The Video Dead (1987)

Please don't spend money on this.

Beautiful, moving film.

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

This movie got a lot of hate back in the day, and its really not that hard to see why. Its pretty bad. The story, while it sounds good on paper, doesn't translate well on screen. While its typical eighties low budget horror, which means there aren't any Oscar winners anywhere to be found , and the hairstyles and clothes are way out dated, its better than the majority of "acting" that you'd find from back then. The effects are so so, if pretty fake looking, with the exception of one of two decent looking zombies. Check it out if youre in the mood for some eighties midnight movie type fare.

"The Video Dead" its a very original zombie movie, just when I thought the zombie genre couldn't offer much new to me, I watch this and it amazes me. Too bad it didn't come out in theaters in its original release (but I suppose that being a direct to video movie makes more sense), this movie should have gotten more attention, thank god it became a cult movie over the years.I was somewhat hesitant about watching this, I was expecting something along the lines of "Burial Ground" or "Zombie Holocaust" (and I think those movies are charming in their own way), however, it was better than a cheap Italian zombie flick, don't get me wrong, it was cheap and it had some dull and silly moments but it was mostly a fun time.Overall, a really entertaining movie, it has some good elements and its quite interesting. I think I would have find it a little bit scary if I would have seen this as a child, mainly because of the concept and the ending (endings like that always made me feel uncomfortable and I suppose that's the intention).

The acting is abysmal, to the point of unintentional hilarity. The way the male protagonist tried to run away from the female zombie near the end of the film is worthy of its own specialized drinking game. The film was clearly made on a micro-budget, although the settings and the zombie makeup were, for the most part, pretty solid. The rest of the special effects, especially ones involving death scenes, were pretty bad. I believe there were five major zombies depicted in the film, and one of the main male zombies was clearly depicted by a different actor in his first appearance than in the end.Still, if you're a zombie movie junkie, there are some redeeming qualities. While the first act and the denouement are both totally predictable, everything that happened in between was a total surprise to me. That's what happens when you make a movie where zombies kill people by choking them, and they die from taking arrows to the torso. There are even a couple of twists that will make you question your genre savvy. So, don't be afraid to give it a try.Overall rating: 6 out of 10.

Probably more famous for its video box than as a film, this direct-to-video film is not all that bad. In fact it really grew on me. Why? It is not because it is particularly good or has great action or wonderful special effects. It does have a lot of heart and a sense of humor AND despite the low budget and the cast of mostly one and dones - it is fairly well-made. An odd package is sent to a writer who opens the box, finds an old black and white TV, plugs it in...and then the only thing that plays is a zombie flick. Wait! He turns off set and it comes back on. He unplugs it and it comes back on..and he is killed by a group of undead that come from the TV set. These rogue zombies then disappear for three months until a new family moves in - and then they start killing. Why did they wait three months? Your guess is as good as mine! Apparently they were in the woods the whole time. Anyway, the new people in the house are just a teen-aged boy and his hot sister. A guy that originally bought the TV set comes along - and its zombie hunting time. Now, do not get me wrong. This is no great cinema. How about that scene with the poodle going into the woods? Or the whole bit with the kid tied in the air? Or even the ending. these zombies are MIGHTY smart! I liked the performances of several most notably Sam David McClelland as Joshua Daniels(the guy that kept calling Jeff "Kid." He was not great but genuine. The girls were all hot in that 80s hot way. Victoria Bastel as April the cute blond and Roxanna Augenson as Zoe Blair - very pretty though not always convincing. The make up really is pretty good and the TV scenes were really pretty suspenseful. For what it was - I liked it. I do want to check out the new blu ray. I watched my old Embassy tape once again. Who says video is dead?