Night of the Dead: Leben Tod (2006 Video) User Reviews

Night of the Dud

[cyclone259 · 3/10 · 4 June 2007]

Originally I was going to give this film (1) star for being pointless and boring, but I'm now considering bumping it up to 2 or 3 stars. Why? Well, it's still pointless and boring, but I actually had what appear to be slight, yet tepid empathetic feelings for a couple of the characters namely those portrayed by Louis Graham and Lola Forsberg.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not giving them Oscar nods, it's just that I could on some level empathize with Dr. Schreklich's character and the longing to bring back people that you lost. It reminded me of the dark, relentless obsession reflected by the father in Pet Sematary (the book, not the movie). Lola Forsberg did a decent job of portraying the voracious undead daughter that her father was still trying to love, despite her obvious "hunger for the living" issues.

Aside from bumping up the likability level a notch or two, the movie was like I said before.... boring. Here's the plot synopsis as written by the director / writer / producer, etc.:

"Pregnant and frightened,Anais is not allowed to leave the specialized hospital where her husband, Peter has a medical internship with his uncle, Dr. Gabriel Schreklich, a man with a serum that can resurrect the dead. But things go terribly wrong and the Ghouls take over the hospital. Now, the only way for Anais to save her unborn baby is to get one of the Ghouls to help her to escape."

Why Anais is being kept at the clinic isn't made clear until the end of the film and then it's rather cheesy. There are obvious blunders throughout the film, namely why some of the fully ambulatory characters couldn't outrun a slow-moving ghoul. The most hilarious though is at the end of the movie where after escaping the exploding clinic, they cut to a scene of Anais (she's pregnant) sitting with a blanket on her. A paramedic listens to her swollen belly and says "Sorry, but it appears your baby didn't make it." He then walks off like it's no big deal, leaving a pregnant woman with a dead fetus (turns out it's an undead fetus) in her womb sitting on the curb so he can take a coffee break. My other favorite scene (also at the end of the movie) is when the only other survivor, Dr. Schreklich's undead daughter, Lola shows up amazingly well-kept after the explosion and walks over to Anais. A fireman says "Is this your daughter?" to which Anais hesitates and says "Uh, why yes she is." Thankfully that's all the proof the fireman needs for a complete stranger to take custody of a young, lost child. I assume he also heads off to have a coffee break with the paramedic from the earlier interaction.

This production is not better than any version of "Re-animator", even the 'made-for-video' releases. The box art is extremely deceptive to give the appearance of a "Re-animator-esque" film, although both movies are about reanimating the dead, Re-animator is leaps and bounds in every aspect: production, acting, effects, etc. While I don't doubt that Mr. Forsberg has talent, every now and then you get a dud along the way.

disgusting

[wrlang · 3/10 · 24 November 2006]

Night of the Dead is a relatively disgusting D movie about a mad German scientist that creates an elixir of life, but if it isn't administered properly it creates the ever so popular living dead zombies that hunger for human flash. The doctor experiments on his wife and daughter that were killed in a hit and run and also experiments on the unsuspecting visitors to his private clinic as he tries to perfect the serum. Some of the zombies can think, some can't, some are strong, some aren't so there's little continuity in the film. His nephew and nephew's pregnant wife are also staying in the clinic and have little knowledge of what's happening. The wacky staff seem oblivious as well. Some gratuitous nudity and lots of blood and guts make the film difficult to watch in some places. A real D movie with few redeeming qualities.

My New Least Favorite Asylum Movie

[MrMyron · 3/10 · 31 July 2007]

I must be in the minority of people who actually like Asylum movies. I try and catch one a month. I got behind, so I O.D.ed last week and rented like six of them. I thought 666:The Child was their worst movie, but now, I have to go with NIGHT OF THE DEAD instead. It's just plain dumb. I don't expect Oscar worthy acting in any genre film, be it big or small budget, but the actors here are just annoying and uninteresting. I was gonna grab ALIEN ABDUCTION, but since it's from the same guy, I think I will pass. Most of the Asylum movies have something else going on; a bit of humor, real scares, cool characters, hot girls with quality nudity etc. This one had nothing really going for it. Even the gross out stuff just looked fake and was poorly shot. Please director, make your movie have a point! Or at least entertain me for 80 minutes. Peter Mervis, Justin Jones, Leigh Scott, and David Latt seem to be the Asylum guys to rent.

