| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
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Alan Ormsby | ... |
Alan
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Valerie Mamches | ... |
Val
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Jeff Gillen | ... |
Jeff
(as Jeffrey Gillen)
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Anya Ormsby | ... |
Anya
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Paul Cronin | ... |
Paul
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| Jane Daly | ... |
Terry
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Roy Engleman | ... |
Roy
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Robert Philip | ... |
Emerson
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Bruce Solomon | ... |
Winns
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Alecs Baird | ... |
Caretaker
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Seth Sklarey | ... | |
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Bob Sherman | ... |
Ghoul
(as Robert Sherman)
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Curtis Bryant | ... |
Ghoul
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William R. 'Bob' Smedley | ... |
Tallest dead thing
(as Robert Smedley)
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Debbie Cummins | ... |
Ghoul
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Actors led by Alan Ormsby go to a graveyard on a remote island to perform a necromantic ritual. The ritual works and soon the dead are walking about and chowing down on human flesh. Written by Humberto Amador
Bob Clark's untimely death a few weeks ago brings to mind his movies, including this one (here, he's billed with his real first name Benjamin). I first learned about "Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things" in a movie calendar on a day when the theme was "Gruesome Titles": there was this one along with "Nice Girls Don't Explode", "Let Sleeping Corpses Lie" and "8 Heads in a Duffel Bag". It's one of the many movies coming out in the early 1970s portraying teenagers and young adults doing things that they shouldn't have and getting punished in the worst possible way. In this case, a guy brings his friends to an island cemetery, where they exhume a corpse for a satanic ritual. Sure enough, it resurrects the rest of the cemetery's deceased inhabitants.
I once read that these sorts of movies have sort of a reactionary undertone, as they portray the younger generation getting castigated for doing what they wanted, especially if they have sex and use drugs (though there's none of that here). But even so, "CSPWDT" is a total pleasure, as they make the most of their low budget and show as much gore as they want. It does take a while for everything to really get going, but once it does, they pull no punches. You're sure to love it - assuming that you're the type who takes the time to watch these kinds of flicks.
So, in conclusion: Bob Clark, wherever you are, we'll always remember you for this movie, and for "Porky's" and "A Christmas Story".