Night Life

Night Life is something I stumbled upon one night while haunting old video stores in search of a descent flick. I found something better. I found Night Life. Scott Grimes of Critters fame stars as the underdog hero is this unheard of horror comedy. I have never even heard anyone talk about this film, which really surprised me after watching it. In it, four super jackasses turn into four super zombies by a mixture of electricity and chemicals. It sounds like the usual, but it's definitely got it's own flare. The scene of the accident is bizarre stuff, it's weirdly shot. It feels more like a dream than a movie. It's my favorite of the film. There are some truly grotesque parts in the mortuary too. If you've never seen this movie, find it. You'll be in for a treat.

Amusing and very light-headed quickie that distinguishes itself from the majority of lame and late 80's horror-comedies thanks to a couple of very ingenious jokes and the presence of cult-TV icon John Astin (The Addams Family). The typical story of nerdish underdog versus the popular high-school jocks is always fun to watch, and it gets even funnier (but more importantly: gorier) when the jocks turn into zombies that still only spend their time by playing pranks on the geek! Redhead Archie Melville and his car-technician girlfriend have no other option but to destroy the zombies in various ways. The intro, when there are still no zombies, is very lengthy but nevertheless entertaining since director David Acomba enlightens us about many specific embalming techniques. The geek hero namely works in the mortuary of his uncle and it's also there were the undead are resurrected after a thunderstorm. The film is fast-paced, the numerous clichés are forgivable and the gore often is surprisingly graphic (zombies in a wood chopper, exploding corpses…). John Astin obviously had a great time playing the ill-tempered undertaker and the young cast members do a fairly good job as well. "Night Life" is surely recommended in case you're looking for a simple, undemanding horror feast.

This movie is by no means Shakespere material, but compared to the other stuff on the market..it's gold! I have to admit I enjoyed this movie because it was offbeat yet not total out of the atomsphere! Scott Grimes ( a favorite actor of mine!) is what really made this movie. If this movie had been done with a "pretty boy type" like Johnny Deep, it would have lost all value! The charecter of Archie, had to be played by a guy that had an unconventional look yet was not butt ugly! Scott was prefect for this role. As for the rest of the castings...perfect! Acting was very good, it helped move the sort of slow start of the movie to flow better. Everyone was prefect for their role. Sure, the story was a bit slow, but the directing ( especially for a horror flick) was subtle, quirky, and unobtrusive. I really like this movie, esspecially because of the mind tricks it plays on you in the second part of the movie! I urge you to rent this movie!

I thought that Night Life was very promising for the first half hour. The characters were likeable, and the story was interesting. But the horror aspects don't really enter the picture until the last half hour - and when they do, they are disappointing. The zombies are not like traditional zombies at all. They drive cars, operate machinery, and seem to retain much of their human personalities. What's worse, there are only four of them and they seem to be indestructible (like Jason from Friday the 13th pt 2 -?). In my opinion, the threat of zombies should be sheer numbers. As individuals, they are not very strong, fast, or coordinated. It should not have been so difficult for the heroes of this movie to deal with a paltry four walking corpses.

High school loser and funeral parlour assistant Archie Melville (Scott Grimes) is unable to escape persecution from a pair of preppy bullies and their beautiful girlfriends, even after all four die in a horrific car crash: a combination of toxic gas and lightning brings the malicious teens back from the dead so that they can continue to make life hell for the poor misfit.

Despite adequate performances from all involved, one or two stylish touches from director David Acomba (the dream-like, mist-shrouded crash aftermath scene being particularly effective), some fun cheesy gore from FX man Craig Reardon (including a split head, an eye being drilled, and Gomez Adams getting pumped full of oil), and the unforgettable sight of gorgeous blonde Lisa Fuller on all fours in her underwear, '80s teen zombie horror/comedy Night Life (AKA Grave Misdemeanours) must still be considered something of a disappointment: the film offers very little in the way of originality for fans of '80s horror, its outcast main character, his pretty tomboy sidekick, and the obnoxious preppy jocks all being clichéd mainstays of the genre; the pacing is terrible, with Acomba devoting far too much time depicting Archie's pathetic life both at school and at home, rather than getting on with the horror; and the laughs are rare, with lame attempts at Porky's style teen humour and woeful stabs at black comedy. Furthermore (and contrary to other comments here on IMDb), I found Archie to be an irritating character who brings much of his woes upon himself by being a smart-ass who just doesn't know when to shut up.

Unsurprisingly, the film has disappeared into relative obscurity, along with much of its cast.