Not so good unless your a b-movie zombie freak

[jillc2080 · 5/10 · 6 December 2006]

Well, not a great flick for the average horror film fan. But if you are obsessed with zombie flicks you will either love or hate this movie. They broke all zombie film rules that Romero took his entire career to create. But it was a likable, humorous b-film if you like the old school straight to TV horror comedies!! Romero would never give this film the time of day - but hey if I were to produce/direct a zombie film - I can't say I would have done a better job. Think Evil Dead but maybe slightly more gore and less entertaining! This film was very slow moving. I couldn't make it to the end I had to turn it off. It was illy in the sense that the zombies weren't your typical Romero zombies - I cant say much more without giving any spoilers. The cinematography and editing had a lot of mistakes, but for a low budget I guess not horrible. For film folks - they broke the 180 line like once or twice in every scene. The acting was not great, but on a low budget you cant afford great actors. The beginning of the film had continuity problems. I was confused after the first five minutes as to what was really going on and there weren't even any zombies yet. In a genre such as horror/zombie flicks you don't want to make the audience think to much in the beginning you want to attract them with an awesomely zomberrific first 10 minutes to keep them glued to the edge of their seats for the rest of the film. But hey if you are like me and you'll watch anything zombie then try it out but you may be better off watching the dawn of the dead original again for your millionth time.

I'm a horror fan - rented this movie - simply terrible.

[potpinfo · 15 January 2007]

Other people have posted reviews and have stated "beware of those who give this movie a low rating because they have some kind of ax to grind or they're jealous, etc." Well I'm here to say I knew nothing about this film when I picked it up at the local rental store, knew nothing of it's director or producer, anything at all. The cover looked interesting! I'm a bad horror film fan...love 'em. Re-Animator being one of the best! This film compares itself to that wonderful piece of shlock, and "Night of the Dead by Eric Forsberg" is so far from being comparable, I don't even know how to put it into words. I joined up to IMDb in order to write this review -- that's how bad this film is. I can not recommend this film at all, the story is weak, the camera work is terrible and looks like a home movie, and the acting?... shameful. Sorry guys but this is one horror film fan that is very disappointed. You did get me to rent it though, with your packaging and enticing text... congrats on your marketing! Maybe you should try that field and leave film-making to the professionals.

What were they thinking???

[bravhart_1 · 1/10 · 12 May 2007]

The majority of reviews on this movie must have been posted by the writer, director, and cast of the movie. This movie is by far the worst movie I have ever had the displeasure of watching. I knew nothing about the movie before renting it. My friends and I just like watching zombie movies some of which are very low budget and we take that into consideration but this was just plain horrible. The mirrored effects sucked to high heaven and they reused them repeatedly. The acting was embarrassing and the plot was not great either. Sheesh this movie set the standard in crappy horror movies. SET THE STANDARD!!! The chunky white trash junkie lead singer in the uber-wannabe band that scored the sad attempt at an action scene at the end was yep you guessed it corny and horrible. My friends and I watch crappy horror movies and laugh but this one was so damn bad we didn't even laugh because its not funny, its sad. I feel so sorry for the director and any other idiot that got dupped into spending money on this pile of rancid waste..

Mark my words people this movie wasn't even a good attempt to make a low budget movie. RENT SOMETHING ELSE!!!!!!!!!

what I think

[blueeyedguy25 · 2/10 · 16 May 2007]

pretty bad movie. Don't rent it if you are a big fan of the genre. There seems to be a whole slew of these cheap, poorly made, effect-laden cheapies being stuffed into every shelf of the video store right now. Bad sound, a main character who almost cannot be understood, and nonsensical plot just to have an excuse to employ every special effect the team can create. Here we have the super-strong zombie. All the other movies make it plain that zombies are pretty weak, can barely break glass, cant use machines or equipment, etc but could a female zombie really pull off a man's head just by putting a hand over each ear and lifting up? or break a chain on a door just by swatting it? why can zombie fingers instantly create massive holes in a victim's abdomen? another rule-breaker is a headless zombie who is still functional. Who knows what the rules are in this video. Rent it if you have a whole bunch of girls over and you wanna hear them scream at the gross-outs, but as a zombie fan it didn't and couldn't hold my interest. MY favorite part was the Leben Tod music video on the special features section of the DVD. The rest sucked.

