I've never seen The Dead Hate the Living
Spoiler free review.
Are you are over analytical, or take movies too seriously, this is not the dvd for you. When you enjoi movies for what they are, this movie screams fun. If you have seen the Hate the Living ( like it or hate it- I hope you will appreciate what you are about to read. If not ( no worries- you won't be spoiled, and may end up getting the DVD.
Pick up the Case that displays one of the most memorible jackets in the genre, ever. When you take it home you’ll find a most memorable intro as well. I hadn’t seen anything like it since the priest screwing the nurse in Dead Alive. David Poe (Eric Clawson) is breaking into the horror genre. And for his first feature movie, he’s breaking into an abandoned hospital to film it. Dave and his good fiend Paul (his special FX tech- have been horror fans for years. They’ve watched the best. George Romero, Savini, Fluci, Carpenter, and Raimi. If you have too, you’ll be picking up nods to these horror gods for the next ninety minutes.
This movie has been bashed relentlessly and emphatically raved about across the net. It’s hard to please every viewer when your not working with a cappuccino budget, but Dave Parker did pretty horrorshow if you ask me. While working for Full Moon, Dave really wanted to direct a feature of his own. He wanted to make a horror film “ for the fans.” So writing with Paul J. Salamoff, the pair came up with a Zombie horror that paralleled their own experiences in low budget productions. Out of all the zombie film that has been made the Dead Hate the Living lands smack in the middle of the spectrum. While he is far from sitting amongst the greats that are George Romero or Sam Raimi. Parker has put other films that have been either inspired by or ripped off to shame.
When a small group of gorilla filmmakers decide to use an abandoned hospital for a set, their fates are sealed. Once the personal assistant gets back from a corner store with supplies, the mayhem begins. Well begins to begin. There is a bit of a delayed fuse on this one. We are given plenty character development and relation history. The group runs into all the issues film crews deal with on every project. Clashing egos, last minute production changes, stoner cameramen, and a real corpse. Somehow is seems like a good idea to use (what formerly was yet another mad doctor- in the movie. Yeah, things kind of go downhill from there. By saying downhill I mean, you know the usual, opening a portal to an undead dimension where reanimated zombies “hate the living, love the dead.” This is near the only reason spoken on screen as to what drives these monsters. The mad doctor is dead-icated to converting all the “living fools” into his slaves, sending (two of the most creative zombies ever- Gaunt (Mathew McGrory), and Maggot( Andre ‘Doc’ Newman)
to round up the cast and crew.
What this movie lacks in budget, it makes up for with spirit and tenacity. The Dead Hate the Living is a shining example of what a low budget film should aspire to. Ignoring the obvious (continuity , boom mikes dropping into scene, horrible CGI- I enjoy this movie. The over the top gore. The triped out lighting. The abundance of bonus material. All this adds up to a must have DVD for any Zombie aficionado.
My Favorite line in the movie:
“This is all your fault and if I die you better dedicate that Fango award to me.”
The Players:
Eric Clawson David Poe
Benjamin P. Morris Eric
Jeff Gillen Jeff
Jamie Donahue Zombie Corpse
Doyle Rockwell Dr. Eibon
Brett Beardslee Paul
Wendy Speake Shelly Poe
Kimberly Pullis Nina Poe
Rick Irwin Marcus
Matthew McGrory Gaunt
Andre 'Doc' Newman Maggot
Ariauna Albright Ellie Eibon
Dave Parker Clerk (uncredited)
Director: Dave Parker
Encoding: Region 1 Format: Color, Widescreen
Aspect Ratio(s): 1.85:1
Audio Encoding: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Rated: R Not for sale to persons under age 18.
Studio: Koch Full Moon Releasing
DVD Release Date: April 23, 2002
DVD Features: This DVD has some great bonus material.
o Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
o Commentary by director Dave Parker and cast
o Making Of Featurette
o Deleted Footage and Bloopers
o Production Stills