2 reviews
Children of the Living Dead is the fourth installment in the Living Dead series, but this one is a sequel in name only. George Romero is not involved, and it ignores both Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead. Written and Produced by Karen Wolf(daughter of notable horror producer Joe Wolf), this Zombie movie was good, but could have been great.
The primary fault of the film is its screenplay. It's almost non-existent, which weakens both the plot and the characters. If they just would have invested in a good genre writer, the film would have been a wonderful follow-up to the original NOTLD.
However, the poor script is overcome by some exceptional performances. Martin Schiff, a genre vet, is especially entertaining as the local yokel policeman, and Savini is solid in his brief appearance. The rest of the cast is mostly newcomers, and their work is up and down. The main zombie(Barrett Woodland) is solid, but doesn't have much to work with. The teens at the beginning of the film are passable.
My favorite performance in the film was easily "Laurie", played by Jamie McCoy. She's the female lead, and easily the most talented of the bunch. Every scene she's in stands out, and she has good chemistry with her co-stars. Her character should have been greatly expanded, and given more screen-time, because her work was terrific. It's no coincidence that the film picks up in the second half, where McCoy's character dominates, and falters earlier where she's only seen briefly.
The directing was fair, and cinematography passable for the genre. While this movie won't win any awards, it's a fun time-passer and should be a hit with fans of the horror genre.
So, to recap: Poor screenplay is overcome by some great acting, especially newcomer Jamie McCoy in the lead role. Don't expect an Oscar-winner, or even the original NOTLD. As the series goes, I'd say "Night" is tops, closely followed by "Dawn". "Children" comes in third with "Day" dead last.
The primary fault of the film is its screenplay. It's almost non-existent, which weakens both the plot and the characters. If they just would have invested in a good genre writer, the film would have been a wonderful follow-up to the original NOTLD.
However, the poor script is overcome by some exceptional performances. Martin Schiff, a genre vet, is especially entertaining as the local yokel policeman, and Savini is solid in his brief appearance. The rest of the cast is mostly newcomers, and their work is up and down. The main zombie(Barrett Woodland) is solid, but doesn't have much to work with. The teens at the beginning of the film are passable.
My favorite performance in the film was easily "Laurie", played by Jamie McCoy. She's the female lead, and easily the most talented of the bunch. Every scene she's in stands out, and she has good chemistry with her co-stars. Her character should have been greatly expanded, and given more screen-time, because her work was terrific. It's no coincidence that the film picks up in the second half, where McCoy's character dominates, and falters earlier where she's only seen briefly.
The directing was fair, and cinematography passable for the genre. While this movie won't win any awards, it's a fun time-passer and should be a hit with fans of the horror genre.
So, to recap: Poor screenplay is overcome by some great acting, especially newcomer Jamie McCoy in the lead role. Don't expect an Oscar-winner, or even the original NOTLD. As the series goes, I'd say "Night" is tops, closely followed by "Dawn". "Children" comes in third with "Day" dead last.
This movie has everything a B horror movie fan needs. Great gore, over-the-top performances and awful writing and directing! I loved it, what can I say?
Tom Savini rocks the house and his scenes are the best. Who hasn't wanted to see Tom open a big can of whoop-ass on some zombies? I know I have and here we get to see it happen. The really hot virgin chick, played by Jamie McCoy, was great. She's very over-the-top, as she should have been in this movie. The rest of the actors were o-kay. Nothing to write home about.
This script was one of the absolute worst scripts I've ever seen produced. Karen Wolf, you should never be allowed to touch a computer again!! It's awful, the dialogue is laughable and if she was trying to be serious, WOW did she miss the boat. There are more unintentional laughs in this movie than anything I've seen since Plan 9 From Outer Space. However, don't let that stop you from watching it! Get a six pack and have a few pals over and you'll laugh til it hurts. Fun zombie flick that everyone B Horror fan should see!
Tom Savini rocks the house and his scenes are the best. Who hasn't wanted to see Tom open a big can of whoop-ass on some zombies? I know I have and here we get to see it happen. The really hot virgin chick, played by Jamie McCoy, was great. She's very over-the-top, as she should have been in this movie. The rest of the actors were o-kay. Nothing to write home about.
This script was one of the absolute worst scripts I've ever seen produced. Karen Wolf, you should never be allowed to touch a computer again!! It's awful, the dialogue is laughable and if she was trying to be serious, WOW did she miss the boat. There are more unintentional laughs in this movie than anything I've seen since Plan 9 From Outer Space. However, don't let that stop you from watching it! Get a six pack and have a few pals over and you'll laugh til it hurts. Fun zombie flick that everyone B Horror fan should see!