Title: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: Sorrow-Man on November 25, 2006, 04:10:12 PM
I love the movie. Granted the acting isn't exactly the best I've ever seen, but hey let's face it, any horror movie worth it's grain of salt has at least one or two bad actors. I love the makeup, and Orville is...to die for (pardon the pun). I do of course have a few complaints. The lady who is Alan's equal and her constant use of stupid one liners, the annoying Anya who is a bit over the top (found myself anticipating her death), and finally one of my complaints centers around the scariest thing about this movie...yes, I'm talking about the actors' wardrobes. I've never seen Porky's 2, but I know "Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things" will always have a place among my favorite horror movies.

If you'd like to see my reviews of other movies we know and love please visit my site @ http://www.geocities.com/sorrow_man/Chamberofscreams.html

May the Horror be with you...Always
~Sorrow-Man~


Title: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: Liquid Crap on November 25, 2006, 04:09:49 PM
I just watched this movie a couple of days ago. The title is what caught my attention... You can't pass up a movie that is named so. But, yeah... those pants really caught my attention. Another thing that's kind of weird is how close a massive grave site like that is to a major city like it showed in the background when the zombies got into the boat. I would expect a big grave site like that to be miles away from anything resemmbling humanity. And, why does a grave yard need a care taker? Are they afraid the bodies are arbitrarily going to up and go out for a night on the town... Well, I retract that last statement. But still... I love this film though, but I have no respect for people who can't out-run stiff-legged zombies... Thank you


Title: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: Gweneth on November 25, 2006, 04:09:49 PM
My first zombie picture! I saw this little number when I was around 5 years old, and it led to a lifetime obsession with the living dead. A few years ago I found it for sale on VHS and I snapped it up. Glad to hear it's now on DVD as well. I think the thing I dig the most about this movie is that it takes the time to develop the characters before killing them all off in the final 15-30 minutes. It's a different approach, and one most welcome. Though most times I have the attention span of a can of beans (I'm a child of the MTV era), the characters here are interesting enough to keep me glued. Creepy, darkly humorous, extremely odd. In my book it's a Bad Movie Masterpiece. Not to be missed.


Title: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: Frost on November 25, 2006, 04:09:03 PM

How come the overweight zombies are ALWAYS the faster ones?


Title: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: Bicuitrocious on November 25, 2006, 04:10:12 PM
I just rented this with an evil cohort of mine after seeing a preview for it on the "Brotherhood of Death" tape I found at an Army library... We both said 'Wow, a zombie movie we haven't seen, and it's from the same era as "Vampyres" and "Psychomania!" MUST HAVE!'

It wasn't nearly as crappy as I thoght it would be. It's actually pretty damn good, I say. The zombie make-up was believable (except when we can see Orville's white wrist beyonf the green gauze-skin of his hands...) and the acting was decent (they had an excuse for being melodramatic, they're hippy actors, folks.)

Overall, it needed to prolong the fun with zombies and abuse of the dead, but this was compensated for by having evryone die. I love those endings. Especially when the people gettin' mogged down are a bunch of hippy theater-majors. Where can I get that Grimoire that Alan used? There's this dinner theater troupe I need to get rid of...


Title: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: bloodcult on November 25, 2006, 04:10:12 PM
Ahhhh, one of my almost forgotten faves. Creepy, atmospheric, and WEEEEIIIRRRDDD! I've seen two different boxes for this : one with a gaudy looking clawed hand reaching up to a tombstone with the title on it (classic!)....and another idiotic one which tried to pass this of as a "comedy" (Boooo!).
Anyone who loves horror movies and doesn't like this flick should go back to watching Scream, thankyouverymuch!
Ormsby (and Bob Clark) are gods - get Deathdream if you haven't seen it - it's just as f**ked up and really, really twisted and disturbing. Why the hell don't they make 'em like this anymore, huh?
Cheers to all at BadMovies.org!


Title: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: jim Brown on November 25, 2006, 04:09:49 PM
This one is definitely a must for B-movie horror fans.

What got me the most was the characters.It was the same thing I loved about Kellogs movies(Gila monster& the killer Shrews)

Their's just something about the way the characters interacted & seemed realistic to real life.

I don't care how good the special effects,acting,etc is.

If I hate the characters.I hate the movie.

The characters in this movie managed to real & do their job.

