yeodawg
The Boyz are part of a Zombie Eradication Squad cleans and sweeps houses for survivors of the Zombie Apocalypse, which is in full swing. Adorned in Top Gun Flight suits aviator glasses they are based in a front line surgical hospital where they crack sardonic jokes with the doctors there. The doctors and their orderlies are there to look for a cure to the Zombie Apocalypse. We get a glimpse of their daily grind as a Z.E.S. when they are called out to save survivors who showed up to protest the outright shooting of Zombies are attacked by said Zombies. In one of their patrols they run into a Cult of Survivors that Worship the Zombies and consider them the next step in the evolution of man.The hardest part of the movie is suspending all tactical and Zombie knowledge you have to date. This movie came out before "COPS" where we could see more tactful proficiency in middle-aged balding beer bellied cop clearing out a basement for a teen-age runaway than this squad clearing out a house. I was tearing my hair out as they're shuffling around with 3-4 cross-slung long barreled guns instead of a 45 and a Katana.
geminiredblue
Let me go on-record again for saying: I totally support independent filmmaking! I've spent many years on both sides of the camera and I sympathize with the plight that such filmmakers must go through. When it comes to making a low budget horror flick, it can be even more difficult. Not only does a filmmaker need imagination, but has to be certain that the special effects and make-up look good also. And this time around, THE DEAD NEXT DOOR delivers exactly what it promises. Filmed locally in Ohio, by the young writer/director J.R. Bookwalter, it depicts the outbreak of a zombie epidemic. Years have gone by and now a special zombie squad is sent to find a possible solution to the outbreak. However, things don't go quite as planned as a nearby zombie-worshiping cult make matters worse. The premise is fresh and original, never before or since have I seen a zombie film with a Jim Jones-like cult. As an interesting side note: Was this the inspiration for a similar cult in the video game Dead Rising? The gore and zombie effects are awesome for such a low-budget flick. All the major characters are named after famous horror directors. I loved the well-timed humor as well. My personal favorite moment is when the zombies attack some pro-zombie supporters. Clearly everybody involved had a blast! A cult following has developed around this one, and justifiably so in my opinion. Place this one right up there next to the other great zomedies, make some popcorn and get ready to roll in the aisles with equal amounts of laughs and shrieks!
Ted Brown
In The Dead Next Door the world has become over ran with zombies, in response the government has created a elite squad with one mission and one mission only to eliminate the zombie menace.And at the same time defending themselves against a cult of zombie sympathizers that believe that its god's will that zombies take over the earth. When one of their own are bitten it becomes a race to find a cure and ride Akron Ohio of the horde of walking dead.First off one of my favorite things about this movie when I was a kid and still today was all the horror references and trivia involved with it. In the early beginning of the film be on the lookout for a quick shot of Dawn of the dead, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Evil Dead, and Creepshow. Also some interesting facts about The Dead Next Door the great Bruce Campbell does unaccredited voice work and was also a audio post-production supervisor. Also producing under the name The Master Cylinder, Sam Raimi was also involved and also the namesake of one of the main characters. There's also characters with the last names Savini and Carpenter.This movie is not filled with top notch acting or big budget special effects. But what it is filled with is beautiful make up effects and mind blowing zombie gore. This is a true zombie classic that any hardcore horror fan should take the time to experience. It's very Evil Dead like in the respect it's loaded with humorous one liners and a over the top silly plot mixed in with graphic gore. This is no where near a serious movie but it is loads of campy classic 80's horror fun. And once again for you readers with Netflix memberships this film is currently available via instaview so you have nothing to lose and a ton of enjoyment to gain.8/10 - Ritualistic The Liberal Dead http://liberaldead.blogspot.com
Nick Drew
When I first approached this, I was not half expecting something more crude and nasty, but instead I found this to be mildly entertaining and an inoffensive ode to the classics of the genre, e.g. 'Night of The Living Dead', 'The Evil Dead', et all.Something about this I particularly enjoyed was the tongue in cheek, often self-mocking sense of humour, with such things as a zombie frequenting a video store, and its subsequent choice selection of tapes to rent, and there is a plethora of other in jokes which should please real fans. Other more satirical things like protesters congregating for the civil rights of zombies, and also a religious cult of fanatics which believe it is Gods' will that the un dead becomes the successors to the human race. I suppose many of these little touches go to lengths in characterising the movie.As for the acting here, every player gives Oscar winning Jack Nicholson style performances, um, er, . . . I jest of course, seriously though, all of these willing unknowns do try, and seemingly give their best, and granted the somewhat underdeveloped threadbare script to work with, I think in most case's make up for general lack of natural talent with more gumption and enthusiasm. The director\producer\writer here gives many of the characters names of established horror directors, like calling the main protagonist Raimi, and another one is called Doctor Savini. , And so on. On a side note, Fred Dekker took a similar approach with 'Night of The Creeps' released a couple of years later.One of the problems that pull the rug from under this movie is that there is just too many characters, and none are really fleshed out properly, and there isn't really anything under lying the story to get your teeth into (sorry) making this rather chaotic and boring at times.Effects wise, this has a few good moments, with occasional scenes which sport a zombie that has proper prosthetic makeup, which does look quite good taking into account the minimal resources. Also, some limited special gore effects, such as blood squirting and twitching body parts, which are done here in the style of Sam Raimi's aforementioned sleeper. Other than this however, most effects constitute just extras running around with some green paint smeared on their faces, as you might come to expect.Overall, 'The Dead Next Door' remain a fairly decent zombie outing, and given the production values and time spent in development, can be looked at as a sort of achievement in its own right. Some chuckles and decent effects save it from being a complete waste of time, and I think it is more worthwhile than many modern horror efforts. I can't recommend this one to everybody, but non-discriminating horror movie goers, and real splatter aficionado's will most likely get a bit of a kick out of it.
