Children shouldn't play with dead things...

[Berzin]

I noticed this one did not make the top 100. This is one of the flicks that I remember from my youth and everyone that has seen it says its' a terrible movie.

I think its' awesome, and I believe the first zombie flick if I'm not mistaken to take the George Romero flesh-eating ghouls approach after "Night of the Living Dead".

Yes, it was slightly corny-but hey, it was the 1970s.

I purchased a dvd version and lo and behold another version pops up a couple of years later.

This is the cover of the one I purchased. It was released on Sept. 4, 2001 and its' running time is 72 minutes.

http://i33.tinypic.com/20712fo.jpg


This is the second version, released on Sept. 18, 2007 and has a running time of 87 minutes. It is the 35th anniversary special edition and features the uncut version of the film, a photo gallery, and a cast commentary.

http://i34.tinypic.com/30wuuky.jpg

I am considering buying the new version as I would like to see what I missed. Just for the sake of interest if anyone has seen the two versions feel free to let me know what is included in those extra 15 minutes.

Also, it may interest some of you out there that supposedly the original director was killed by a drunk driver last year while in the midst of doing a remake of the original film.

Too bad-this movie has great remake potential if they keep it spooky and chill with the humor, which always ruins films like this. I know sometimes the humor is unintentional because of the bad script/acting, but in this day and age it shouldn't be too difficult to get good actors.

[Roderick Usher]

[QUOTE=Berzin;717121]
Also, it may interest some of you out there that supposedly the original producer was killed by a drunk driver last year while in the midst of doing a remake of the original film.

QUOTE]

Not the producer, but the Director, Bob Clark and his son were killed by a drunk driver. He is the fantastic director of both Black Christmas & A Christmas Story. I'd call Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things a campy bit of fun, but by no means a true classic or even a particularly good film.

Bob Clark was an awesome guy whom I had the pleasure to meet just a few weeks before his demise. He will be missed.

[Berzin]

Thanks Usher. I edited that bit about Bob Clark being the director and not the producer in my original post.

Would you happen to know if the remake is still on or was it scrapped?

[crabapple]

I believe the remake is no longer happening.

This particular movie I have bought in several different versions, on VHS, laserdisc, and this recent DVD. This new 35th anniversary DVD is not a longer version than what I've seen before, and I think that previous running times have been listed incorrectly. (There aren't any additional "gory scenes" or fun stuff like that, it's the same cut that has been widely available. It's always been uncut, to my knowledge, excepting an Anchor Bay UK version that featured a shortened version of the film released to drive-ins--and what was missing was about 10 minutes of dialogue.)

This new DVD version has neat extras like a commentary track featuring Alan Ormsby, Anya Ormsby and Jane Daly; and a Q&A session with crewmembers videotaped at a screening last year. The big downside is that this new DVD features the darkest transfer I've seen of the film, overall. Previous (brighter) transfers of the film have revealed the grain but at least you could see what was going on, and that is not always the case with this new transfer.

[Berzin]

Thanks crabapple. I'll keep the dvd copy I have right now and won't bother with the 35th anniversary edition.

And too bad about the remake not happening. I would really like to see one done, as long as its' well-made of course.

[Noah]

I just blind-bought this the other day. I need to check it out, looks alright.