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The Laughing Dead

  • 1989
  • Not Rated
  • 1h 32m
IMDb RATING
4.5/10
758
YOUR RATING
The Laughing Dead (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
    758
    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

    4.5758
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    Featured reviews

    7HumanoidOfFlesh

    Cheesy and gory.

    "The Laughing Dead" is a typical 80's horror film filled with blood and gore.The acting is abysmal,the atmosphere is completely non-existent,but for the gore-hounds there are some nasty splatter scenes including decapitation,head smashing etc.The make-up and special effects are pretty good.All in all I quite enjoyed this one,so if you like obscure horror movies give this one a look!Recommended.7 out of 10.My favourite gore scene is where the guy has his own torn off arm shoved down his throat!
    3Coventry

    Not much to laugh about...

    The Laughing Dead is an incredibly cheesy low budget film without any value. It handles about a bus-load of social misfits (guided by a priest who lost his faith and impregnated a foxy nun) on a sightseeing tour around Aztec ruins in Mexico. There, they're awaited by a bunch of demons, zombies and mad-raving creatures in order to kill them during the 'Death Festival'. The first 45 minutes of 'The Laughing Dead' is very tedious viewing since they're presenting us a character drawing nobody really cares about. The priest and the nun are re-united and he learns he's the father of a bratty kid. There's no intrigue and the acting is very lame so the first half is very tough to sit through. After that, The Laughing Dead turns into a joyful splatter movie with cheesy make-up effects and a repulsive amount of blood. People's heads are chopped off (and used as a basketball), buses drive over torsos and one poor bastards even has his own arm shoved down his throat!! The film is bad and extremely amateurish, but there's a market for this kind of crap. So, if you're in to gory nonsense you can check this one out.
    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.
    4udar55

    Some inspired weird moments, not much else

    Faith-losing Father O'Sullivan (Tim Sullivan) takes a bus of folks down to some visit some Aztec ruins. Also along for the ride are Tessie (Wendy Webb), his former nun love that he got pregnant, and her foul- mouthed son Ivan (Patrick Roskowick), who is O'Sullivan's illegitimate son. It all makes for perfect timing for some sort of sacrifice to the Blood Star for evil Dr. Um-tzec (writer-director-composer S.P. Somtow). This film gained some notoriety back in the day thanks to a gore-filled spread in (naturally) Gorezone. And while the film looks great in stills, it has many, many problems unspooling at regular speed. Somtow certainly doesn't lack creativity, but his staging and pacing leave a lot to be desired. He will have bits like the trapped characters seeing two people squashed to death by a bus, but they will act like nothing is wrong in the next scene. And there is some REALLY bad comedy going on here. The acting (most of the talent are Somtow's writer friends) leaves a lot to be desired too and the film offers quite possibly one of the worst child performances ever captured on film by Roskowick. When on, the film is pretty fun with some great make up work by John Buechler's MMI company. Interestingly, despite have a wealth of gore, this film is still unreleased in the United States.
    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.

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    Related interests

    Mia Farrow in Rosemary's Baby (1968)
    Horror

    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: The Animated Series (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

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • 1990 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • S.P. Somtow's 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
      • 1h 32m(92 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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