The Dead Next Door

Back in the early to mid 1980s, word spread around horror fandom that an enterprising young filmmaker was putting together a low budget but ambitious zombie film in Ohio. Monetary setbacks kept the film from being completed for years but it finally saw the light of day on video late in the decade. The film that many thought would be another cult masterpeice like Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Basket Case turned out to be a truly pathetic time waster that proves that anyone, no matter how untalented can make a movie and waste the veiwer's time. Yes, the film is quite ambitious but that means nothing if the filmmaker has no talent and Bookwalter has no talent in spades. The film seems to be a case of two ideas getting mashed together, the zombie plague and the Guyana like cult. But neither idea is very well meshed into the other and the result proved not to be worth the wait. Watch it for it's decent makeup effects. That's all that can really be praised. JR Bookwalter was once thought of as a great white hope who might put some gusto back into low budget genre films. How wrong we were.

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.

This is a clever and pretty straight foreword zombie flick shot on 8mm (think of the first evil dead). J.R. Bookwalter was able to create a gory and entertaining zombie flick with a relative low-budget and local actors. Unlike hack job Todd Sheets (see Zombie Bloodbath trilogy), Bookwalter created a zombie film that gives you everything you want...Heaps of low-budget gore, a satanic occult, the "zombie squad", an unresolved ending, "Evil Dead" references, and Bruce Campbell dubbing over the main actors role(?). The Dead Next Door's video quality is somewhat poor, but looks like the first "Evil Dead" basically. Kinda grainy and low-budget, but not unwatchable like "Zombie Bloodbath". Many of the characters are named after horror directors or writers and there are some pretty cheesy dialog scenes. But overall, the movie works and keeps you satisfied due to the gore and somewhat innovative scenarios. This is an odd little zombie flick that is clever and interesting. Sam Raimi backed the film and later disowned it having his named removed from the credits. I have no reason why he would do that, considering it's pretty cool and as entertaining as the first "evil dead". The "making of" on the DVD is good and the commentary is worth listening too.

If you have a love of godawful horror movies, unending patience, and a large supply of alcohol, watch The Dead Next Door. "The Most Expensive Super-8 Film Ever Made." Need I say more? If so, how about the fact that Bruce Campbell--Ash himself--makes an uncredited voice appearance? Or...how about the fact that the movie really has absolutely zero redeeming qualities? That must surely make it a winner!

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.