The Dead Next Door

Based on many of the other reviews that have been posted, you may think that this movie sucks. In a way, you're right. If you're looking for a good scary movie to add to your collection, this movie is not for you. However, if you're in the market for an unintentionally hilarious flick disguised as a zombie-bomb, then look no further. This movie had my friends and I laughing every few seconds throughout. The dialog in this movie is rib-ticklingly awful, but the execution of the dialog is even worse. One member of the zombie squad unconvincingly tells a zombie to "have a nice day" before cutting its obviously puppetish head off with a machete. I think Bookwalter must have made this movie so hilariously bad intentionally. Mr Bookwalter, if you're reading this, I just want to tell you that you're a genius and that I appreciate your skill and sense of humor.

Clearly this low budget, regional zombie film hasn't pleased everybody, but, honestly, what did they expect? Something of this nature is, more often than not, pretty crude, amateurishly acted, and downright silly. But that's part of the charm of these efforts. Filmed over a four year period, J.R. Bookwalter was given uncredited assistance by a certain major Hollywood director, and also works here with some of his associates. The gore is plentiful and often quite fun, and funny. A criticism I see here is that "The Dead Next Door" is boring, and sure, it's not the most exciting zombie story one will ever see. Bookwalter and company may not be that technically proficient, but one quality they undeniably possess is heart. That's what endears films like this to this viewer. In any event, any production like this that manages to get a shot of zombies trying to climb the fence to the White House lawn is worthy of *some* respect.

Zombies are now over running the world, and a special "zombie squad" is created, consisting of jut jawed Raimi (physically portrayed by Pete Ferry, who's dubbed by somebody whose voice you'll immediately recognize), Mercer (Michael Grossi), Kuller (Jolie Jackunas), and Captain Kline (Floyd Ewing Jr.). They end up required to make the trek to a distant location where a serum devised by a Dr. Bow (Lester Clark) just may be the key to reversing zombie symptoms. In their company is a wack job scientist, played by Bogdan Pecic, who's clearly a nod to the memorable Dr. Logan of "Day of the Dead".

As I said before, the acting may not be that competent, but like so much here, it is good for hearty laughs. The characters aren't that bright, though: witness what happens to Richards (Scott Spiegel). The story does have its comfortably familiar elements, such as a cult dwelling in the woods. This particular cult seeks to protect the zombies for their own demented reasons; Robert Kokai is good as their leader, Reverend Jones. A fair amount of the cast were also crew members, and it definitely looks like they had a good time making this. Naming some of the characters after famous people is rather an obvious thing to do, but some fans may get a kick out of that.

Overall this is solidly entertaining - no more, and no less - for living dead cinema junkies.

Seven out of 10.

If you love zombie comedies I dare to say that The Dead Next Door belongs on your menu - it got the right spirit, some of the zombies and gore effects are done well and there are some funny moments and ideas too. So what you can expect? A fine entertaining low budget zombie flick once done right. Recommended to the lover of the genre.

I really enjoyed this film. I watched it once or twice before I hit the special features and watched the featurettes with interviews from the cast and crew. I think those interviews really helped me appreciate this film more. The director had no budget and no idea how to really operate a camera (it seems the first time they shot a lot of the effects and various scenes, the light meter was trusted less than the untrained eye, and many shots came out so dark that they were unusable). With some creative and sometimes silly, schlocky ideas for gore and effects and an interesting, even compelling follow-up to both Romero's Dead films (the original three which had been released by that time) and Sam Raimi's Evil Dead I and II, I really think this film had some interesting points to it. There are no incredible special effects, the acting is silly (the main character's voice has now been replaced with Bruce Campbell's), the budget was extremely low (though it was funded by a "Mr. X," who kept his identity a secret... do a little research on that one, the answer is surprising), and I think they made something campy, fun, and even, at times, creepy. I liked it a lot for a no-budget midnight flick.

Promising miniscule-budgeted zombie piece heavily influenced by George A. Romero's apocalyptic films.

Sometimes hailed as 'the most expensive Super 8 film ever made,' The Dead Next Door's apparent lack of funds, acting resources and running time can be overlooked, as 'Night of the Living Dead' was for the same faults, because both of these films excel due to the creators energy and balls to produce something entertaining DESPITE the budgetry restrictions.

From it's punchy opening scenes of hungry ghouls stalking the streets and highways of America to the introduction of the comic 'Zombie Squad,' a mixed young bunch of gun-toting federal agents who'll be the heroes for the next seventy minutes or so as we see them try to evade the onslaught of the walking dead and attempt to find a cure for the outbreak.

As to be expected in a zombie-flick, the film delivers respectable make-up effects, tense set pieces and large quantities of black humour, all of which are captured on screen with relish. Even J. W. Bookwalter pulls one up on Romero with shots of zombies outside the Whitehouse and the aforementioned ghouls on the highway, showing the director obviously had a lot more audacity and extras than he had dollars. Low budget film-makers should take note and try to produce something as inventive and lively than the usual pap that clogs up the shelves of the local video store.

But let's not get too carried away here, for this is no horror masterpiece that 'Night of the Living Dead' and 'The Evil Dead' can truly claim to be. At the end of the day this is a small film with big ideas. The plot is familiar, as are the undefined characters and the sound and picture quality let down the entertainment. The energy of the script and pace of the film is undeniably invigorating though and recollections of how John Carpenter and George A. Romero once made films come to mind.

Let's hope Bookwalter's new productions improve with a budget he seemingly deserves here.