The Curse of the Screaming Dead (1982)

It is a performances centric movie

Highly Overrated But Still Good

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

OK, if you've watched this film in its entirety, you probably really really hate it, or you liked it. I fall into the latter group of viewers, for I not only watched the entire movie, but I love it for being sooo bad. Let's be honest, it's a really corny zombie movie with terrible special effects and even more terrible acting. And it's the only zombie movie I've ever seen in which a zombie weeps tears. This review isn't meant to convince you to love it, but rather it is meant to persuade you to keep an open mind if you're thinking about renting this one and to remind you to take the movie as is - a low budget zombie movie. If you set your standards too high on this one, you loose all the fun out of it.Plot - A group of campers find a mysterious graveyard out in the middle of the woods and inadvertently awaken the dead, who happen to be buried Confederate soldiers. The usual zombie attack ensues and the campers struggle to keep away from the undead menace. One overall problem with this plot is that it is very slow-moving. There are several minutes in the movie when you see nothing but someone walking around the woods without saying a word. Several long such episodes could've been shortened to quick key shots.Movie mechanics - The film is terrible in technique. The acting is almost hilarious and the lighting inconsistency is a bit annoying. But these flaws in the film production make this little flick a gem. I was so horrified at the way the movie was filmed, I couldn't keep my eyes off of it. I was fascinated by it. It was raw. It was like someone picked up a camcorder and decided to make a movie one morning. It is simply fascinating.Special effects - The special effects are very simple and ridiculous to the point of being comedic. In several shots in which zombies were supposed to be getting blown up by fireworks, the filmmakers decided to superimpose actual fireworks footage over the zombies. The effect was not only initially confusing, it was humorous. I will say the gore effects were satisfying. Every zombie movie has to meet a certain level of gore, and there is one scene in this movie in which someone gets eaten by a group of zombies, and the scene is literally 3-5 minutes long of nothing but watching the zombies eat the body and hearing the munching and crunching of the zombies. Again, the effect of this scene ended up being humorous. The makeup is equivalent to what you can find when you go to your friend's Halloween party. Nothing but white make up for the zombies.Why should I watch this movie? - This movie is low, and I mean LOW, budget. It resembles a family home video that was recorded back in the late 70's. It is simply a fascinating piece of work, and leaves you asking yourself why the crap anyone would have made a movie like it. But it was done all in good effort, and even included a gratuitous scene of a zombie feast.What might keep me away from renting this one? - The gore level is not hardcore for zombie fans. While it satisfies the minimum requirement, there simply wasn't enough of it scattered throughout the movie to make the other parts of the movie somewhat interesting. Instead, there are really only 1-2 scenes of real gore. Anyone who needs a lot of gore throughout a movie, this one's not for you. Also, there is zero skinappeal. You only get a few shots in the beginning of the chicks in skimpy swimwear, but that's all folks. The movie is also ridiculously long. It could've been condensed a bit.The proper way to watch this movie - When you're all alone, sit down with a six-pack (or whiskey, if you prefer) and pop some popcorn and watch this little gem under slight to moderate intoxication. This movie will not only be amusing, you might really really like it. I naturally love low budget crappy movies, so I am very glad I own a copy of this one. It has the proud honor of being perhaps one of the worst movies I had ever seen. And this makes it all the more lovable!

A group of yucky looking people in a van are going on a camping trip. The place they pick is a graveyard for dead confederates. Soon, they are attacked by living dead soldiers. Irritating and incompetent in the first half, gory irritating and incompetent in the second. You have to wait a while to see the good stuff, but it's there. However, this film is a pain to get through, even if you are in the mood for some good B movie horror while drinking some beers. The muddy looking film has some of the stiffest, most lifeless (not the zombies) actors, and the production is awful. Flaws run all over the place, with scenes alternating between day and night through the whole picture. In one scene it happens when two characters are having a small conversation. The ending is bad and the dialog is just meaningless babble. Sometimes with low-budget horror all those flaws can work, but here it doesn't. Hardcore zombie fans may wanna see it just to see how bad it really is. Troma re-released it. The version I saw was under the title Curse Of The Canninbal Confederates. Features gut-munching and gore, but it has been done better elsewhere. One Star.

saw this movie when i was about ten years old. it was terrible. a blind girl shooting cannibals? i don't think so. this movie is worth watching just for the comedy factor. it contains all the awful stereotypes unique to bad horror.its hard not to appreciate the visual effects. such as the same 'exploding' paper mache cannibal head on a broom handle every time a cannibal confederate zombie is shot. if you're having a 'bad' movie night - this movie is a must have.the whole premise of the movie is not overly stupid compared with the subject matter of some other horror movies. it is the execution that is appalling. the budget must have been the change from the purchase of a hot dog.i saw this movie again June 2006 - as i thought my previous comments may have been a little harsh. - They were not. This movie really is that bad.

an edge-of-the-seat horror thriller made in 1982 with a highly original and unique twist on the living dead sub genre. OK – if you find your enjoyment in expensive special effects, but don't care about a good story or any tension whatsoever you are better off with any of the new 110-million-dollar-blockbusters that Hollywood keeps vomiting out. However, if you are looking for good stories, real tension and inventiveness in art making, here is a fine example. The budget for this film cannot have exceeded the three figure mark, but I have been on the edge of my seat watching this thing, which is something that the Big Conglomerates never manage anymore, with their products that are never the vision of an ARTIST but more a consensus between the money hungry executives. The picture quality may not be perfect, lighting improvisational and sound editing inventive when you know that the sources vary a lot. But who cares – this director has made something with his non existent budget that Hollywood can only dream of, and one can only wonder what kind of brilliance this guy would have delivered if he would have had even 10.000 dollars to work with!!