Simply awful

[TheLittleSongbird · 1/10 · 4 October 2012]

I've made no secret of disliking The Asylum's films, and saw Night of the Dead out of curiosity and to see if The Asylum were going to make something tolerable. I Am Omega is their best film and that only ranges from mediocre to decent. Night of the Dead is not their worst but I'm afraid I have to counterbalance the positive reviews and say that I didn't like it at all. The lack of originality was a problem, as there is nothing that is surprising at all here, but not the biggest problem. In terms of story it was the pace that was the let down. It unfolds very slowly, nothing wrong with that providing that the story itself is interesting, in Night of the Dead's case it wasn't, coming across as insipid and dull instead. The stupidity of some scenes is overwhelming, I never bought the idea that the characters even in the same buildings could be so oblivious to everything that's going on. The scene with the frog is over far too quickly and none of the attacks are suspenseful or horrifying. Some have said the gore was creative, I personally found it very phony and eventually somewhat excessive also. Technically, Night of the Dead is no better. The special effects are artificial and the editing is choppy. Things get even worse in written quality, with dialogue that is hackneyed and reeks of cheese and characters that are never developed and annoyed the heck out of me, in fact not in a while have I seen characters from any film act so stupid. The acting is also awful, there is a strong impression that nobody wanted to be there and with dialogue and characters as bad as they were I am not surprised. I personally found the leads to be too bland to have one ounce of likability. If there is one redeeming quality, it is a semi-decent last 10 minutes, it is at least decently paced and has some tension. However it does come far too late, especially considering that by the halfway mark I seriously did consider turning the film off, but being fair I stuck with it. Overall, really awful with next to nothing to like about it. 1/10 Bethany Cox

Watching torture horror is not for me... and I can't believe I finished this one!

[bellino-angelo2014 · 1/10 · 29 August 2019]

I am not a huge fan of horrors, or more specifically gory ones... the ones that have mostly scenes of folks hacked apart for amusing the potential audience. So you may ask why I watched NIGHT OF THE DEAD: LEBEN TOD. Well, it's related to one of my obsessions: watching the worst movies of all time, and to this day this movie has a pitiful score of 3,0. However I must point out that although the movie was gross and disgusting I managed to finish it... despite I then hated myself for watching what I saw.

In this movie a pregnant woman is forced to not leave the hospital, in which the insane Dr. Schrelick, made a serum able to resurrect the dead. But after things go awry, there are lots of escape scenes, heads chopped off, ghouls' bodies that walk even without limbs and with lots of blood stains all around... however, the movie just seems a pretext for gross out the audience.

The only reason I would recommend this movie? Show it to people that need psychiatric help. If they love it, dump them in the nearest hospital and flee! This is the only reason for which I would recommend this gross, sick and disturbing movie!

Worst movie I've ever seen

[bsc1012 · 1/10 · 29 May 2010]

When I was watching the Chiller Channel yesterday, they were hyping up this movie. It sort of looked good. So I tuned in. After 10 minutes, I was just done. I mean, the plot was old, the accents were unnecessary, and it just felt like a horrible, stupid remake of Night of the Living Dead. After the frog scene, I was just like "This is ridiculous." I thought this movie was going to live up to my standards, but it didn't even come close. This was an awful film. Very bloody and horrific. My sister turned an uncanny shade of green by watching the doctor's daughter eat the body parts, and she loves horror movies. I felt very sick too. It was an overuse of blood and guts. I know it was supposed to be a zombie-eats-human-parts movie, but they strongly overdid the blood. Awful screenplay. Terrible film.

