The Dead Hate the Living! (2000)

Director:

Dave Parker

Writer:

Dave Parker (writer)

Release Date:

October 2001 (France)

Genre:

Horror | Comedy

Plot:

When a renegade band of young filmmakers break into an abandoned hospital to make their horror epic...

Plot Keywords:

Brother Sister Relationship | B Movie | Scientific Experiment | Blood | Movie Director

Cast

Eric Clawson	...	David Poe
Jamie Donahue	...	Topaz
Brett Beardslee	...	Paul
Wendy Speake	...	Shelly Poe
Benjamin P. Morris	...	Eric
Rick Irwin	...	Marcus
David Douglas	...	Chas
Matt Stephens	...	Dr. Eibon
Kimberly Pullis	...	Nina Poe
Andre 'Doc' Newman	...	Maggot
Matthew McGrory	...	Gaunt
Ariauna Albright	...	Ellie Eibon
Anthony C. Ferrante	...	Store Customer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Brooke Bund	...	Zombie Corps (as Jeff and Brooke Bond)
Jeff Bund	...	Zombie Corps (as Jeff and Brooke Bond)
Mitch Persons	...	Zombie Corps
Melissa Pokorski	...	Zombie Corps
Oakley Stevenson	...	Zombie Corps

MPAA:

Rated R for horror violence/gore, language and some sexual content.

Runtime:

USA:90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:MA | Germany:16 | UK:18 | USA:R

Trivia:

According to the director on the DVD commentary, the maggots that get rubbed onto the face of the bratty sister are real. However, they didn't tell her that. It was their way of getting back at her for not showing up for filming on the previous day, due to her booking a higher paying job on that day. This made them angry since the film was on an amazingly short 10-day shooting schedule.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Topaz is trying to find the videotape in the hospital room, her lighter shines on a corpse that she sees and reacts to. As the green light comes on in the room, the corpse's eye moves to look at her as she stands up.

Quotes:

Paul: You want me to throw a TV at them?!

Movie Connections:

References Frankenstein (1931)

More of a bad trend.

I'm so tired of supposedly clever, overly self-conscious horror films. I know there are generational differences and a lot of people find this type of thing humorous and hip. In the early 90's, there was a film called "There's Nothing Out There" which was about a slimy green monster from outer space killing vacationing teens at a house in the woods over Spring Break. There was a horror movie nut who bothered everybody by making references to other horror films. At the time, that seemed funny and the movie itself is a ragged, messy charmer. I believe this is the film Kevin Williamson used to help him along in writing the script for "Scream", which while I did enjoy it, has hurt the horror genre through it's lazy deconstruction of modern horror. "The Dead Hate The Living" is a bandwagon film that only goes to show that even with a larger than usual budget and good intentions (but obviously pandering to the "Scream" demographic), a horror movie you cannot make.

I do have a theory that maybe people who like horror a little too much and are too eager to please cannot make a decent, serious horror picture. I do have a problem with people who like references to Warbeck and Campbell and Fulci. Do you like being patronized? I don't think you do. Why do you make special concessions for filmmakers who obviously take the easy way out by making you feel superior because you can pick up on what are basically pop-culture references? All the horror films of the past we champion have none of these obvious references. Are we so devoid of creativity or original thought (or filmmaking prowess) that we cannot make(or get to see) a good horror film anymore? I think they got us in a box and we can't get out.