Graveyard Alive (2003) User Reviews

Quirky, but disappointing

[lastliberal · 5/10 · 18 October 2008]

This was one strange movie. It was in black and white, which is OK, but it really felt like a silent film from the 20s. There was very little dialog, and they could have skipped that entirely.

Nurse Patsy (Anne Day-Jones) is a wallflower that is in love with Dr. Dox (Karl Gerhardt), who just happened to be the guy who took her to the prom in high school. He lost his geekiness, but she stayed the same until she was bit by an infected woodsman.

She turns into a hottie that must eat flesh to stay beautiful. This is where the film gets really funny.

The fiancé of Dr. Dox, Nurse Goodie (Samantha Slan) is the only one who suspects the truth and ends up in a sanatorium after trying to expose Nurse Patsy.

The ending was hilarious.

Graveyard Alive, audience asleep

[Bernard_Sinew · 3/10 · 12 March 2006]

*** This comment may contain spoilers *** Graveyard Alive is pastiche to 50's zombie B-movie horrors. The film starts off promisingly, with a woodsman discovers an unseen creature. He then captures the critter and for some reason (which is never quite worked out) he decides to place it in a box and take it back to his cabin.

Cue box violently shaking on table and Gremlin-esquire sound effects, before getting bitten.

The woodsman goes to his local hospital to treat his injuries, and it is at this point that the film's pace slows down to that of the undead. In a lift. What we have next is people turning to zombies, a few deaths, a few scenes of cannibalism and and very little else.

The film's budget was 50,000 Canadian Dollars, and about 20 of them were spent on make-up. The zombies, that aren't really zombies at all they're humans who need to eat human flesh in order to stay alive, look truly awful with dark circles around their eyes and dark cheek bones .

Character wise there's the suspicious janitor who's a zombie expert, the Dr who is sickly and popular with the nurses, the nurse he's dating who's the same, and the main nurse who is the glasses wearing shy type and the butt of the popular nurse's jokes.

Very tedious, short on any gross out scenes, devoid of any humour and a poor script, Graveyard Alive - a supremely mis-leading title - has very little redeeming qualities. Yes it may be a pastiche, but were all 50's B-movies so awful? Whatever you do, just don't bite anyone OK? And for that matter, don't waste your money either.

1 out of 5

From Awesome to Awful in a Matter of Minutes

[gavin6942 · 3/10 · 7 August 2007]

A homely nurse is attracted to the head doctor (who she had previously dated in high school), but he is in love with Nurse Goody Two-Shoes. After getting bit by a zombie, the nurse starts to become more attractive.. but to maintain her youthful skin, she must devour human flesh. Good thing she works in a place with plenty of freshly arriving corpses.

Another reviewer says, "The movie was pretty painful to watch overall and although I kept hoping it would get better, it only got worse." This sums up the problem with this film, I think. It started off actually pretty good. The overacting and soap opera antics were amusing, but these became less apparent as the film went on and the plot just unraveled. I can't even explain how, but all of a sudden it was so bland that nothing could save it.

Granted, the Ukrainian guy was pretty cool. He could have used a bigger role. But that was about it. Everything else just bored me. You'd like to think that after the nurse becomes "hot" that maybe her hotness would hold my interest. Well, no, because she wasn't hot. She had nice shoes and stockings, but she was still just as plain as ever (see movie cover).

The flesh-eating scenes were minor, the gore was decent but nothing special. The nudity was basically not even there (maybe I saw some cleavage, or something). Anything that could cover for a weak plot was absent. How many times can I watch her carve strips of flesh off a corpse? The ending was decent, but I don't know if it made up for the rest of the movie. Actually, I know it didn't. It was so non-shocking. I can't say what it is, of course, and I don't suggest you watch the film to find out. But if you must watch it, just don't hold your breath for the finale, because it's nothing clever at all. Actually, let me beg of you -- please don't watch this film.

Graveyard Alive, Audience Asleep (contains possible spoilers)

[Bernard_Sinew · 3/10 · 10 November 2004]

Graveyard Alive is pastiche to 50's zombie B-movie horrors. The film starts off promisingly, with a woodsman discovers an unseen creature. He then captures the critter and for some reason (which is never quite worked out) he decides to place it in a box and take it back to his cabin.

Cue box violently shaking on table and Gremlin-esque sound effects, before getting bitten.

The woodsman goes to his local hospital to treat his injuries, and it is at this point that the film's pace slows down to that of the undead. In a lift. What we have next is people turning to zombies, a few deaths, a few scenes of cannibalism and and very little else.

The film's budget was 50,000 Canadian Dollars, and about 20 of them were spent on make-up. The zombies, that aren't really zombies at all they're humans who need to eat human flesh in order to stay alive, look truly awful with dark circles around their eyes and dark cheek bones .

Character wise there's the suspicious janitor who's a zombie expert, the Dr who is sickly and popular with the nurses, the nurse he's dating who's the same, and the main nurse who is the glasses wearing shy type and the butt of the popular nurse's jokes.

