The Video Dead

(Robert Scott ; 1987)

(Embassy Home Entertainment)

On a quiet, tree lined street evil has arrived in a most ordinary way: an old television set. It receives a single channel, one that not only shows the same horror film over and over – a horror film where zombies rise from the grave and kill – but also frees the gnarled, evil monsters.

A campy, tongue-in-cheek take on the zombie subgenre most likely spurred by the success of Return of the Living Dead, but not nearly as good. The effects are horrible (check out the David Bowie zombie with the blue modeling clay makeup job) and there’s no T&A despite ample opportunity. Still, the film does have a small amount of entertainment value to be found insofar as some of the kills / gory bits are surprisingly decent and admittedly, there’s something oddly appealing about a zombie in a wedding dress lurching around with a chainsaw. A bad movie, but worth a viewing. I’d certainly rather subject myself to this over tripe like Dawn of the Dead 2004.

Overall Score: 5

(Rating scale is out of 10, with 1 being the worst and 10 the best)