Dead People (1973)

Director:

Willard Huyck

Writers:

Willard Huyck (writer)
Gloria Katz (writer)

Release Date:

1973 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

In order to live, they will take you one by one ... and no one will hear you scream!

Plot Keywords:

Zombie | Living Dead | Art Studio | Attack | Supermarket

Cast

Michael Greer	...	Thom
Marianna Hill	...	Arletty (as Mariana Hill)
Joy Bang	...	Toni
Anitra Ford	...	Laura
Royal Dano	...	Joseph Long
Elisha Cook Jr.	...	Charlie
Charles Dierkop	...	Gas Attendant
Bennie Robinson	...	Albino trucker
Morgan Fisher
Emma Truckman
Dyanne Asimow		(as Dyanne Simon)
Herb Margolis
Alex Michaels
Walter Hill
Laurie Charlap-Hyman

Also Known As:

Messiah of Evil
Revenge of the Screaming Dead
The Second Coming

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | USA:R

Company:

International Cine Film Corp.

Trivia:

It has long been rumored that a subplot involving a connection between Thom and the Dark Stranger was cut from the film. Michael Greer (Thom) played the role of the Dark Stranger, there's a scene where Thom tells Arletty of dream he had similar to the legend of the Dark Stranger, and during an interview before the filming star Michael Greer said he would be playing the role of "the devil's son" in Messiah of Evil (Dead People).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Arletty is tending to Thom towards the end of the film, Thom is on his back and has some blood on his face from his ear, which she wipes away. In the next shot, the blood is back.

Quotes:

Arletty: [narrating] They're coming here. They're waiting at the edge of the city. They're peering around buildings at night, and they're waiting. They waiting for you! And they'll take you one by one and noone will hear you scream. Noone will hear you SCREAM!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Texas Chain Saw Massacre: The Shocking Truth (2000) (V)

Soundtrack:

Hold On To Love

Dead People are CREEPY!

"Messiah of Evil" (or "Dead People", which is a much more appropriate a.k.a title) is a solid 70's horror gem, surprisingly atmospheric and quite gory despite the obviously low budget production values. It's basically a zombie-movie, but surely NOT the type that George A. Romero popularized half a decade earlier with his milestone "Night of the Living Dead". The undead souls in this film are merely background characters whilst the main storyline revolves on a young woman searching for her father since he went missing in a little seaside town called Point Dune. He was a painter and regularly sent letters to his daughters with an increasingly bizarre content. When Arletty (what's in a name?) arrives in the village, she quickly discovers that the locals aren't very helpful in her search. Quite the contrary, they all seem to be part of a dead cult that patiently awaits the return of an evil messiah who cursed the entire town nearly 100 years before. Needless to say that the plot is very incoherent and full of holes (otherwise, it would have been a much more known film) and the pace is often painfully slow, especially during the first half. It's also a bit confusing, since there are TWO voice-overs constantly interfering each other. Opposed to all these slightly negative aspects, there are several extended and genuinely macabre sequences that'll truly raise the hair on your neck with fear! One scene in particular is downright brilliant and features a doomed girl as she's sitting in Point Dune's movie theater. She's practically alone at first, but when the film plays the undead townsfolk continuously walks into the theater one by one, preventing the poor girl to ever walk out of there alive. The acting performances are acceptable, some of the exteriors filming locations are pretty impressive and the last fifteen minutes are delightfully gruesome! "Dead People" is recommended to purchasers of rare, offbeat horror cinema.