For me it is hard to believe that this movie can scare anybody. When I watched the movie, I was only surprised by the technical aspects of the movie. For a first time effort, the camera work is surprisingly good, and the outside locations convey a dark and threatening mood. This is complemented by the weird musical score which adds further entertainment. But, unfortunately, the script of CSPWDT is extremely meager and weak. More than one hour is dedicated to the theater group exchanging jokes with each other and teasing the dead. Some minor but unconvincing conflicts within the group are added to enliven the story. More interesting points would have been the necrophilic relationship of Alan and Orville or Anya's strange attraction to the dead, but these are spoiled by incompetent acting. The final zombie attack is very derivative of Romero's Night of the Living Dead and by no means a compensation for the rather tedious first 60 minutes.
Sam Raimi has proved with his "Evil Dead" that even beginners can produce a much more intense and skilled horror movie on the available resources. So, CSPWDT deserves an honorary mention as a rookie's effort, but that's it. By no means a classic, and it definitely never comes close to Romero's multilayered Night of the Living Dead, neither in style nor in content.
Sam Raimi has proved with his "Evil Dead" that even beginners can produce a much more intense and skilled horror movie on the available resources. So, CSPWDT deserves an honorary mention as a rookie's effort, but that's it. By no means a classic, and it definitely never comes close to Romero's multilayered Night of the Living Dead, neither in style nor in content.