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Sacrifices

Original title: The Laughing Dead
  • 1989
  • Not Rated
  • 1h 32m
IMDb RATING
4.5/10
745
YOUR RATING
Sacrifices (1989)
Horror

A ragtag group of people go on an archaeological trip to Mexico to visit Mayan ruins, but get more than they bargained for, when they encounter a zealous group of Mexicans attempting to revi... Read allA ragtag group of people go on an archaeological trip to Mexico to visit Mayan ruins, but get more than they bargained for, when they encounter a zealous group of Mexicans attempting to revive a deadly ancient ritual of their ancestors.A ragtag group of people go on an archaeological trip to Mexico to visit Mayan ruins, but get more than they bargained for, when they encounter a zealous group of Mexicans attempting to revive a deadly ancient ritual of their ancestors.

  • Director
    • Somtow Sucharitkul
  • Writer
    • Somtow Sucharitkul
  • Stars
    • Tim Sullivan
    • Somtow Sucharitkul
    • Wendy Webb
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    4.5/10
    745
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Somtow Sucharitkul
    • Writer
      • Somtow Sucharitkul
    • Stars
      • Tim Sullivan
      • Somtow Sucharitkul
      • Wendy Webb
    • 19User reviews
    • 15Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos45

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    Top cast44

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    Tim Sullivan
    Tim Sullivan
    • Father O'Sullivan
    Somtow Sucharitkul
    Somtow Sucharitkul
    • Dr. Um-tzec
    • (as S. P. Somtow)
    Wendy Webb
    Wendy Webb
    • Tessie
    Premika Eaton
    Premika Eaton
    • Laurie
    Matt Demeritt
    • Harlan
    • (as Matthew De Merritt)
    Ryan Effner
    • Cal
    Erica Frank
    • Counter Girl
    Edward Bryant
    • Bus Driver
    Gregory Frost
    Gregory Frost
    • Frost
    Hank Azcona
    • Police Sergeant
    Timpson Hill
    • Acolyte #2
    Joey Acedo
    • Policeman #1
    Larry Kagen
    • Wilbur
    George Barnett
    • Policeman #2
    Krista Keim
    • Clarisse
    Bruce Barlow
    Bruce Barlow
    • Kukulcan
    Lydia Marano
    • Attendant
    John Anthoni
    • Acolyte #1
    • (as John-Anthoni)
    • Director
      • Somtow Sucharitkul
    • Writer
      • Somtow Sucharitkul
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews19

    4.5745
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    Featured reviews

    1Panos_Dragonlord

    so bad,that it's actually "good"

    yep.i gave it a 1/10,but in a good way-if you know what i mean..well this is a totally rotten movie,splatter with funny things happening all the time..call some friends,get drunk and have the time of your life watching this monsterpiece
    4Vomitron_G

    Rise of the Blood Star

    Mayan horror movies don't exactly come in spades, so it's always interesting to dive into one. Even if it's such a ridiculous affair like "The Laughing Dead". Some priest - currently in conflict with his own faith because he impregnated a luscious nun once - organizes an excursion towards the Mexican boarder to introduce a varied bunch of travellers to some ancient Mayan festivities. The first half of the film mainly consists out of dull character drawings and some inexplicable nightmare sequences. Then, once arrived at the small Mexican village, things start to get amusing as the group encounters some evil Mayan doctor who loves to sacrifice kids to some ancient Death God in order to inherit the powers of The Bloodstar. Or something, 'cause it's all a heap of nonsense anyway. Now, the main reason to watch The Laughing Dead is for the special effects by Magical Media Industries (featuring one John Carl Buechler in their ranks). They manage to concoct several awesome effects & gory killings... There's a bit of demonic possession. A woman rips open her naked chest and tears her own heart out. A guy gets crushed by a bus. Another dude's head gets decapitated & used as a basket ball. The best kill is probably that of one guy who's arm gets ripped off and shoved down his own throat. During the movie's climax the undead come stumbling around and two people even magically transform into two giant, dinosaur-like monsters & proceed to duel each other. You won't hear me labeling this a 'good movie', by far not, but it sure is a fun, demented ride.
    sharerIMDB

    Just skip it to 40th minute

    Well, actually this movie is not so bad. But the first 40 minutes are just boring. After that movie starts to focus on the real plot. It's biggest mistake is its too long. You'll have to watch a lot of nonsense parts. And there is a really stupid & boring love story included. Special FX are good especially the scene with a hand in the throat. For the acting, well the cast did their best to drag this movie down. Especially the Mexicans. And the music, well half of the movie there plays a romantic melody, the other some mexican music, and on action scenes o rip-off of Nosferatu's soundtrack.

