The Curse of the Screaming Dead

In "The Curse of the Screaming Dead" three irritating friends and their equally annoying girlfriends venture into the woods on a hunting expedition. They eventually find the ruins of a church and an abandoned cemetery filled with the graves of tortured Confederate soldiers. After the most annoying member of hunting party steals the diary of the Confederate commander, the Confederates rise from the grave and take their revenge.

I hate to kick a little film when its down, but the audience would have definitely been better served if real zombies had eaten the film makers before they completed this little monstrosity. Like "The Blair Witch Project," this movie was filmed in the woods of Maryland. However, any similarity ends there. Blair Witch exhibited wit and imagination, both of which are absent from this movie. That isn't to say that the story itself wasn't workable. It was. We've all seen many variations on this tale. (Think "Night of the Living Dead" with a little "2000 Maniacs" thrown in for good measure.) It doesn't take much technical prowess to make a story this simple work, but the film makers fall short. Way short. The ineptness of this film is almost beyond description, but let me try....

The acting is terrible, or, as a previous reviewer properly noted, nonexistent. I say this knowing that even Laurence Olivier would have problems delivering some of these lines. Overall, the zombie fare better than the living. All the zombies have to do is moan painfully -- like the audience. Thematically, the film is a mess too. The dead rise because one of the living has "stolen their pain." As one goofy character helpfully explains, the dead know their physical possessions rightfully belong to the living but they jealously hold onto their pain. Hmmm. Okay. Then why do they rise when the diary is stolen? Wouldn't that count as a physical possession rightfully belonging to the living? And why do the dead want to jealously hold onto their pain? You'd think they seek peace in death. Oh well. I guess I'm asking too much from a film where characters step out of a frame with a dead, leafless winter forest behind them into a frame with a lush, green summer forest behind them.

As one scans the reviews on the internet movie database, one frequently sees the words "Worst Film Ever Made." That title has been unjustly applied to many films. However, I believe this film rivals the famous "Manos: The Hands of Fate" as the worst film ever made. If the film makers were clever, they would have submitted the film to Mystery Science Theater 3000. Had MST3K devoted an episode to this movie, it would now be a true cult classic and they would be making more money.

Then again, maybe the film makers thought they made a good film.

Nah. No one's that crazy - except maybe the characters in this film.

Can't wait to see "Night of Horror."

As a big fan of B-movies, I've felt I've always that I have a cast-iron constitution when it comes to watching cinematic crap. That is until the day a friend happened to find a copy of Curse of the Screaming Dead in the bargain bin (big surprise) at our local video store. Wow! This truly has to be one of the most technically incompetent movies ever released to video. Terrible lighting, bizarre sound mixing, non-existent acting, half-assed editing, plus a plethora of other ineptitudes add up to make this movie as laughable as it is forgettable. A dismal, black-hole of a film.

saw this movie when i was about ten years old. it was terrible. a blind girl shooting cannibals? i don't think so. this movie is worth watching just for the comedy factor. it contains all the awful stereotypes unique to bad horror.

its hard not to appreciate the visual effects. such as the same 'exploding' paper mache cannibal head on a broom handle every time a cannibal confederate zombie is shot. if you're having a 'bad' movie night - this movie is a must have.

the whole premise of the movie is not overly stupid compared with the subject matter of some other horror movies. it is the execution that is appalling. the budget must have been the change from the purchase of a hot dog.

i saw this movie again June 2006 - as i thought my previous comments may have been a little harsh. - They were not. This movie really is that bad.

THE CURSE OF THE SCREAMING DEAD has a group of campers / deer hunters being led into the deep woods by a Cat Stevens clone and his Greg Allman lookalike, friend. They happen upon an old cemetery, where untold horror abounds. Well, not really.

Not-at-all unexpectedly, ghouls arise from their graves, resulting in what can best be described as Michael Jackson's Thriller video, without the dancing. Actually, those zombies were far more frightening than this pathetic lot!

Sparing every expense, these "undead" are pretty non-threatening. With some in makeup, while others wear Halloween masks from the dollar store, all are sporting the latest in garage sale fashions.

This movie's highest crime is its boredom factor. Though it is fun to see "Cat Stevens" and "Greg Allman" waving guns around, that's just not enough.

Awfully, horridly, insanely bad...

I absoulety loved this film. THIS FILM ROCKS. I bought and loved it. It was worth my money. The acting was great and the confederate soliders were hot. I loved the effects. I love civil war horror movies. If you like this movie i also recommend The Supernaturals. Another great civil war horror zombie flick. I love the cannibalistic scenes. I would have love them to have eaten me. Wink wink. The south will and shall rise again. The costumes are realistic looking. The best film ever done by Troma Videos. I would love to hear from other fans of this movie.