Neither Terrible nor Memorable

[w00f · 5/10 · 24 June 2007]

"Night of the Dead" is an incredibly low-budget knockoff of the much superior "Re-Animator" series. A general rule of thumb I have when selecting a horror flick to watch is that if more than two cast and/or crew members have the same last name, I lower my expectations. In "Night of the Dead," we have a writer/director, two actors and a producer all named Forsberg. Another indicator: a line on the DVD cover stating that this movie is "More shocking than Re-Animator!" My expectations were very low, but I love cheesy B (and lower!) grade horror flicks, so I gave it a chance.

For the most part, Night of the Dead is just another straight to video, forgettable zombie splatter flick. A mad scientist with an unconvincing German accent and even less convincing lab techniques has whipped up a serum that re-animates the dead, but the dead kill the living and won't die again themselves. Somehow, the re-animated dead are contagious. If you get bitten, or if their blood gets into your bloodstream, you turn into a crazy zombie, too. This movie's greatest shortcoming is that there's absolutely nothing innovative or imaginative about it. Every single scene is interchangeable with the scenes from scores of other low-budget zombie horror movies.

Most of the acting ranges from mediocre to downright awful (particularly noteworthy in this regard is David Reynolds as Gunther, the Igor to the film's equivalent of Dr. Frankenstein). There is one actor who I found very watchable, though; Diedre V. Lyons, the lead female zombie, does as good a job with the material she's given as I can imagine anyone doing. Clearly, she can act, and I wouldn't mind seeing more of her in future films, horror or otherwise.

Another high point in this otherwise undistinguished flick is the special effects makeup. For such a low-budget effort, some of that work is actually very good, easily on par with noteworthy films by Romero and his ilk.

There's not much more to say about Night of the Dead, though. Horror fans have seen all this before and it seems that we'll see it all again. For most viewers, the identity of this film will merge over time with those of any number of others in the genre, forming a shapeless mess quite like the buckets of gore splashed liberally about the set of the film itself.

Great

[pfc41 · 9/10 · 1 October 2006]

Truly the next cult classic. Way way way over the top, just like it should be. Obviously a low budget feature, I think it does quite well. Exceptionally violent and very gory which simply ads to the fun. The cast and characters are good including the mysterious Dr. Gabriel Schreklich and his deranged wife that looks like she stepped right out of a 50's horror classic and his remarkably darling flesh eating little girl, cute as a button with very sharp teeth! The Good Doctors sidekick Gunther, my personal favorite in the film, " Ahhh, tis goood, shnip shnip" and not to forget the beautiful leading lady as Anais her hunky husband Peter, (lucky girl). All in all I had a great time and I hope to see more coming out of that wonderfully dark place know as The Cerebral Experiment.

Best of the fest, Shriekfest that is

[Stephensonfilms · 7/10 · 26 September 2006]

This was the best film I saw at Shriekfest. I woke up this morning ready to write a positive comment on this movie which I have been wanting to write about for two days. I was surprised to find the existing comment from Necredeye who was also at the fest to be so negative. I am always skeptical of people who say that "this is the worst..." or "this is the best...". So before I write my own comment I have to comment on his. Beware of people who hate a film and give it a zero, and beware of people who love it more than any other and give it a ten. Both have a hidden agenda of destruction or over zealous support. The above mentioned critic admits to walking out in disgust because of color correction and continuity issues (and problems with the acting and the writer). Well, the ending was good and wrapped things up well. He missed it and still slammed the film. I enjoyed this film. It was well worth the 90 minutes and the 8 bucks. And even though it looked good not great in the theater because it was shot on video and does have some technical flaws due to it not having a lot of money behind it, this will probably look very good on television. There is a bit of Reanimator in it but it isn't a rip off as much as both films are based on the same common horror movie themes. This isn't as good as Reanimator on some points but on other points it is even better especially blood and some of the story. I was going to give it a 6 for above average but after reading that other person's bad comment I have to give it a 7. See the movie you'll like it.

Just don't do it!

[Daman-Malone · 1/10 · 19 September 2018]

This movie was just plain bad. Lets start, like any story...the beginning. Someone wants to make another hit zombie movie "Like" night of the living dead, dawn of the dead or some variation thereof.

The story seriously was piss poor and the budget did not even meet what the script would require for it to be considered a god awful movie. The acting was "shoot yaself in the head" bad with the audio and picture being worse that a 1960's cartoon. There was a couple of boob shots and a little gore to keep the shock value but it really just blew.

