The Alien Dead

I always heard that this was the absolute worst zombie movie of all time, but I'd much rather watch this than Zombie Nightmare, Revenge of the Dead, or Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things... definitely. You could do a lot worse than watching this movie, which actually has some pretty fun moments. I mean, people that this film was made for will probably find it appealing no matter what anyone says about it; anyone that is looking for a serious horror movie in here probably doesn't realize that the title of the movie is "ALIEN DEAD", which makes ME laugh quite a bit. Eh.

This film, which was made for $12,000 (and they used every penny of it), is about a meteor crashing and turning rednecks into zombies. The film suffers from a really grainy look and features horrible sound (which may have been cleaned up for the recent DVD release.. whoopty doo). The editing is quite awful; there are a few times when they cut to another scene while someone is talking (kind of like near the end of Invasion of the Blood Farmers when the cop is talking and picks up the phone and says "F..." and then it cuts to a scene of a guy driving -- what?!).

The story is terrible, the "effects" are terrible. A person will get killed, but the camera cuts away really quickly and then shows the aftermath of blood being in a big hole in a woman's chest. Or another woman will get stabbed with a pitchfork, but you won't see it actually enter the woman -- you'll just see the pitchfork sticking out of her back. It's quite laughably bad, but at least they tried to give some gore, with some of the zombies chomping on entrails. The musical score is cheesy but good; however, they actually use real country songs to add "ambience" to the redneck surroundings, which is hilariously awful.

When it was over, I can safely say I wasn't bored and I distinctly remember enjoying myself throughout the whole thing. However, it's kind of hard to write a really detailed review for this, as this flick is pretty much unmemorable when it's all said and done.

The Alien Dead is hard to explain. It was released during the so-called "horror explosion" of the 80's (back when Attack of the Killer Refridgerator was big) and it is another experiment into horror. What happens is a rock falls from space and crashes into a boat full of stoners (they're drinking their liquor of choice and smoking some skunk) and causes them to become flesh-hungry zombies. They then turn of the townsfolk and begin their rampage and feeding. Wew! Sounds cheesy and actually is. It's good watching but we found ourselves struggling towards the end and looking forward to the conclusion. This film runs 89 minutes and has an all-star cast of nobodies. If you're looking for a new (or not-so-new) twist on the zombie flick, The Alien Dead is an ideal starting point. Otherwise, stay away

I bought this movie on Ebay for $5 and watch it about once every 6 months or so. If I would have paid more than $5 for it, I would have felt cheated. This is a movie that you would watch just for the cheesy laughs you get out of it. There is gratuitous nudity and Buster Crabbe which was pretty much the reason why I bought this movie. This is a movie that cant be taken serious. Rent it or buy it purely for the lame "effects" and the terrible acting. It would not surprise me to find out that this film was made on a budget in par with some 10 year old kids milk money.

Following in the footsteps of H.G. Lewis....following WAY BEHIND, comes Fred Olen Way with Alien Dead. This movie highlights the dangers of houseboating in Florida and shows people once and for all that people hit by metorites really do turn into zombies. Filmed locally here in Oviedo Florida and Rock Springs State Park now called Kelly State Park, Alien Dead illustrates the passive nature of Floridians in how they never run when being attacked by the undead... They just make the horrible face, scream and gently fall on the ground while the zombies chew them up for dinner.

One might think that the horrible plot, video, sound, acting, lighting, etc. is strange enough, but what's even stranger is that half the movie shows people actually swimming in Florida water...something we locals haven't done for decades.

This movie is destined to make the Something Awful Video lineup one day. Let us hope it happens before this wonderfully awful movie fades away into the sunset.

Interestingly enough, the movie does have a big name, Buster Crabbe. Yes, the same Buster Crabbe from the Buck Roger's fame, playing the local sheriff who is followed around by his dorky deputy sidekick.

And if the ending leaves you saying anything other than, "What the hell just happened?" then either you fell asleep, or worse...you actually did understand it.

Ron Jaffe Orlando, Florida

Sure, this movie may not have the biggest budget, the greatest acting or the best direction, but it has a charm to it as all low budget flicks do. I'm a huge fan of z-grade films and this movie entertains me perfectly! But one thing I will say is why did Buster Crabbe choose to do this for his last role? I wouldn't have cared about it, but if it was his next to last, it may have been better. But putting that aside, if you're a bad movie fan or you're a Fred Olen Ray fan, even if you love cheesy z-grade movies that just beg for the guys in MST 3000 to riff it, then give it a whirl!