Which I see less & less of in the newer movies.Jim


Title: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: Swamprat on November 25, 2006, 04:09:49 PM
Classic title! Not really funny, not really scary, not really very good...but still just plain fascinating. One of the first movies I ever bought over the Web. I'd seen it at the drive-in years ago and when I found it on a then hard-to-find video club site I just had to get a copy for my then teenage daughter. She loves it too. Alan and Anya Ormsby went on to several other wierd projects after this little experiment, but this is the only thing I know of that's still in existance. The classical Celt inspired idea of an island graveyard is creepy enough to carry the film on its own. Alan's over the top meglo-maniac director-a***ole had us cheering for him to be eaten as slowly as possible. This is one of those movies where half the fun is what you make it...yell at the screen often. Warn the idiots even though you know they're too stupid to listen. Play the Plot Prediction Game throughout the movie...it's a very good one for that...A betting pool on how long Anya's gonna last will work as a great bad movie party game. Nifty ending too...was anyone dense enough to actually believe the zombies would be stranded on the island afterwards? C'mon!


Title: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: Ron on November 25, 2006, 04:09:49 PM
This movie is a Classic!!! I liked it so much that I scupted a model bust of Orville(Seth Sklarey). I sell the resin Busts on Ebay. It was especially nice when I received an email from Seth(Orville)Sklarey himself telling me he is Very impressed with the likeness. He gave me his phone number and I talked to him for quite awhile about all kinds of stuff!! Very Nice guy!! It was very interesting, being a Big fan of this movie for over 20 years now. Anyway, if anyone is interested in seeing one of my Busts, go to Ebay and type in Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things BUST or email me and i will send pics!


Title: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: bobby romani on January 24, 2003, 10:18:24 AM
If you want to waste your time and watch a s**tty movie like children shouldnt play with dead things.The only reason I watch this movie is because I wanted to laugh. There is one part in the movie where they are digging up a grave. no one knows that one of the characters is burried in the grave they are digging up. the fat guy jeff is digging and is the first one to open the coffin. to his surprise a zombie pops out and makes jeff pee his pants. for the guy to be in a coffin underground is not very realistic because the guy would run out air.I thought this movie was all right when i was drunk as hell.


Title: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: MuffinHead on November 25, 2006, 04:09:49 PM
This movie is on DVD? Great! I've been trying to find this movie for years. I saw it once late at night when I was a kid (before cable) and it creeped me out.


Title: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: James Perry on November 25, 2006, 04:09:49 PM
Thanks for the reviews folks!  I'm a Zombie movie fanatic and will make this DVD a part of my 2003 Halloween movie marathon.  Can't wait!  The clip seems to be in widescreen...hope the DVD version is.


Title: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: Angelo on November 25, 2006, 04:09:49 PM
When I was a kid, my dad and I saw this at the theater when it first came out.  I thought it was comical and spooky.  I remember walking out of the theater late at night with chill bumps all over my arms.  It's good to know that good horror flicks are still around for future generations to enjoy.  


Title: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: McCrackan on February 20, 2004, 01:37:25 AM
Waitasec--DOES Anya get munched? Every time I watch that scene, it look like the zombies merely carry her away. Maybe they accepted her apology after all.


Title: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: zees 1954 on November 25, 2006, 04:10:12 PM
The character I feel sorry for the most was the cemetary care taker who was bound and gagged to a tree at the edje of the graveyard. When the zombie were reanimated and started for the house where the "children" were. Every zombie walked past his tree except for the last damn one who looked back and saw him.   Munch.


Title: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: scott on November 25, 2006, 04:09:49 PM
I found this masterpiece at meijer in dvd format along with the undertaker and his pals for a mere $3.33!  What a deal!  Does anyone else look at this movie and think 'Charles Manson meets Scooby-Doo and the gang'?


Title: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: Thorn495 on November 25, 2006, 04:09:49 PM
This is my most unfavorite movie.  I've watched it 3 times in my life.  I was drunk 2 of those times.  This movie just p**ses me off.  I've tried giving it away to friends and they give it back each time.  It's like a curse.  I can't understand how anyone enjoys it.    


Title: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: pgram on November 25, 2006, 04:09:49 PM
Just found these sites for CSPWDT!! Lovin' it! I'm 58 yrs. old and this has always been one of my faves!! This weekend is Halloween-gotta watch it-AGAIN! Yeah!


Title: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: WitchKing on November 25, 2006, 04:10:12 PM
   A curious entry in the Zombie canon that treads a very fine line between horror and comedy.  File it somewhere between "Return of The Living Dead" and "Chopper Chicks In Zombietown".  Alan must be one of the most bravely repellent characters ever to grace the screen. Pretentious beyond all belief!  The make-up is highly effective and the walking dead themselves are frighteningly savage.  Horrendous fashions all around--  which usually goes without saying in 70's era cinema-- but some of these get-ups are blindingly bad.  It's very favorable overall.  Plus, it boasts one of my all-time favorite lines:  "The dead are losers!"  


Title: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: Dean on November 25, 2006, 04:10:12 PM
Saw this on UHF while camping in Maine as a kid, 1977ish, maybe '78.  We were just camping out of a van and the campground had electricity at each site.  I was 7ish.  At one point some older kids walked by and said "A TV, that's roughing it."  The TV Channel screwed up the reels and we ended up watching it out of order so it didn't make much sense story wise but it was creepy and fascinating none the less.  I haven't seen it since then but it remains one of the scariest things I've ever seen.