The way this was marketed was clearly for people who love the Romero stuff and yet even today with Romero's '68 Night people just come close. This here is proof that just an idea, a budget of a couple of hundred bucks maybe a few G's and a couple of friends should NOT attempt to make a movie, maybe do something else like a big crazy party or rent out a bowling alley and have fun.

I have lived my life by this mantra "Just because you can doesn't mean you should". I wish more people would follow suit.

Please save ya time and anger, it took me a full 3 days to watch this one movie and this is because it annoyed me so much but to pass judgement i like to finish the movie to be able to say definitively if it is worth a view or burn the disc.

I want my 90 minutes back

[Scy_Fy_JunKiE · 1/10 · 28 May 2010]

I am a huge fan of zombie movies. However it seems like lately anyone with a camera can make a movie. And if you want to that is fine. But for the love of all things good you should NOT be allowed to hype up a movie you were in just because you were part of it. It does no one any favors.

Thankfully I saw this on TV and didn't waste the cash to rent it. But for the first time in a long time, I enjoyed the commercials more then the movie itself.

Basically the acting was a half a step above adult movies. The sound needed a lot of work. It kept getting some type of buzzing interference at random parts, it may have been when things were edited in, who knows, I wasn't about to rewind and listen again. Overall after the first ten minutes I kept hoping the zombies would just up and eat everyone so it would be over.

If you like movies that attempt to be gory with a cup full of red water being thrown about then this may be for you. Dead Alive gore this was NOT.

This movie kind of reminded me of Day of the Dead 2 Contagion. But not in a good way. Both were forgettable and just did whatever they wanted with the plot because it was easy or convenient, regardless of how hard it was to continue watching.

Top three LEAST watchable zombie films I have ever sat through. 1 out of 10 to offset all the people involved that are giving it high marks.

Pointless

[mrush · 4/10 · 17 January 2009]

I've seen lots of zombie,walking dead,whatever you want to call them, films.Some good ,some bad,most of them bad actually.This one was a bad one.I knew it was gonna be bad when the opening credits were those cheesy looking graphics you can make on a computer.

So a crazy doctor runs a clinic where he does experiments trying to bring the dead back to life.He is working on a serum and is trying different version of it on his victims or patients or whatever you want to call them.The ones who don't turn out right,which is all of them,are kept locked in the basement.So anyway eventually if you keep enough re-animated dead in the basement you'll slip up and things will get out of hand.

Actually even though this movie was plodding and pointless there was lots of blood and gore but the downside is that it wasn't done very well.They sure gave it a go with the blood and guts but I just sort of sat there waiting for this mess to end.

A little bit of walking dead boobies was shown but in addition to being dead they were silicone too,a double yucko.

Skip over this German made crap-fest even though it has a cool looking DVD box.The box drew me in and now I warn you so you won't make the same mistake as I did.

most horror movie fun since Sean of the dead

[Thorbejorn · 8/10 · 28 September 2006]

I got to see a friends screener of this film and I have to admit, as violent as it was we had a really good time. It's not for everyone because it is incredibly violent, I mean seriously violent and there is some nudity and some Strong language but over all this was absolutely a laugh riot and a good time. We had a crowd so we were feeding off of each other but we haven't had as much fun, all of us sitting around and watching a movie on DVD since Sean of the dead.

But again, let me stress, this is way more bloody than maybe any other movie that I have ever seen. And just when I thought that the filmmaker had no where else to go there was another totally unexpected violent and bloody scene. And then more fun. Even the blood was a good time.

Sure it's campy and over the top and colorful. But we had a very good night watching this film.

Defiantly grisly

[TonyDood · 7/10 · 29 September 2008]

"Night Of The Dead: Leben Tod" is another example of a popular phenomenon of late, the modern B-movie. B-movies were once, of course, cheaply made second films in a theatrical double-feature...they were in fact "real" movies but lacking in budget, solid acting or strong scripts. The fun of these films was finding the gems where someone in the project actually had talent, or something else stood out, despite the limitations. Nowadays, anything shot on film is a "real" movie it seems, whether it plays theatrically or not; real low budget "B-Movie" productions are those shot on high-def video or something similar, with effects and editing care of Final Cut Pro, and independent distribution often going no further than a one-time DVD release. The line is thin--anyone can now make and distribute a "movie" (and, unfortunately, has), or even distribute them, and "Buyer Beware" is the constant warning when searching through the drek for something worth watching.

