Night of the Living Dorks (2004) Die Nacht der lebenden Loser (original title)

Director:

Mathias Dinter

Writer:

Mathias Dinter

Release Date:

4 November 2004 (Germany)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror

Plot:

Three not-so-cool school friends decide to try a old voodoo ritual. Later, they die in a car accident, but live on as zombies. But being a zombie has advantages, too...

Plot Keywords:

Ritual | Zombie | Voodoo | Cemetery | Morgue

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Tino Mewes	...	Philip
Manuel Cortez	...	Wurst
Thomas Schmieder	...	Konrad
Collien Fernandes	...	Rebecca
Hendrik Borgmann	...	Wolf
Nadine Germann	...	Uschi
Sissi Perlinger	...	Frau Fleischhacker
Henry Gründler	...	Herr Fleischhacker
Patricia Thielemann	...	Frau Niedermacher
Oliver Grober	...	Gunther
Tom Lass	...	Frederik
Tim Wilde	...	Sportlehrer Stalin
Daniel Krauss	...	Zivi 1
Sebastian Kroehnert	...	Zivi 2
Walter Gontermann	...	Direktor
Peter Rappenglück	...	Schulkoch
Christian Schneller	...	Bennat
Marcus Morlinghaus	...	Medizinstudent
Simon Gosejohann	...	Cornelius
Jakob M. Erwa	...	Kiffer
Tibor Weigel	...	Schüchterner Schüler
Julia Fischer	...	Susi
Simon Eibelshäuser	...	Skinhead
Arzu Bazman	...	Krankenschwester
Heinrich Giskes	...	Professor
Luther Patris	...	Vater Haiti-Familie
Faiza Burmann-Greene	...	Mutter Haiti-Familie
Christiana Bukalo	...	Kind Haiti-Familie
Jaymes Butler	...	Haiti-Zombie
Jörg Witte	...	Polizist Party
Christian Münch	...	Armin aus der 8.
Sandra Jozipovic	...	Reiches Mädel (as Sandra Jozpovic)
Anton Penkovski	...	Sandkastenschüler
Susanne Richter	...	Heisse Braut
Stephan Karasz	...	Freund Heisse Braut
Natalie Kuster	...	Party-Mädel
Hendrik Boeing	...	2. Freund Wolf
Jacques Alomo	...	Kifferfreund
Tristan Böttcher	...	Zivi 3
Christoph Schütte	...	Patient
Claudia Pupeter	...	Krankenschwester 2
Nicole Krejci	...	Mutter mit Säugling
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Désirée Siyum	...	Uschi's Freundin
Mathias Dinter	...	Corpse (uncredited)
Florian Erhard	...	Running policeman (uncredited)
Wolfgang Küchler	...	eBuy guy (uncredited)
Florian Lutz	...	Man in Gay Disziplin magazine (uncredited)
Axel Neumann	...	Penner (uncredited)
Silke Sijmons	...	Heisse Lehrerin / Taufmutter (uncredited)
Josefina Vilsmaier	...	Kleines Mädchen (uncredited)
Max von Sydow	...	Taufvater (uncredited)

Directed by
Mathias Dinter

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Mathias Dinter

Produced by
Marion Dany	....	executive producer
Mischa Hofmann	....	producer
Philip Voges	....	producer

Original Music by
Andreas Grimm

Cinematography by
Stephan Schuh

Film Editing by
Cornelie Strecker		(as Connie Strecker)

Casting by
Rita Serra-Roll

Production Design by
Florian Lutz

Costume Design by
Janne Birck

Makeup Department
Gregor Eckstein	....	special makeup effects artist
Maike Heinlein	....	makeup artist
Jeannette Latzelsberger	....	makeup department head

Production Management
Karlheinz Ganzer	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Florian Erhard	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Wolfgang Küchler	....	property master

Sound Department
Josh Amaral	....	sound recordist
Bastien Benkhelil	....	sound editor
Bastien Benkhelil	....	sound recordist
Quirin Böhm	....	sound
João Da Costa Pinto	....	sound editor
Daniel Dietenberger	....	sound designer
Stephan Fandrych	....	adr editor
Stephan Fandrych	....	dubbing mixer
Michael Mitra	....	adr editor
Roland Platz	....	foley artist
Roland Platz	....	special sound recording
Hubertus Rath	....	sound re-recording mixer
Santiago Recio	....	sound re-recording mixer
Hans Emanuel Vogel	....	foley recordist