Very tedious, short on any gross out scenes, devoid of any humour and a poor script, Graveyard Alive - a supremely mis-leading title - has very little redeeming qualities. Yes it may be a pastiche, but were all 50's B-movies so awful? Whatever you do, just don't bite anyone OK? And for that matter, don't waste your money either.

1 out of 5

An Amusing, Unusual Treat.

[twilight_speaks · 7/10 · 12 May 2007]

Yes, there are better zombie movies out there. However, there are also much, much worse. Graveyard Alive has a lot of heart and humor behind it, which sells it despite its shortcomings and sets it apart within the genre. Keeping in mind that the budget for this movie was very small, the money was spent where it should have been - on actors and actresses who primarily worked in stage productions and had a strong control of their expressions, on securing a real hospital as a set, and on a decent technical crew. The editing and cinematography are actually pretty pro, and when your genre is so infested with hand-held camcorder affairs in backyard fields, you appreciate a good sense of lighting and photography.

The movie is also notable for the fact that the zombie starlet is your main, sympathetic character - something we don't often see done with zombies, even zombie comedies (and this movie was not intended to scare you, so if you're looking for a frightfest you really should have looked more closely at the description). You find yourself rooting for her transformation, and you want her to succeed - if only so that you can see what she does next.

It's campy, flawed, and I strongly recommend it -- especially to genre fans who have seen one too many disappointing, cookie-cutter low-budget zombie movie in the hopes of catching something different. This is definitely different, and definitely worth a watch. And don't be afraid to smile at the overacting and odd, sparse dialogue - you're Supposed to.

This is why people don't like Canadian movies.

[exotic_chickie · 2/10 · 2 August 2006]

The only reason this is being given a two is because I have to give credit to the dream sequences - they were actually quite stylish and had a pretty convincing horror tone to them.

Otherwise, if it was supposed to be silent, they should've kept it silent as the post-production ADR was REALLY distracting throughout the film, which also made the over-acting look absolutely ridiculous. Not looking to blame the actors, they were only doing what they were directed to do.

The movie was pretty painful to watch overall and although I kept hoping it would get better, it only got worse. I was so paralyzed by how horrible the film was that I couldn't even reach for the remote to turn it off.

It makes you wonder how movies like this EVER make it past a high school project, as that's what it felt like. There are so many brilliant independent movies out there that never make it and it's so painfully disappointing that something like this ends up representing Canadian film...unbelievable.

Zombie love bites.

[lost-in-limbo · 7/10 · 5 August 2007]

A woodsman is taken to a hospital with an axe in the back of his head, and nurse Pasty looks after him. Also on her plate is that she still has feelings for her ex-boyfriend Dr. Dox, but he's engaged to Nurse Goodie. Who makes her life at the hospital a living hell, as she constantly teases her. Looking in on the very pale and peeling woodsman, he expresses his love for Pasty and bites her on the arm. Not too long she's has the same symptoms, but also she has grown confident and sexually appealing to the male staff. But to stop her skin from falling off and hands and legs from stiffing up, she'll give into the craving of flesh to keep this make-up. However Nurse Goodie goes out of her way to prove there's something wrong with Pasty.

There's something lovable about zombie films, and this particular shoestring b/w Canadian independent entry to the field was actually a breath of fresh air. Due to the effort put into making "Graveyard Alive: A Zombie Nurse In Love", and finally getting it out to the public. You can call it a labour of love, because their heart was definitely in it and the final product shows. What we got here can be called somewhat a unconventional droll parody on soapies (those mainly based in a hospital) with a smart zombie splash to it and a familiar throwback style to the cheap, static and moody genre films of 40s and 50s. There's a light-headed mixture of elements there (even use of chapter headings cutting between the story's structure reminded me of the golden silent age of cinema), which actually gel quite well.

Director Elza Kephart makes light of the clichés, to set-up a real quirky, kinky and sombre feel. Her pacing can get a little stiff, but the way she goes about it is stylishly low-scale, and from this plenty of effectively haunting and also amusing images are drummed up. Pitching in are some slight, and inventive camera angles and shadowy lighting, which these old-fashion traits lent to the seductive mood. The film does looks ace! The editing is also professionally catered for. The schlock make-up effects are very minimal, but still kinda pay off. However those looking for an influx of splatter and violence will be largely disappointed.

Patricia Gomez and Elza Kephart's flavoured pulp material (which reinvents certain details on zombie folklore) keeps it all pretty dry and constantly has fun with itself, but it doesn't play out like you would think. While it never does go overboard in the humour stakes, but maybe it could've gone out to shock a little more, then for most part hiding behind the mockery. One thing did get on my nerves from time to time was that twitchy, one-note music score. The performances are mostly dramatically campy and that seems on purpose. A savvy Anne Day-Jones excels in the deadpan lead role Nurse Pasty, as she brings out the right sort of temperament and expressions to convey her startling transformation. Samantha Slan's ham-fisted comic turn as Nurse Goodie is reasonably fun.