"Night Of The Dead" stands out for being remarkably grisly, something that is not hard to pull off if you can afford some rubbery gut effects and pints of fake blood, and if that's all it was it would be memorable enough; however it's also a strangely effective little film.

The plot mingles themes from "Re-Animator" and any number of zombie films--a mad doctor has a serum that can bring the dead back to life but the use of this drug has disastrous results. It's really all you need to know going in; this isn't a movie strong on plot.

What this one DOES have going for it is some truly horrific gore, in fact the filmmaker revels in it, with gleeful defiance against taste or restraint. Forsberg doesn't hold back in showing knives piercing flesh, hands groping at internal organs, sprays of blood and viscera. There's a nauseating scene involving a zombie frog and a taboo-shattering moment between a mother and daughter that is as sickening as anything I've seen recently, while still somehow managing to stay within the realm of some good taste and avoiding the "torture porn" genre of Eli Roth and company.

Forsberg seems to have a good sense of what he's doing; the pace is brisk, the grisly shocks come at regular intervals and build as they go. The acting is slightly above the average for this kind of no-budget affair (there are next to no exterior shots and few establishing shots; ie, no money for location shooting). The effects are weak, but one has to bear in mind, again, this is not a "real" movie, there's only so much one can do on a limited budget and Forsberg more than compensates with interesting themes, tight pacing and editing and the aforementioned buckets of gloppy goo.

It is NOT "Re-Animator," or "Dead Alive (aka Brain Damage)" or even close to "Evil Dead." The script needed a lot more work, the characters just aren't interesting or sympathetic and the look of the film, all neon hospital lights, is monotone at best. But it works. I laughed at the outrageousness, reached for my vomit bag more than once and jumped a couple times, and that's saying something for a film that cost me $2 to purchase at the LA County Fair. If you like your low budget horror without restraint on the gore as I do, you could do far worse. I look forward to more from this director, especially if he gets a bigger budget next time.

**Also on the DVD is Forsberg's short "It Took Guts," a super-8 student film about a guy who graphically mutilates and eats himself that is, apparently, quite famous underground. I can honestly say it's one of the more disturbing and repulsive things I've seen in awhile and qualifies as "gore porn," existing for no other reason than to be offensive and unpleasant...but I don't hold it against the director, especially if it "worked" and got him noticed!**

Blood, Guts and fun!

[whateverfilms · 8/10 · 26 September 2006]

I had the chance to see this film at the Shriekfest film festival a few days ago and it was a hoot. It reminded me of some great horror films from the 1970s: shockingly gory, incredibly violent and a lot of fun. Half the fun of the film was the audience response. People covered their eyes, gagged loudly, and laughed in all the right spots. This is a dead-on, squirm-in-your-seat blood-fest with enough fun to make it a great film to watch with friends.

It opens with a scientist (well played by Louis Graham) injecting a dissected frog with some sort of life returning chemical. The frog comes to life all right, and attacks. Later the scientist uses the same mixture on some people and the the results are similar. He keeps trying new versions in an attempt to perfect it and some work better than others. His assistant, played by Gabriel Womack, and the assistants pregnant wife get tangled up in the whole mess when things go bad.

The plot line is very straight forward like a 1950s mad scientist movie, but the writer's take on it is very human and new. No one is a mustache twirling villain. Everyone is trying to do what they believe is right. I've seen a lot of movies lately where I don't like anyone. In this film I pretty much like everyone of the mains, and I believe where they are coming from.

Noted performances by David Reynolds (House of 1000 Corpses) and the woman who plays the mother. But in general, all of the performances were pretty good. Also, the little girl was very creepy.

They list the budget at a quarter of a million but in the Q&A after-wards the director said that that included a lot of unpaid and deferred costs. The producer said that she funded the whole thing by selling her house. Hey, why not. It looks really good for a low budget flick.

