Deathdream (1974)
Review by the Fiend of Grue
Charles and Christine Brooks get the worst possible news about their son. A General comes
to their door to tell them that their son, Andy, has been killed in Vietnam. Christine refuses to believe that Andy is gone, calling it a lie, and goes into a near catatonic state over the loss of her son. A couple of nights later, their daughter Cathy wakes them in the middle of the night when she hears someone in the house. Charles cautiously grabs his gun and goes down stairs to investigate. Upon closing a door in the living room, Charles is shocked beyond belief when he finds none other than Andy standing there. The whole family rejoices that Andy is alive. They notice that he is very pale and thinner than before. He also doesn’t want them to tell anyone that he is home. At first they think it’s just because he’s been through a lot in ‘Nam, but soon realize that Andy isn’t Andy any more.
Horror movies in the 1970’s really had it right: full of suspense, terror, great storytelling, great acting, a true sense of horror and most of all…ORIGINALITY. Today’s films for the most part can’t have that same tag. Deathdream can be described with every one of those tags and is a fantastic 70’s classic horror film that I can’t believe I’ve never seen until tonight.
Deathdream was produced and directed by none other than Bob Clark. Horror fans know him for his film that basically invented the slasher flick, the ORIGINAL Black Christmas and almost everybody knows his work in the form of A Christmas Story. This movie is also worth noting as being the very first film that splat-master himself, Tom Savini ever did effects on. With those two elements, I was sold.
Deathdream is an interesting twist on the zombie film. It’s quite amazing actually because this movie was made in 1974, a mere 6 years after the original Night of the Living Dead and strays from copying Mr. Romero’s work completely. Where Romero’s zombies can’t talk and they slumber along, Andy can talk and run, wait…..is ANDY the first ever running zombie???? Who said The Return of the Living Dead was the first to have running zombies?
This film also has quite of few memorable scenes that are not soon forgotten. One of which is when Andy first gets home and the family is sitting around the table talking. Charles says to Andy, “They told us you died” and Andy blankly looks at him and says, “I did” causing the whole family to fall silent, not knowing what to say or do until Andy begins to laugh and then they nervously join in…..AWESOME film making right there. Andy is the only zombie in the film and it is interesting to see how he slowly deteriorates as the film progresses both in temperament and in body. Andy eventually gets to where he can no longer control himself and his rage. His mother, in her delusional fantasy world where everything is still ok, is Andy’s only remaining ally when all hell breaks loose. A recent film to pull inspiration from Deathdream would have to be the Fangoria made I, Zombie. I couldn’t help thinking about that film while watching Deathdream and seeing many similarities, but Deathdream is the far superior film, without question. For all of you old school horror fans who may have not seen this movie, you should make it a point to pick it up. It’s a winner!
This movie is also known as: Dead of Night or The Night Andy Came Home.
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