Quite unique in patches and something fairly different from the zombie norm. Flawed, but not a bad little charmer. Get the doggy bag ready.

The Humor Just Wasn't That Sharp

[Uriah43 · 3/10 · 3 March 2015]

"Patsy Powers" (Anne Day-Jones) is a young but lonely nurse working at a hospital who is called upon to assist in a special case involving a patient with an axe buried into his head. The operation appears to be a success and as he is recovering he and Patsy begin to have feelings for one another. However, when they try to get intimate the patient bites Patsy--which results in her slowly becoming a zombie. Meanwhile, as this transformation is going on Patsy loses her shy inhibitions and begins to attract the other male doctors and staff who happen to work with her. Anyway, so much for the plot. As far as the movie itself is concerned I will just say that it definitely had some weaknesses. For example, if this ultra low-budget film was intended to be a comedy then it failed miserably as the humor just wasn't that sharp. Likewise, if the movie was meant to be a horror film then it wasn't very effective at that either. On the other hand, the director (Elza Kephart) was quite imaginative and used a number of tricks and gimmicks to keep this film somewhat interesting. But it just wasn't enough. Accordingly, I rate this film as below average.

Strange, sick, chocolate flavoured, movie.

[Sic Coyote · 8/10 · 8 November 2004]

I saw this at an all night horror marathon the other day where the director was present (I was the guy in the Godzilla T-Shirt), I wasn't sure what to make of it to start with, maybe it was because it was the first full length feature of the night and b&w with a strange style. But as the film went on I got more and more into it, although I couldn't decide if the lip syncing (or not) was intentional or not.

The plot is that there's a nurse in a hospital who is the dorky one who nobody likes and doesn't have a boyfriend, but when a patient (who happens to be a zombie) shows an interest she falls in love but gets bitten and turned into a horny zombie, and so the plot commences.

Anyway there's plenty of zombie related comedy and a good share of gore in here.

Overall I would watch it again, and would recommend people who like low-budget film-making, it kind of reminded me of Garth Marenghi's Darkplace. 8/10

Yay! Canadian B-movies!

[theadorust · 8/10 · 9 March 2004]

By the title alone I knew I had to go see it. It played here in Winnipeg at NSI film exchange March 2004.

Basically very well done film especially because it was shot with the intent for it to be silent than all the sound and dialog was added well after the fact in post. This is amazing as I only noticed one or two places where the dialog seemed to be out of sync slightly. it has an interesting acting style throughout due to the fact it was suppose to be silent, a lot of physical expression of emotions and words. It is shot well on black and white, the B$W really builds into the character of the film.

Overall I would definitely recommend it. I can't wait to purchase a copy.

Entertaining and amusing zomromcom

[ThrownMuse · 8/10 · 6 June 2007]

This is a true rarity in the genre, if only because it was written, directed, and produced by women. Horrors created exclusively by men are a dime a dozen, but women's involvement behind the scenes has been sadly lacking. This one took four years to get made, and then another four years (post-festival circuit) to finally get a DVD release this month. That's all very unfortunate, because this unique low-budget zomromcom is an overall success. It tells the story of frumpy Nurse Patsy, who isn't over her love for former beau Dr. Dox. Unfortunately, he's getting married to Nurse Goodie Teuscheuze, who taunts Patsy in the workplace like a little brat on a playground. While caring for a woodcutter with an ax in his head (!), Nurse Patsy gets bitten. She soon finds her appetite for sex increasing, her self-esteem raising, and her skin falling off. Unfortunately, a craving for human flesh comes with her new-found sex drive. This movie is a total hoot. It plays out like a 50s b-movie mixed with a "hospital soap opera." The lead actress plays it straight-faced, but all of the other actors ham it up like they're in a horror spoof of "General Hospital." It works better than it sounds. The dialogue is witty and the delivery is spot-on. The narrative feels a bit predictable at first, but it twists into unique and surprising territory. It's very funny in places, though feels a little thin in spots. Overall, it's better than most indie zombie movies. Thumbs up, though the amateur cast interviews in the special features are best left unwatched for various reasons...

Horney repressed Zombie nurse goes wild!

[lm-64539 · 8/10 · 26 December 2015]

This is a great low budget indie movie! Shot way before the walking dead and zombies were trendy... watch it :if you like black and white movies and hospital dramas or just if you like cheese low budget horror! I especially likes the different camera angles and the fact that it was all shot in black and white. It's really high contrast and it has that old school acting style about it!

It was shot in Montreal and other parts and the acting is surprisingly good for a Canadian film. This movie is well directed and produced and really shows the quality of the Montreal talent (when it's so hard for local English film makers to get any funding in Stupid Quebec...

Cool & delicious!

[RodrigAndrisan · 10/10 · 8 May 2021]

I don't like zombie movies, they're stupid. But this is a beautiful parody, with a very attractive story, with talented actors and a smart director, Elza Kephart. Anne Day-Jones does a super funny role as nurse Patsy Powers. Absolutely worth seeing!