Orgie macabre

Free your mind people!! Not every movie in the world has to be Schindlers List. There are movies that exist for no good reason. These films offer no morality or underlying message. Get a six-pack, some pizza, pop this bad boy in your VCR and shut-up!! This movie is one of my favorites of all-time and it's really sad to see so many uptight dorks (who wouldn't know a good time if it sat on there face) slag it on this great web-site. So here I am to set the record straight. At the time this movie was made Ed Wood had been reduced to an alcoholic scriptwriter, rumored to be working for bottles of bourbon. So of course the script itself is simply sublime. Obvious ramblings and silly comments. Ed would have made a great writer for a kiddie show. The story itself if basically an excuse to have a dozen or so strippers dance across the screen, because I hate to say it folks but back in 1965 SEX SELLED!! And director A.C. Stephens sold ALOT of sex in his day. And to round out this ode' to burlesque you have a cast that no B-movie fan can resist like Criswell! Rumor has it when Criswell saw the final cut of this film he cried and told A.C. "You made me look like royalty"! Watch Criswells eyes as he read his cue cards. Then there's Fawn Silver, the original Elvira, looking magnificent as she torments her wooden acting captors. And Pat Berrington who achievements in b-movies are legendary (hell she was in a Russ Meyer movie for GOD SAKE!!). And lets not forget the tremendous (and naturally gifted) "dead" strippers who's dances are so mind boggleingly bad you can't help but fall off your couch! AWESOME!! RECOMENDED!!

Ed Wood's classic bad movies like 'Glen Or Glenda', 'Plan Nine From Outer Space' and 'Bride Of The Monster' are great fun, and still entertain after multiple viewings. 'Orgy Of The Dead', which he wrote but didn't direct, isn't in their league. It's simply a tedious bore.

A courting couple crash their car near a cemetery where the Devil (Wood regular Criswell) and his Goth girl side-kick are holding a topless dancing competition. The dancers are all dead. The guy and gal are caught by The Mummy and The Wolfman and are tied up and forced to watch the endless procession of talentless titty-dancers. They aren't too happy about this, and after 90 minutes of this crap you'll know EXACTLY how they feel!

It goes without saying that this is a strong contender for the worst movie ever made. Watch it and be amazed. And very, very bored!

There's no discernible plot! There are some serious continuity problems! There are naked women dancing awkwardly to mistimed music! The Great Criswell is obviously reading his lines off of cue cards placed on his knees! You can see the Werewolf's hairless chest below his Halloween mask when he lets loose with something intended to be a howl! For crying out loud, it's a movie called "Orgy of the Dead" written by Ed Wood!! You were expecting "Casablanca"? If you view this movie with the proper attitude, a few sporting and mean-spirited friends, and the appropriate libation, I guarantee you that it will be a more gratifying 92 minutes than you would have at most movies playing on the big screen this year!

This movie has a werewolf, a mummy, walking dead, ghouls, a zombie, the princess of darkness, and an emperor of the dead. Most of the movie takes place in a cemetery. Even with all this, you'll never believe it, but this is not a horror movie. What little there is of acting, is so poor it's a joke. The filming is terrible. Forget about a plot and trying to find out where the movie is heading. It isn't heading anywhere. Don't expect to watch an actual horror movie. The main point of this movie is to show about 10, attractive, topless women doing individual exotic dances. The dancers are attractive, and for 1965 exotic dancing I would have to say they are pretty good. The main problem is, that's it. That's all there is to it. There is no more. Watch this only if you want a poor excuse to watch some strippers dancing.

Add this film to the "Looks Better On DVD Than It Has Any Right To" list. The recent DVD release reveals far better original material than the old VHS showed. We get to see every droplet in the swirling fog, every quiver of the dancers' flesh. We get to see just how dead Criswell's pan is. Every flaw is brilliantly illuminated. How can this old low-budget stuff end up looking better than many a modern film?

Sure, this movie is slow, tedious, repetitious and ultimately pointless. But it grows on you. Like fungus. It has an odd sincerity, in its utter badness. Somehow, nobody seems to really understand that they are making a bad movie -- the secret of the charm of the Ed Wood universe.

I have not only the new DVD, but also the full (including dialogue) soundtrack CD which I have listened to many times. I admit to a strange, childish pleasure to be typing away at work while listening to dialogue like, "A pussy cat was born to be whupped!"

Would-be indie filmmakers should take inspiration from this film, as it is proof that no matter how bad the dreck put to film may be, it can see distribution and perhaps even a profit. And, filmmaking lets you hang out with naked babes.

I'm working on the sequel now. Watch for it.