The Video Dead
I went into The Video Dead completely blind, only seeing the cover. Little did I know this is a comedy horror (but I’m not sure if they intentionally made it comedic or if it was unintentional). At first I didn’t like it, but the further I watched, the more I enjoyed it.
Photo Credit: Interstate 5 Productions
Released: Oct 21, 1987
Runtime: 90 mins
Director: Robert Scott
Writer: Robert Scott
Actors: Michael St. Michaels, Thaddeus Golas, Douglass Bell
PLOT
A brother and sister move into a house where the previous owner was murdered.. The brother finds a TV that is the gateway by which killer zombies enter the world.
MY THOUGHTS
There’s about sixteen kills to include zombies, and Chocolate the dog. We don’t see Chocolate’s death, but we see his poor little dead body afterwards. A mix of kills. Some are quick with little blood and others we get lots of blood. For an 80’s movie, I think the zombies look really good, surprisingly. Good decayed looking zombies.
The funniest kill goes to Mrs. Ellison. Somehow, we don’t see how, but The Bride (one of the zombies-she’s dressed as a bride) puts Mrs. Ellison into the washing machine. We see the washing machine on and all we see is Mrs. Ellison’s legs sticking out of the machine as it’s agitating. Just a funny scene. Most unexpected would be the chainsaw death. I didn’t think that character would die. (Yes, I’m leaving it vague in case you haven’t seen it.)
I have to comment on the movie that plays on the TV as the zombies emerge from it. The movie is called 'Zombie Blood Nightmare'. For me, I wish that movie would be made. From what’s shown, it looks interesting. I want more, and sadly, will be disappointed since it won’t be made.
The acting is not the greatest. But, I’m not sure if it’s just the acting or the combination of really bad dialogue. Very cringy dialogue, like when April explains how Chocolate likes to chase down skunks and have sex with them. It’s just so bad.
We start the movie with a writer being delivered a TV he didn’t order. The TV starts acting weird and the writer is killed. Not long after a brother and sister move into the house and the brother finds the TV. At first everything seems good for him. An attractive woman that starts off in the movie, comes out of the TV and kisses him. But, of course, all is not as it seems and zombies are killing off the neighbors.
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For the positives, I love the videotape/VHS tape feel of this movie. It brings back so many good memories as a kid watching several horror movies at a time during the summer. I would have to watch a batch at a time since we had to rent the VCR. And, usually, I would have to watch a lot of bad horror movies just to find a good one.
I like that the zombies each have at least a little bit of character to them. One is a woman wearing a wedding dress. One looks like one of those cool kids with a letterman jacket. They all have something about them that makes them stand out.
I’ve already mentioned I like the look of the zombies. They each are unique but still look gnarly and kind of scary looking. I only wish there were more of them. Imagine having a lot of these zombies after you. So terrifying!
As far as the negatives go, I’ve mentioned my main issues being the acting and the dialogue. But then again, those negatives fit with the overall feel to the movie. So, does that mean they are positives? I don’t know. But somehow it works. It’s a low budget movie that is still fun. How I missed this movie until now is beyond me. But I’m glad I’ve finally watched it.
And now for your Forever Final Girl Exclusive…Did you know?:
A sequel was written for the film, but never materialized. It was to do with a victim instead being pulled into the television set, rather than the zombies coming out, and having to find a way out before the film ended. Director Robert Scott wanted a lot more zombie action, and far more zombies than in his original film but was offered the same budget as the first to make the sequel - he declined and a sequel has yet to come to fruition.
While filming the infamous coming out of the television scene, actor Jack Stellman nearly fainted from breathing in the CO2 used to create the fog effect and had to be taken outside for air.
The film was originally meant to have about 14 zombies spew from the cursed television set, all of which were developed characters that had written backgrounds that only the actors portraying them would know. Due to budget constraints and the demand of having grotesque zombies with full latex appliance pieces - the number of zombies was dwindled down to the main five but a sixth was added later in the production when more money was given.
Young actor Rocky Duvall was only 16 while making this film and was still in high school. He was actually told by his drama teacher that he wasn't right for the role before bringing him and several of his classmates to the casting call. His teacher, needless to say, was shocked when he landed the part.
Rocky Duvall was only 16 when he filmed the kissing scene with the nude woman.
All zombies had backstories written for their characters, though their backstories weren't referenced in the final movie. Some of the known backstories for the zombies were: The Bride was a woman who was murdered at the threshold on her wedding day. Jimmy D. was a 1950's athlete who drowned, which is why he is blue. It is obvious he was once handsome and girls loved him, as he repeatedly wants affection from Zoe and April. Jack was a man who died in a fiery car crash, which is why he is burnt and has an arm missing. And Ironhead was a serial killer who strangled people.
During filming, actor Jack Stellman, who portrayed the undead "Jack," fell ill and the role was then filled by actor Michael St. Michaels who finished the film as the zombie. You can see a noticeable difference in Jack's appearance from the beginning of the film, compared to the end.
Hershey's syrup was used for blood in the black and white throat slitting scene seen on the TV screen.
Actor Jack Stellman would get so into his zombie role that he wouldn't talk to his other cast members; he would instead glare at them from across the room or grunt when they spoke to him. All of the zombies in the film had to audition for their roles by grunting/growling and performing their best zombie walk which were then incorporated into the finished film. Mr. Stellman came into his audition completely silent and in character, staring at the director with his "glare" and only delivering inaudible noises when asked questions. He was cast on the spot.
Out of all the zombies in the film, only two of them are seen killing someone on screen. Ironhead, who strangles Maria the maid to death, and The Bride (who kills the most in the film) killing Abe and Beverly Turchow, Joshua Daniels and Jeff Blair.
Check out my other reviews here: Forever Final Girl
Let’s get into the rankings:
Kills/Blood/Gore: 3.5/5
Sex/Nudity: .5/5 There’s a split second when the woman from the movie leans in for a kiss where you can see her nipples. But that’s it.
Scare factor: 1.5/5
Enjoyment factor: 4.5/5
My Rank: 2.5/5
IMDB: 5/10
Rotten Tomatoes: critics: -/10 audience: 3.2/10
Letterboxd: 2.7/5