The Dead Hate the Living! (2000)
Review by Nightscares Reborn
When a renegade band of young film-makers breaks into an abandoned hospital to make their horror epic, they stumble upon a real dead body (which happens to be that of Dr. Eibon, an evil mad scientist) and decide to use it in their movie. They accidentally bring it back to life, open a portal to a dead world that releases dozens of other zombies, then struggle for their lives in a desperate attempt to flee from the creatures who apparently have them trapped in the hospital.
Dave leads his fellow band of filmakers into an apparently abandoned hospital to shoot a horror film which he hopes can become an epic horror film that will be able to please horror fans everywhere. Little does he know, there is evil afoot in these dark corridors. You see, there was once a brilliant young scientist that walked these hollow halls in hopes of uncovering the secrets of the dead to find a way to let the dead walk among the living, following the death of his wife who has died from cancer. Only he was unaware that the dead hate the living. Apparently he never saw a Romero film.
Back to Dave and his filmmaker associates. They stumble upon a machine that has a creepy look of a giant coffin. They end up opening it up and out falls the body of Dr. Eibon. There is some tension within the crew when Dave decides he wants to use the body in his film. Eventually they all agree to go ahead and continue filming. Putting the body back in the coffin, they charge it up and soon bad things begin to come about. The dead come forth showing their distaste for the living and soon they begin hunting each of the crew down, until only a few remain to fight to stay alive.
The Dead Hate the Living is straight up one of the best Full Moon Entertainment movies out there for sure. While it may not hold the same cult following as previous Full Moon films like The Puppet Master, Trancers or Subspecies series, it has definitely impressed a whole hell lotta people, myself included. Dave Parker did one hell of a job directing. The casting was excellent, even though it is a fairly unknown cast. The story was one definitely capable of keeping the viewers interested from beginning to the very end with its witty charm and it’s somewhat stylish gruesome effects. There are some mentions of Bruce Campbell (“What would Bruce Campbell do?”) and some other well known B-movie actors mentioned during the film.
The characters of Dave and Paul (Eric Clawson & Brett Beardslee) are truly one of the best buddy duo’s from a horror film. They make one helluva pairing with their witty comments but also their dedication to wanting to make a great horror film with an old school style. Topaz (Jaime Donahue) has a comical scene, while purchasing condoms and other essentials…for movie props…with writer/director Dave Parker that will give you the laughs. Another character that will give you a case of the laughs is Chas (David Douglas), who is a total stoner but apparently the only DP (director of photography) that Dave can afford.
But there are also the dead themselves - characters such as Dr. Eibon (Matt Stephens), Maggot (Doc) and Gaunt (the late Matthew McGrory of House of 1,000 Corpses & The Devil’s Rejects) that will have you screaming in terror…sorta. When I first saw the character of Dr. Eibon, I thought, “That guy looks so much like Rob Zombie.” And apparently I’m not the only one who thought it was. Some of my online friends, as well as some of the sites I’ve visited thought so as well.
The opening scene is one that I really enjoyed with it’s creepy feel and the opening song fits well. You can’t help but admire Dave Parker on his writing and directing of such an enjoyble comedy/horror film surrounding the dead which in a way is his paying homage to the king of zombie filmakers, Mr. George A. Romero, himself.
While this movie may seem like your typical cheesy horror film it does have it memorable moments that make you happy to be able to be viewing it. All’s I can to say about this movie is if you are planning on making a trip to your local video store and don’t want to waste your money on a movie you think you’ll like, but instead, will bore you almost to death, then I suggest The Dead Hate the Living to the highest point. Trust me. You watch this movie, you won’t know the meaning of boredom and you’re guaranteed to be left wanting more…
Popularity: 4% [?]
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