But the most striking thing about the movie is the blood. I have never seen such relentless violence in a film. A zombie gets tied up at one point and gets his head bashed in with a hammer and a mace and it keeps going and going down to the stump. It was incredible. And there are a dozen moments like that in the film. There is nothing out there like it.

To wrap up, this film is a bash and blast blood party and the Shriefest screening was great fun for all.

Crazy, gory fun from beginning to end!

[raivan354 · 8/10 · 26 September 2006]

Anyone who DOESN'T get a kick out of the gory high-jinx of "Leben Tod" must have made a wrong turn on their way to the Merchant-Ivory film festival. I loved this movie, even when it made me a little queasy. actually, I wasn't sure if I was queasy from the gore (of which there is literally wheel-barrels full) or from laughing so much. The mad doctor is great, his sexy zombie wife is great, his little zombie daughter is really great! And yes, as another writer posted, the pregnant wife of the doctor's son is totally hot.

Anyone who grew up on low-budget horror movies like I did should definitely check out this movie. Eric Forsberg is a mad genius.

What it set out to do ... it does

[Poe-17 · 8/10 · 23 November 2006]

Before writing this review I tried to imagine how to write a spoiler ... couldn't manage it. Nonetheless - avoid this review if you are allergic to spoilers. This movie was made for Zombie Movie fans. Remember "The Asylum presents" - that should tell you a lot about this Zombie entry. It is a very contemporary Zombie entry in that it's not trying to break ground or use cinematic horror as social commentary (ala Romero). It obeys the needs of Zombie aficionado in film and video games. It isn't a homage but it doesn't really "steal" from predecessors as much as it "lifts" from them because once you're in Zombie territory there are expectations. This won both "Chicago Horror Film Festival" and "Shriekfest" and I don't know what either of those mean. But winning is a good thing. Very bloody, dripping and running-red is staple; internal organs are cast members; scooping edible brains with your hand; guts are a given; floors slippery with red grue; characters spend most of their air time covered in streaks of dark and oozing red. We go over the top and over the edge ... if I'm a Zombie, I might chew away the abdominal flesh, shove my entire head into the torso and withdraw chewing on intestines .... smack! I gave this an 8 of 10, docked two points because of originality. I wanted to give it more but it just borrowed too much. Still, what it did, it did very well for its intended audience. I'm not its intended audience. I've seen it, I'm glad I did but I won't be owning it, however, the hardcore "zombie" fans probably will. It has that storytelling essence that lifts it above "rip offs" and "sorry emulation". It has un-explored elements of gore. It also combines the blackest of tongue-in-cheek comedy with a very different "mad scientist" role by Louis Graham. After watching it you want to see a Disney film just to put your life in balance. Horror films are having a tough time right now, this one knocked a home run.

Go for the ride!!!

[DarklyBound · 8/10 · 2 October 2006]

I think Eric is all about having fun! And not being afraid to have GORY fun in the industry! He's like the kid who runs into the kitchen to glee-ishly show mom the squishy worms he just dug up in his muddy palm. He knows he'll get that Ooooooo ... ICK! and aghast look of horror ... followed by a loving giggle. Anyone who misses the mastery in achieving this will miss the skill of Eric Forsberg.

If you're gonna step into it ... STEP INTO IT!!! I think Eric dove in head first. And as shockingly gross as this film was (YEAH!!!) it provided moments of well-placed humor.

The performance by Lola Forsberg was touching. Gee, did I say that about a horror gross-out film? Yep! Hollywood, keep your eye on her.

Watch it the first time to adjust to it ... watch it the second time to just enjoy it.

I have a further note on the Message Boards for this film.

• Liz

This has a really good story

[gabrielschreklich · 8/10 · 28 November 2006]

I enjoy a Zombie movie now and then and I am always looking for a new take. Resident Evil was a good new look on a big scale. And I think that Night of the dead was good too in a less expensive way. I didn't recognize any of the actors but they did a great job, especially the mad scientist. And the Gunter character was a hoot. Really creepy. He's going to be in the hills have eyes 2 so I'll be looking for him there. And of course the little zombies girl was great. She made me sad wanting to go outside to play like a normal kid.