Title: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: Mike on November 25, 2006, 04:09:49 PM
lol, well, for it's time and budget its a great flick.  not to mention that my mom is terry, my dad was the 'a' camera operator, my uncle was the first assistant and my grand father was the director of photography!  i actually think i was concieved while this movie was being made.

i got a kick out of reading all the reviews.

tnx,

mike mcgowan, soc
www.mikemcgowan.net

yes, that really is my family.


Title: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: Michael on November 25, 2006, 04:09:49 PM
You can't convince someone this is a great movie if they're going to say it sucks. Let 'em say it. This is a great movie, however. Don't pay so much attention to the wardrobe, (take my word for it - for the time, these guys are hip), but pay attention to the great camera moves, especially outside, where the smooth movements must have been pretty hard to get. The house is great! Kinda looks like mine up here in the mountains. And let yourself get into the performances, which this group of unknowns do with incredible believability. Everyone says they hate Val. Let 'em! That means she played her role with great conviction! You hate Alan, too! Anyone can play a saint. Hateful people are the ones you remember. Funny how people b***h about running out of air in a coffin, but dead coming to life is a total natural. Watch it again.


Title: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: McCrackan on November 25, 2006, 04:10:12 PM
Valerie Mamches was 31 when this was filmed. Even as a kid, I never thought of 31 as "middle-aged."


Title: Re: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: liusa on October 05, 2007, 10:17:38 PM
this movie is a classic...nuff said.


Title: Re: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: Alex Undead on November 24, 2007, 07:58:18 PM
I actually did not care for this film too much. I found the acting to be pretty bad, but that is something I've come to expect, so that I'm not really too broken up about. The music really annoyed me, but that, too, was an aspect of the film that was excusable. It was the slowness that got to me. It just took so long for any action to happen! Maybe it is because I'm impatient, but had the acting been a little less laughable, I suppose I could have dealt with it's slow pace.


Title: Re: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: Nukie 2 on October 01, 2008, 05:41:30 PM
Camp in, and of itself.

The colors and clothing is camp enough. But, the idea of the characters motivations, in  this B-movie --shot in a foney graveyard, are to go through the ordeal, so that they become famous, seems unintentionally tounge in cheek-- what irony! I do not like the characters, so it's justice to see them all get munched.

Though Alan and Val tried to see who was the smartest, none of their razzing made any sense. Matter afact, Alan kind of delivered some of the lines like he was Lloyd Christmas in "Dumb and Dumber". Anya had the coolest part and lines.

The camp in the movie, other than the zeitgiest, is brought out by the two effeminate actors, hired by Alan to scare the troupe. The especially the scene where they steal a corpses ring, only to get attacked -- "Oh, look at that ring" *flaps hand*.

The great thing about this movie, is that the campiness at the beginning leads to a good sequence of zombie awakenings and mayhem-- good balance. You forget about the fake tombstones and Alans Mr. Wizard robe.


Title: Re: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: Anthony on February 10, 2009, 09:28:48 PM
A movie that dared to touch upon the subject of necrophilia...


Title: Re: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: jomega on February 21, 2009, 02:54:48 PM
'Alan: "Uh, how many merits does an Eagle Scout get for seducing a Brownie?"
Terry: "I don't know, you'll have to check that in your Boy Scout manual."

Given that Eagle Scouts are usually in high school and Brownies are usually around 8 years old, that's just WRONG!!


Title: Re: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: Brian on January 15, 2010, 01:28:52 AM
I was about 10 years old and saw this movie on tv while staying over my grandparents house.  I woke up with the most horribel nightmares later that night.  I cant belive I found this movie almost 30 years later!


Title: Re: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: Chainsawmidget on January 15, 2010, 09:30:39 AM
The best thing about this movie is the title.  It has absolutley no other redeeming value to it. 


Title: Re: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: SwimTiger on May 12, 2011, 03:03:12 PM
This was the first Zombie movie I ever saw in the mid Seventies. It's kind of corny but it has a great ending. It's also dated by their outfits, but if they made a remake of it to look like the 70's ..they couldn't come close to the wardrobe back then.


Title: Re: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: zombielogic on March 03, 2013, 03:26:45 PM
Does anyone have any updates on the remake with Tom Savini attached to direct?


Title: Re: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on March 05, 2013, 02:15:49 PM
Does anyone have any updates on the remake with Tom Savini attached to direct?

Actually, I do have something, but not with Tom Savini directing, but with Director Bob Clark, who wanted to remake it in 2007, but before production plans could get underway, he was killed in an automobile accident. Whereupon, I presume it went into what is known as "developmental hell."