Special Effects by
Sebastian Bulst	....	special effects technician
Birger Laube	....	special effects makeup
Helmut Neudorfer	....	special effects technician
Hans Neurohr	....	special effects technician

Visual Effects by
Michaela Braun	....	team assistant: CA Scanline Production GmbH
Falk Büttner	....	compositing artist
Gerrit Corsmeyer	....	compositing artist
Gabriel Dedic	....	digital colorist: scan&record35
Damian Doennig	....	digital effects artist: CA Scanline Production GmbH
Nadine Freder	....	digital clean-up: scan&record35
Thomas Ganshorn	....	digital effects artist: CA Scanline Production GmbH
Doreen Gerschau	....	digital clean-up: scan&record35
Christian Godzik	....	digital effects artist: CA Scanline Production GmbH
Sebastian Holbl	....	compositing artist: CA Scanline Production GmbH
Thomas Klieber	....	digital effects artist: CA Scanline Production GmbH
Jan Krupp	....	visual effects supervisor: CA Scanline Production GmbH
Roland Langschwert	....	digital effects artist: CA Scanline Production GmbH
Melissa Lippisch	....	digital clean-up: scan&record35
Helene Marinoff	....	visual effects production manager: CA Scanline Production GmbH
Angel Pedro Martinez	....	visual effects
Felix Messerschmitt	....	digital effects artist: CA Scanline Production GmbH
Andreas Nehls	....	digital effects artist: CA Scanline Production GmbH
Christian Pokorny	....	visual effects consultant: CA Scanline Production GmbH
Mario Rafael	....	compositing artist
Michael Ralla	....	compositing artist
Julia Reinhard	....	compositing artist: CA Scanline Production GmbH
Norbert Ruf	....	compositing artist: CA Scanline Production GmbH
Phillipp Sauermann	....	digital effects artist
Michael Scheffler	....	systems administrator: scan&record35
Verena Scheunemann	....	compositing artist: CA Scanline Production GmbH
Kerstin Schiessl	....	digital clean-up: scan&record35
Silvio Schwarz	....	compositing artist
Alexander Seefelder	....	compositing artist: CA Scanline Production GmbH
Sebastian Stanek	....	matchmove artist
Martin Treydte	....	digital effects artist
Ismat Zaidi	....	visual effects production manager: scan&record 35
Martin Zwanzger	....	main title design
Tilman Paulin	....	digital compositor (uncredited)

Stunts
Torsten Jerabek	....	stunt coordinator
Mac Steinmeier	....	stunts: Stuntteam Steinmeier/Mohr
Bastian Volkmer	....	stunt player
Bastian Volkmer	....	stunt rigger

Camera and Electrical Department
Dario Jozic	....	co-camera operator
Jens Wischnewski	....	video operator

Editorial Department
Mark S. Hölscher	....	second assistant editor
Isabella Nwankwo	....	editor: English script

Music Department
Frank Jastfelder	....	music supervisor
Nico Schuette	....	sound engineer

Other crew
Isabella Nwankwo	....	translator: English script
Pierre Peters-Arnolds	....	voice dubbing
Greg Picard	....	studio assistant
Alban Rehnitz	....	script supervisor
Silke Sijmons	....	production assistant
Tassilo Singhammer	....	dancing double: Thomas Schmieder
Max von Sydow	....	production secretary
Patrick Zorer	....	production executive

Production Companies

• Constantin Film Produktion
• Hofmann & Voges Entertainment GmbH

Distributors

• Constantin Film (2004) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Highlight Film (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• WE Productions (2006) (France) (theatrical)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (UK) (2006) (UK) (DVD)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Starz Home Entertainment (2007) (Australia) (DVD)

Special Effects

• CA Scanline Production (visual effects)
• MagicFX (special effects)
• StarCrest Media (special makeup effects)

