Six friends in a theatrical troupe dig up a corpse on an abandoned island to use in a mock Satanic rite. It backfires with deadly consequences.

Director:

Bob Clark (as Benjamin Clark)

Writer:

Bob Clark (as Benjamin Clark)

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alan Ormsby ... Alan
Valerie Mamches Valerie Mamches ... Val
Jeff Gillen Jeff Gillen ... Jeff (as Jeffrey Gillen)
Anya Ormsby ... Anya
Paul Cronin Paul Cronin ... Paul
Jane Daly ... Terry
Roy Engleman Roy Engleman ... Roy
Robert Philip Robert Philip ... Emerson
Bruce Solomon ... Winns
Alecs Baird Alecs Baird ... Caretaker
Seth Sklarey ... Ourille
Bob Sherman Bob Sherman ... Ghoul (as Robert Sherman)
Curtis Bryant Curtis Bryant ... Ghoul
William R. 'Bob' Smedley William R. 'Bob' Smedley ... Tallest Dead Thing (as Robert Smedley)
Debbie Cummins Debbie Cummins ... Ghoul
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Storyline

An acting troupe led by Alan Ormsby go to a graveyard on a remote island to perform a necromantic ritual. The ritual works too well and soon the dead are walking about and chowing down on human flesh. The dwindling group of survivors struggle to escape. Written by Humberto Amador

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Taglines:

Experience the unexpected terror of rising rotting flesh... See more »

Genres:

Comedy | Horror

Certificate:

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Parents Guide:

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Stars Alan Ormsby and Anya Ormsby were married at the time of the filming. See more »

Goofs

When it's asked as too how long Emerson was buried in the coffin, it is said about a hour. There is only enough air in a buried coffin to last a few minutes. He should have suffocated from lack of air. See more »

Quotes

Terry: Gee, Mr. Wizard, how do you get the litmus paper to turn blue?
Alan: The same way I get the egg into the Coke bottle, bitch.
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Crazy Credits

Director Bob Clark is credited as "Benjamin Clark" in the opening credits. See more »

Alternate Versions

Although uncut by the BBFC the 2005 UK Anchor Bay DVD release was missing around 7 minutes of dialogue scenes for reasons unknown. The earlier Exploited video release was complete. See more »

User Reviews

Is that what youngsters get up to at the local graveyard?
31 May 2003 | by Krug StilloSee all my reviews

"Film strives for yucks, frequently succeeds. A late night fave, sporting some excellent dead rising from their graves scenes as well as a selection of groovy fashions." Cult Pics & Trash Flicks

"Campy, gory, sick and funny in about equal doses," Nigel Burrell. Is It Uncut.

There are many bad reviews written about this film that include its bad points, but here I'll focus on some of its merits…

Tongue in cheek, little slapstick, creepy cemetery sequences by filmmakers with potential to prolong their careers, Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things is a bad film, but a good bad film. Obviously ripping-off Night of the Living Dead ("That's not very original, Anya."), but perhaps inspiring The Evil Dead that would also feature a group of foolish kids awaking evil forces with the aid of an old book. Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things was directed by Bob Clark when he worked with cult icon, Ormsby. Together they also collaborated on the moody, ‘Monkey's Paw' inspired Dead of Night (Deathdream). After co-directing Deranged with his co-star of Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things, Jeff Gillen, Ormsby went on to screenplay the alluring Cat People ('82) and silly Popcorn ('91). Before Clark moved on to comedies like A Christmas Story and Porkies, he directed the excellent Black Christmas ('74) and the interesting Murder by Decree ('79).

The obnoxious director, Alan (played by Ormsby himself), threatens his group of actors with unemployment unless they accompany him to a deserted island to perform some satanic rituals. After two thirds of the film, by now the cast have exhumed a corpse and attempted talking each other to death, incidents reach a peak as one of the women has a sudden break down (cue some overacting). The actors decide they've had enough and demand to leave the island immediately. It's too late to escape though, at this point you find yourself wondering if the film even feature the zombies promised in the title. The flesh hungry living dead close in on them and we're treated to the old boarding up the windows and doors routine and defending themselves from the growing horde of creatures outside.

Those merits I spoke of earlier? In my opinion, a true fan of old horror cannot truly hate this film. This predates Carpenter, Hooper, Craven and most other popular genre directors of today. It maybe difficult, but if you try overcoming the evident low budget, squinting to see what's happening past the abysmal lighting and photography and the laughable dialogue, then you'd probably enjoy the film a lot more. Ormsby himself has said that he's barely able watch Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things anymore as he hates himself acting in it, but admits that it does have some appealing attraction, hence the cult following.


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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 June 1972 (USA) See more »

Also Known As:

As Crianças Não Devem Brincar Com Coisas Mortas See more »

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Box Office

Budget:

$70,000 (estimated)
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Company Credits

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Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
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