As a straightforward rip-off of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, this isn't bad at all, a fast-paced, poorly-budgeted little number with plenty of outrageously good gore scenes to keep the blood flowing for horror freaks. This is both the brainchild and the ego-trip of Bill Hinzman, the familiar guy who famously played the cemetery ghoul in NIGHT (the "They're coming to get you, Barbara!" one). Hinzman directs, produces, has half his relations in the cast and stars as Flesheater, a guy who climbs outta his tomb and munches his way through an amateurish cast.
Sounds boring? It isn't, because there is absolutely no exposition to get in the way; new characters are introduced throughout and die approximately two minutes later. Hinzman packs his film with many inventive gore effects that equal those in larger-scale productions; some 'highlights' include hands popping through chests, pitchfork impalings, head explosions, and all manner of sausagey, gored corpses lying around. Not content with gore alone, there's a prolonged shower scene, and somehow all the girls Hinzman attacks manage to lose their tops at some point.
So, exploitation is the name of the game, and that's just about the only thing this film has going for it. Certainly the acting is mainly pathetic from an unknown cast, and Hinzman succeeds in good makeup effects alone for his part. In a nice touch, the guy who shot Ben in the original NIGHT returns for a similar action in the non-surprise ending. Elsewhere we get to see a barn burning down and a 'zombie hunt' totally copied from the original. A simplistic HALLOWEEN-style score works very well in making things tense and eerie, and a gruesome attack on a couple of kids in their home makes for very strong stuff indeed. But for the most part, this is cheesy and laughable, carried out in just the right B-movie style. Very enjoyable viewing indeed for zombie aficionados.
Plot summary
A group of teenagers, taking a nocturnal hayride come across the grave of a man. Little did they know that this deceased man is a zombie. One by one, the actual living are falling victim and becoming zombies. Eventually there are zombies everywhere, and someone needs to stop them, but who?
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
720p.BLU 1080p.BLUMovie Reviews
Enjoyable Night of the Living Dead rip-off for zombie aficionados
IF THEY ARE IN A COSTUME, THEY CAN COME IN
This is a typical zombie horror 80's cheese fest. Eight young victims go for a hayride as we hear them say "beer" and "dude" a lot. They fest on Iron City beer as a farmer uncovers a grave by pulling stumps with his tractor. Note the piles of leaves under the tree stump that had no roots. Anyway one zombie leads to another as topless teens are attacked.
The acting and dialogue were horrible, if not funny. The special effects were cheesy fun as hands penetrated bodies to pull out the innards. Enjoyable low budget non-thinking film.
F-bomb, sex, nudity (Susan Marie Spier, Charis Kirkpatrick Acuf, Denise Morrone, Adena Dodds)
Good, unique, low budget, zombie flick
I haven't even seen all of this movie, but I really loved what I did catch. (on Bizarre TV on Roku.) Clearly low on funds and with little regard paid to convention I bet this hidden gem had a shot at VHS infamy, though sadly it was not in the cards. It's dedication to practical Gore effects and lack of dedication to typical story beats make it a stand out IMO, and a more interesting specimen in this knock off genre than many infamous Italian entries.