Other Companies

• Assekuranzmakler F. Gossler GmbH  insurance
• Barbarella Entertainment  publicity
• Bavaria Tonstudios  sound mixing facility
• Bendixen Media Service  sound editing facilities
• Blow up Filmtechnik Karl Kresling GmbH  titles and opticals
• C.S.T. Customer Service Team Hamburg  vehicles
• Camouflage Filmservice  police props
• Cena Catering  catering
• Extras & Actors  extras casting
• FilmFernsehFonds Bayern  funding
• Filmförderungsanstalt (FFA)  funding
• Filmtier Ranch  animals
• Kipper Filmservice  location service
• P S D Sicherheitsdienst GmbH  security
• PPA Film GmbH  adr facility
• Rent a Face  extras casting
• Sound Studio N  music mixing facility
• Stuntteam Steinmeier/Mohr  stunts
• Televisa Reiseservice  travel services
• herbX Medienproduktion GmbH  sound post-production

Also Known As:

"Die Nacht der lebenden Loser" - Germany (original title)

Runtime:

Germany:89 min

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Germany:12 | USA:Unrated | Australia:MA (2007) | Italy:T

Filming Locations:

Eisbach Filmstudios, Munich, Bavaria, Germany

Company:

Constantin Film Produktion

Trivia:

The names on the blood bottles are all names of crew members.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When the three wake up in the morgue as zombies they are wearing hospital gowns. They were all DOA from the car accident. Dead bodies would not be dressed in hospital gowns to go to the morgue.

Movie Connections:

Features Tekken 4 (2002) (VG)

Zombie-Comedy fun basks in endearing silliness

As my usual SIFF ritual, I attended a "Midnight Adrenaline" screening, and this year it happened to be "Night of the Living Dorks", a German "zombie-comedy", a spoofing genre that has seemed to kick off since the massive cult success of UK's "Shaun of the Dead". And this film does play like a nutty hybrid of "Revenge of the Nerds" and "Night of the Living Dead", and it's joyfully naughty, undemanding fun.

This particular horror spoof/send up takes place in suburban Germany, focusing on group of unpopular high school geeks in all their individual, expected ways. The sort-of leader of this hapless gang is Phillip (Tino Mewes) a mildly neurotic teen with the typical everykid amiability, who doesn't have a whole lot of personality but an earnest heart. However, he has a hopeless crush on the school's reigning teen queen Uschi, and whenever he drudges up the courage to confront her he meets an unduly comeuppance by the school's preppy, heartless jocks. Of course, this wouldn't be a teen movie without a pair of sidekicks: best friend Konrad (Thomas Schmieder), an uber Micheal-Anthony-Hall-ish nerd who keeps a precise, daily recording of the endless taunts and vile pranks repeatedly pulled on him, and Wurst (Manuel Cortez), a perpetual stoner who remains completely insouciant and unaffected by the group's considerable lack of a social life. And in true John Hughes' fashion, there's the lovely next-door gal pal, Rebecca (Collien Fernandes), one for whom is trying on a Gothic lifestyle to see if it fits, who has a none-too-subtle crush on the oblivious Phillip.

And the night that puts the story's pivotal turn in motion is at a pathetic meeting of Collien's goth clique and Phillip's nerdy triad, for which an inept voodoo ritual to try and reverse Phillip-n-crew's downward social spiral goes awry, as they die in a car crash during a roadside bong haze, only to wake up in the city morgue that night to realize there the walking dead! And when they return to school the next day, they realize their luck is about to change: not only do they crush the athletic jocks at their usually unbearable PE class (with heavy reverence to "The Longest Yard") and find they have superhuman strength, but also throw a totally radical school-wide party at Phillip's pad (for whom are on vacation), completely reversing their terminally unpopular streak.

But of course, things don't quite go as smoothly (body parts falling off at inappropriate times, a conniving, emasculated jock planning to bring them down and Konrad's wildly uncontrollable violent outbursts), and they realize they are now on a ticking clock to resurrect themselves with a "magic mixture" before they officially go forever back into the grave.

Now all this is a pretty predictable template, but director Mattheius Dinter's goofy, manic energy and the unpretentiously clever vignettes (Finding ancient zombie remains on E-bay; an ultra-cheery mother barging in on an awakening Phillip to see he has an erection under his sheets) helps elevate this gross-out comedy/teen-horror-romance to the above-average category. The movie does have a few deeper observations than expected (noting that a Zombie's "Hunger" for human flesh reflects the boy's burgeoning sexuality), but really it just wants to have fun, as even the movie's climax is pretty much you would expect (with some minor surprises), it still works splendidly.

Great fun, no matter how petty it actually is.