Walking Dead Fright Pack

Some of you might remember that I posted about a DVD pack that Anchor Bay has put out called the "Walking Dead Fright Pack". Six zombie movies for about 16.00! I finally received my set from Deepdiscountdvd a few weeks ago and have finally gotten around to seeing all of the films. Here are my impressions:

The Packaging - Wow.... I'm insanely happy to have this set sitting on my shelf. I couldn't believe the presentation when I received the set. It's a box that looks like a six pack of beer with a picture of each film on each can of beer. It even has a sweet handle on the top. The DVDs are stored within the case in their respective cases. Fantastic presentation!

The Movies:

Dead Heat (1988) - Two buddy cops (Treat Williams, Joe Piscopo) are trying to find out why some criminals in the city just aren't dying by being shot. It eventually leads them to an evil coporation led by Vincent Price. While there, Roger Mortis (Williams) gets killed and brought back as a zombie. Now, he just has a limited amount of time to find who's responsible.

This is by far the best film (for me) in the set. I absolutely love Dead Heat and it's great to finally see it in Divimax. It sure beats the hell out of the dollar store copy I have.

Let Sleeping Corpses Lie (1974) - A London man and a beautiful woman head into the English countryside after a chance encounter. While there, they find that the town's buried are coming slowly back to life due to a "pesticide" machine.

This flick is probably the second best in the set. I've always wanted to see this film, espcially after reading great reviews of the years, and I wasn't disappointed in the least. It's a great zombie film, with very few zombies, but still highly entertaining.

Nightmare City (1980) - A plane lands in a city, and it is full of running zombies who can apparently use weapons. Breast munching ensues.

One of my least favorite zombie films of all time. I originally rented it about 6 or 7 years ago at a mom and pop video store and loathed it. Now, after rewatching it on DVD, I have a slightly high opinion of it but not much. There gore is there, and there is ample nudity, but I just HATE the zombies in this flick. I can handle the fact that they run, but using knives? What? Everyone knows that zombies doen't use knives!

The Hell Of The Living Dead (1980) - Bruno Mattei flick about a special forces group that is sent into New Guinea. Upon arriving, they find that a zombie virus is spreading around the area, and they have to fight the zombie onslaught to survive. Oh yeah, and there is a reporter who gets naked so that she can be part of the tribe. And....stock footage! Lots and lots and lots and lots of unrelated stock footage!

For being essenitally a film trying to cash in on the Dawn Of The Dead success, it's not too bad. I've always heard this to be one of the absolute WORST zombie films in existence but I was entertained. The attempted humor in the film makes it almost unwatchable but damn that stock footage is hilarious.

City Of The Living Dead (1980) - A priest kills himself and by doing so opens up a gate to hell. Zombies of course come back from the dead, and it's up to Christopher George (Pieces!) and Catriona MacColl (The Beyond!) to stop the zombies and close the gate.

This is by far my favorite Fulci flick. It's dark, strange, and a wee bit creepy. I have an earlier Anchor Bay VHS release of this flick but it looks just so much better on DVD. Without a doubt the best movie I have ever seen where eyes bleed and intestines are vomited!

The House By The Cemetary (1981) - A family moves into a house by a cemetary (duh!) but there is a killer living in the basement. He must use fresh body parts to stay alive.

I'll be honest. I'm not a Fulci fan. I've seen the NY Ripper, City Of The Living Dead, Don't Torture a Duckling, Zombie, and The Beyond. Aside from City and Beyond, the rest are crap. Now I can add this flick to my list of Fulci films I didn't like. The plot was too damned slow for me, and honestly, I fell asleep about half way through. The effects are decently done, but the film overall is a letdown. Worth seeing only if you are one of the Fulci devoted.

Overall:

Well worth the 16.00! I'd throw that much down just for Dead Heat and Let Sleeping Corpses Lie! There's a lot of fun to be had here, and I'm seriously recommending this for anyone who is a fan of zombie flicks.

My only complaint is that Anchor Bay didn't include some other films in the set. I would have been pleased with them possibly putting Fulci's Zombie in the set, eventhough I didn't much care for it. Or, they could have put in The Beyond instead of House By The Cemetary.......oh well.

I say go to deepdiscount.com and throw down the cash for the set. The shipping is free, and you're getting the DVDs and just a few bucks each.