Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things (1973)

Six friends dig up a corpse named Orville. They use it in a satanic ritual to make the dead rise from their graves. Look out!!!

Director:

Bob Clark

Writers:

Alan Ormsby (screenplay), Bob Clark

Stars:

Alan Ormsby, Valerie Mamches, Jeff Gillen

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alan Ormsby	...	Alan
Valerie Mamches	...	Val
Jeff Gillen	...	Jeff (as Jeffrey Gillen)
Anya Ormsby	...	Anya
Paul Cronin	...	Paul
Jane Daly	...	Terry
Roy Engleman	...	Roy
Robert Philip	...	Emerson
Bruce Solomon	...	Winns
Alecs Baird	...	Caretaker
Seth Sklarey	...	Orville Dunworth
Bob Sherman	...	Ghoul (as Robert Sherman)
Curtis Bryant	...	Ghoul
William R. 'Bob' Smedley	...	Tallest dead thing (as Robert Smedley)
Debbie Cummins	...	Ghoul

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

actor | graveyard | island | cannibalism | zombie | 

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Taglines:

You're Invited To Orville's "Coming-Out" Party...It'll Be A Scream...YOURS!!!

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Genres:

Comedy | Horror

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 February 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Revenge of the Living Dead

Filming Locations:

Coconut Grove, Miami, Florida, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$70,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Geneni Film Distributors

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono Stereo (2.0) DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The 1990 reference book "Uranian Worlds: A Guide to Alternative Sexuality in Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror" by Eric Garber and Lyn Paleo lists "Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things" as one of the first horror movies to show positive (though stereotyped) gay male characters who also have an important role in the story. With the help of these two gay men (actors Roy Engleman and Robert Philip) made-up as corpses, Alan plays a practical joke on the other characters that frightens them so badly that one wets his pants.

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Goofs

After Val shines the light on the body of Paul, she then turns back around, bringing the light with her; yet when Terry looks out, both the body and zombie are still illuminated by the same light.

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Quotes

Alan: [to Orville's corpse] I'm gonna take your scraps and feed them to my dog.

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Crazy Credits

Director Bob Clark is credited as "Benjamin Clark" in the opening credits.

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Connections

Referenced in Full Metal Jacket (1987)

User Reviews

ohh, the simple pleasures ...food...drink...ladies....ZOMBIES!!!

This movie I have to admit is one of my most cherished guilty pleasures. The whole movie makes me smile and shiver. The first half of the film is light, and funny but there is something beneath it that creeps and crawls.

From the opening there is something that is unsettling, the atmosphere. All of the actors are very entertaining, and at times provide well done overacted performances. As the movie draws towards it's climax, it explodes and is creepy to the max. The whole mood changes. Very rarely do you get to see a movie do an about face on it's audience so well. Low budget heaven, this is how to make a good movie on little.