    Well this movie's biggest drag is its just a soup of genres. You have love stories, splatter, Basketball, Monster fights, Zombies with sport shoes, possessions, devil worshippers. There is one thing i cant figure out, did they made this movie to be funny or they were really trying to make a horror movie.
    5Stevieboy666

    I laughed one minute, yawned the next

    A bus load of tourists, several oddballs amongst them, travel to Mexico to learn about the ancient Aztecs and Mayans, but end up fighting zombies, human sacrifice, etc. I first saw this years ago on a bootleg VHS, now just revisited it on DVD. The film does boast some pretty good splatter but not until the second half. It's also pretty funny at times. However it also suffers from bad acting, a fairly dull first half and a plot that just confused the hell out of me. Admitably I felt tired at the time, perhaps that's why I was losing a grip on what was happening. If you like bad, gory movies then be sure to check out this one.
    5zxdex88

    Gory horror comedy tries it's best.

    Truly one of the worst movies I've ever seen but that doesn't mean it has no redeeming value. I love how Patrick Roskowick's character is a totally over the top out of control ADHD brat who swears like a drunken sailor all the time. In other words, a typical American teenage boy. The kid is feisty, obnoxious and self absorbed but you know that deep down he has a heart of gold. (Just kidding!) When "Ivan" (the terrible) dons his special Aztec (or is it Mayan?) ceremonial sacrifice costume he changes his attitude.

    The gore and blood spatter are ridiculously over the top and the "special effects" are as good as in any 1960s 8mm home movie shot with Dad's Kodak by a nerdy teenage boy in the AudioVisual club at school. In other words: Bad! But who cares?

    I read an online review that said: "The child actor in this movie gave the all time worst performance by any child actor in history." Clearly the person who wrote that knows nothing about really bad child acting! Patrick's "Ivan" was the Sir Laurence Olivier of child acting compared to some bad child actors I've seen (yes, I'm looking at you, Jake Lloyd!) All in all, The Laughing Dead is a movie I would have never even remotely considered watching but gave it a chance. This movie actually has a few laughs in it. It really does try to be a horror/comedy. Sometimes it's funny when it didn't mean to be but that's beside the point. So, it's bad, but not all bad. As predicted, this was Patrick Roskowick's one and only movie. Too bad. I wanted to see him in The Laughing Dead 2 - Ivan's Revenge.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      This film is notable for the large number of fantasy/sci-fi/horror authors in the cast, several making their only appearance on film. Writer/director/actor Somtow Sucharitkul has published numerous novels as "S.P. Somtow"; star Tim Sullivan published several novels both before and after this film. Other novelists in the cast include Tim Powers (twice nominated for science fiction's Nebula award); Gregory Frost (perhaps best known for 1984s "Lyrec"); Edward Bryant and Arthur Byron Cover (both protégés of Harlan Ellison, with numerous novels to their credit); Brynne Stephens (1986's ''The Dream Palace", but probably better known for her scriptwriting work on TV shows like Batman (1992) and Gargoyles (1994); and William F. Wu (two-time Hugo and Nebula nominee). Also in the cast: acclaimed comic book author Len Wein (co-creator of Swamp Thing and Wolverine), and legendary writer/agent/superfan (and inventor of the term "sci-fi") Forrest J. Ackerman.
    • Goofs
      A poster shows an image of Chichen Itza over the word Oaxaca. Chichen Itza is located in the state of Yucatan.
    • Quotes

      Father O'Sullivan: Have you heard of Tourette's Syndrome, DOCTOR Um-tzec?

      Dr. Um-tzec: I am a doctor of divinity.

    • Connections
      Referenced in There's Nothing Out There (1991)

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    FAQ14

    • How long is The Laughing Dead?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • 1990 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • The Laughing Dead
    • Filming locations
      • Old Tucson - 201 S. Kinney Road, Tucson, Arizona, USA
    • Production company
      • Skouras Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 32 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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