Story: Alan (Alan Ormsby) is the leader of a troupe of thespians and he wants his next performance to be a memorable one, so he concocts a plan to tap into the supernatural. He wants to take his actors to a remote, creepy island to stage an occult ritual. After all, if you’re on a haunted island performing a ritual in a graveyard, you’re likely to perform at a different level. The group travels to the island, but soon discovers Alan has even crazier plans than they expected, as he digs up one of the poor buried souls. He christens the corpse Orville and begins to treat him like one of the crew, perhaps hoping he has found a new star. But when the ritual turns out to be real, can even Alan’s skills as a director save them from whatever forces they’ve unleashed?

Entertainment Value: Equal parts unsettling and ridiculous, Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things is an odd one, perhaps even stranger before the zombies show up than after. The narrative is simple enough, but I love that so much time is spent on the colorful characters, before the plot devices kick in and turn things into a zombie festival. I don’t mind the zombies at all, but I just enjoyed the banter between characters and how off the wall some of the interactions are. The movie reminded me of Andy Milligan’s pictures, with a host of unpleasant people in cheap costumes being rude to each, which I mean as a compliment. The bickering and insults and wild dialogue were great fun here, all delivered by a game cast that dials up their performances. Once the zombies roll in, things take on more of a horror tone, but even in the midst of violence and undead chaos, Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things stays strange and over the top. If you like oddball, off the wall horror cinema with a cheap, but endearing vibe, check this one out.

The cast here is a lot of fun to watch, as most of the players are colorful and over the top, but Alan Ormsby takes his turn to another level. His performance is manic and often unhinged, serving as a wacky, memorable anchor to the entire production. Ormsby really dials up his effort and seems to be having a great time, as his his energy is up throughout. I can see if someone would want to call his turn here corny, but it is a blast to watch and feels right at home with the rest of this wackiness. Whether he is arguing with someone, hurling barbed insults, or smooth talking a corpse, Ormsby is immense fun here. You could give a special mention to the zombies as well, as the terrible makeup and barely functional shambling is also a lot of fun to watch. The cast also includes Bruce Solomon, Jane Daly, and Anya Ormsby.

The Disc: VCI Entertainment has released the film in a 50th Anniversary Edition, with two Blu-ray discs and a UHD disc included the package. The new 4k visual presentation looks good and better than previous releases, but is held back by the production limitations. The detail level depends on the lighting, with bright scenes showing very good depth, while darker scenes tend to look less impressive. Even so, this treatment does all it can to spruce up the movie, so I think fans will be pleased here.

On the extras side, we have Dreaming of Death, a remarkable, feature length documentary about the career of director Bob Clark. This is packed with tidbits about not just this movie, which was Clark’s debut in the director’s chair, but his career in general. This is a solid documentary that could stand on its own, so having it included as a supplement here is appreciated. You can also check out a half hour interview with star Alan Ormsby, a new interview with Ken Goch, two music videos from The Deadthings, a tribute to Bob Clark, a Grindhouse Q&A, still photos, radio spots, an audio commentary track with Alan Ormsby and other cast members, and the film’s original theatrical trailer.

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