I've been crazy about this film for a long time. I've always been a horror buff, but I require some originality, creativity and quirkiness to keep me interested. This film has all of those things, along with the things everybody else has already mentioned (great 80's soundtrack -- especially the Cramps' "Surfin' Dead!" -- great 80's clothes, and referential in-jokes up the wazoo). If you like creepy movies with a lot of wit, intelligence, and gore thrown in...and if you like the kind of movie that poses a lot of questions, and leaves it up to you to fill in the broader picture...then don't hesitate to see this.
Kudos, as well, to Dan O'Bannon, whose work has always been of high quality and who has never gotten the recognition he deserves (likewise Fred Dekker, another superior director who lost out because he did something a little different). When I first saw this movie, I was amazed at the chances O'Bannon takes...scenes that actually build suspense (ala Alien), cryptic comments made by some of the characters which give you a sense that these are real people (they weren't just created "for the movie"), a relentlessly downbeat yet funny theme, and, most importantly:
The zombies are smart. They're fast. They talk. Freddy taunting Tina in the attic of the mortuary has to be one of the creepiest scenes in any horror film.
Do I sound like a fanatic? I am. I can't see this movie enough (and if you get a chance to see the 2 1/2 hour "rough cut," DO IT, there's loads of extra dialogue, extended scenes, and hints of subplots etc.) I think it's a testament to everybody involved with this film that it has retained such a loyal fan base, but has never turned into a commercialized & mass marketed "cult phenomenon."
Kudos, as well, to Dan O'Bannon, whose work has always been of high quality and who has never gotten the recognition he deserves (likewise Fred Dekker, another superior director who lost out because he did something a little different). When I first saw this movie, I was amazed at the chances O'Bannon takes...scenes that actually build suspense (ala Alien), cryptic comments made by some of the characters which give you a sense that these are real people (they weren't just created "for the movie"), a relentlessly downbeat yet funny theme, and, most importantly:
The zombies are smart. They're fast. They talk. Freddy taunting Tina in the attic of the mortuary has to be one of the creepiest scenes in any horror film.
Do I sound like a fanatic? I am. I can't see this movie enough (and if you get a chance to see the 2 1/2 hour "rough cut," DO IT, there's loads of extra dialogue, extended scenes, and hints of subplots etc.) I think it's a testament to everybody involved with this film that it has retained such a loyal fan base, but has never turned into a commercialized & mass marketed "cult phenomenon."
