The Curse of the Screaming Dead

Six bad actors...Er, friends (including a character named "Blind Kiyomi") are out in the rural South on a deer hunt, only to find an old diary of sorts. Well, one of them takes it, and the next thing you know, a horde of Undead Confederate Soldiers come for revenge.

In my many years of watching horror, I can think of many that were bad. Some (Such as House of the Dead, Feardotcom, Captivity, and The Crater Lake Monster) are so bad, they actually made me feel physical pain. "Curse of the Screaming Dead" (aka. "Curse of the Confederate Cannibals"-oh Troma) is one of those movies.

The acting isn't just bad, it's amateur local commercial bad. The zombies are among the most unconvincing I've ever seen. The score is atrocious. The gore is cheap beyond words. We are treated to zombies consuming flesh-in a scene that drags on for far too long. The list goes on.

It may sound like a "so bad it's good" affair, but it's not.

A shame in a way, as the idea of Confederate Soldier Zombies is actually pretty cool. Unfortunately, this movie doesn't work in the end, and it's torture to sit through. Avoid.

Update: Actually, now that I think about it, the score isn't too bad. The movie itself...still crap.

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.

This film was originally released as Curse of the Screaming Dead then Troma picked it up and rebadged it Curse of the Cannibal Confederates. I bought both videos. Both are bad.

What is interesting is how a company like Troma repackages the film. They re-edit the film placing zombie footage from later in the film in place of the original front titles, and anywhere else the film seems a little slow. Unfortunately the zombie footage isn't good.

It also appears that they play entire reels in a different order. A recipe for disaster in most films but in this one you really can't tell.

Both films are bad and no amount of re-editing could save it.

I don't recommend watching these films back to back or at all, but if you must, do what I did, watch them simultaneously and marvel at the futility of it all.

I think the only positive thing about this film is it was made by a group of people who weren't filmmakers (it appears) but just a bunch of friends, more power to you.

This movie was a great example of how to make a completely stupid and b grade horror flick. I think the only reason one should hire it is to pick out all the mistakes.

Why were the gravestones clean and readable, not covered in moss or any other growth? Uniforms? huh?

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."