CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS (1972) dir. Bob Clark
A troupe of third rate actors and their vain,dictatorial director visit an old graveyard and dig up a corpse for use in a Satanic Ceremony. Why? To raise the dead, of course! After seemingly failing at dead-raising,they drag the dead body to an abandoned house,because the leader of this motley crew wants to party with it. Of course,whether by black magic or just because the dead don't like to be f**ked with, they rise to take their revenge.
Many site the LIVING DEAD AT MANCHESTER MORGUE (1974) as the 2nd cannibalistic zombie film after NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968).Not so-these zombies enjoy a human nosh as well.
The first half of the film is tough going. Writer Alan Ormsby also stars as the leader of the actors, and dam-talk about long winded diatribes! He and one of the actresses (Valarie Mamches) do lotsa stupid,annoying as hell pretentious verbal sparring.
BUT!
Once the dead start to rise-the movie changes tone. There's a wide shot scene in the graveyard ,with the corpses squirming out of the earth, that is almost poetic. The zombies themselves are genuinely creepy. And the siege on the boarded up house is well done.
The only thing creepier than the undead in this film is the terrifying early '70's fashions. It brought back memories of having to wear multi-colored striped bell-bottoms to school in the 3rd grade. Ugh!
Overall,once you get past the grating dialogue (and IF-because it's a chore) in the first half, you'll be rewarded with some spooky zombie
mayhem.
OH-director Bob Clark went on the make PORKY'S (1981) while writer Alan Ormsby went on to write and direct the classic Ed Gein movie DERANGED (1974).