But the story is what really made this work for me. It was really unexpected and had a lot of heart. The mad scientist is driven by love for his wife and daughter who were killed to find a way to bring them back. And he is blinded by this to do terrible things in the name of that love. And then Peter, his nephew, an action hero in the making is driven by love too. Most Zombie films are driven by fear or government experiments or duty to the state. But this is a different take.

And even tough the title on the box is Night of the dead, the title on the actually movie says Night of the dead, Leben Tod. The Leben Tod is the German word for the Zombies. I wish they had put the whole title on the box. It's better.

And don't forget the very excellent music video which is an extra on the DVD.

I am all for this movie.

"Leben Tod" -- A New Cult Classic From the Twisted Mind of Eric Forsberg

[mas4reel · 9/10 · 16 October 2006]

If you like blood and gore, Eric's Forsberg's "Night of the Dead, Leben Tod" is for you. It is awash with blood and slimed with gore. Plus it's a lot of fun. The audience at Hollywood's Shriekfest laughed out loud -- that is when they weren't gagging, squirming in their seats or covering their eyes. Not only that, but for an ultra-low budget horror film, it has an especially well-written story with sympathetic characters, believable acting, good production values and a kick-butt musical score.

Louis Graham is sentimental and mad as the conflicted Dr. Schreklich whose "experiments" are driven by love for his family -- unfortunately with horrific consequences. Deirdre Lyons as the snarling, sexy Schatzi would make a perfect "Fangoria" cover. As the pregnant Anais Sturben, exotically beautiful Joey Jalalian is convincing in both her feminine fragility and in her new-found strength to save her child and husband. Gabriel Womack, who plays Peter Sturben, is an action hero in the making, yet he has the sensitivity to play the soft side of a husband who loves his wife and child so desperately that he will do anything for them, despite pangs of conscience. David Reynolds ("House of 1000 Corpses"), as the doctor's creepy assistant Gunther, not only revels in the blood and gore, but is given an added dimension by his touching relationship with Nurse Krakenhaus played by Silvia McClure. The Autopsy Ghoul, Charles Schneider –- who is also responsible for directing the second unit -- meets his end with a memorably grisly death. And there is nothing scarier than a seven-year old ghoul -- Lola Forsberg as the doctor's daughter, Christi -- that can take down a full-grown man!

Tom Devlin and his team from 1313 FX have pulled out their whole bag of tricks to provide the "gore-rific" make-up effects for the film, including severed heads, bashed brains and gallons of blood. His efforts have already garnered several film festival awards. Art Director, Daniel Lavitt, deserves credit for setting the scene with a hospital full of pickled body parts and dinners bound to turn your stomach.

The cutting-edge editing by Mary Ann Skweres keeps the story moving and helps to sell the effects by not lingering on them long enough to show any flaws. An unflinching commitment to take the film's bloodiest sequences to the limit is achieved by the quick jump-cuts that add a relentless intensity to the pacing and never let the viewer catch a breath. The orchestral score drives the audience on this bloody joy-ride of a film. Composer Bob Bayless, who has worked with top Hollywood composer Jerry Goldsmith, draws on suspense, horror, drama and rock elements to compliment the emotional complexity of the story while adding a few scares of its own.

"Night of the Dead, Leben Tod" might make you gag, squirm, cover your eyes or even laugh, but it never compromises the horror that makes it an instant cult classic!

The film is produced by Cerebral Experiment with Hollywood Dell Digital Studio providing post production services.

Amazing special effects for low budget, great plot twist ending

[elliecarlson · 9/10 · 26 November 2006]

As with his last film, Alien Abduction, Eric Forsberg does amazing work with a small budget. I would really be eager to see what he could do with more money. His actors are all excellent and the script has good plot twists and lots of humor. The special effects are turn-away scary, and his monster/ghoul/zombie things show unique individuality not usually seen in this type of film. I really liked the plot twist at the end, something he also did in Alien Abduction and I didn't see either of them coming. Mr. Forsberg is a most talented screenwriter and director, limited only by budget. Somebody give this guy a huge chunk of money and let him make a first rate film, I know he could do it.