Graveyard Alive

A woodsman is taken to a hospital with an axe in the back of his head, and nurse Pasty looks after him. Also on her plate is that she still has feelings for her ex-boyfriend Dr. Dox, but he's engaged to Nurse Goodie. Who makes her life at the hospital a living hell, as she constantly teases her. Looking in on the very pale and peeling woodsman, he expresses his love for Pasty and bites her on the arm. Not too long she's has the same symptoms, but also she has grown confident and sexually appealing to the male staff. But to stop her skin from falling off and hands and legs from stiffing up, she'll give into the craving of flesh to keep this make-up. However Nurse Goodie goes out of her way to prove there's something wrong with Pasty.

There's something lovable about zombie films, and this particular shoestring b/w Canadian independent entry to the field was actually a breath of fresh air. Due to the effort put into making "Graveyard Alive: A Zombie Nurse In Love", and finally getting it out to the public. You can call it a labour of love, because their heart was definitely in it and the final product shows. What we got here can be called somewhat a unconventional droll parody on soapies (those mainly based in a hospital) with a smart zombie splash to it and a familiar throwback style to the cheap, static and moody genre films of 40s and 50s. There's a light-headed mixture of elements there (even use of chapter headings cutting between the story's structure reminded me of the golden silent age of cinema), which actually gel quite well.

Director Elza Kephart makes light of the clichés, to set-up a real quirky, kinky and sombre feel. Her pacing can get a little stiff, but the way she goes about it is stylishly low-scale, and from this plenty of effectively haunting and also amusing images are drummed up. Pitching in are some slight, and inventive camera angles and shadowy lighting, which these old-fashion traits lent to the seductive mood. The film does looks ace! The editing is also professionally catered for. The schlock make-up effects are very minimal, but still kinda pay off. However those looking for an influx of splatter and violence will be largely disappointed.

Patricia Gomez and Elza Kephart's flavoured pulp material (which reinvents certain details on zombie folklore) keeps it all pretty dry and constantly has fun with itself, but it doesn't play out like you would think. While it never does go overboard in the humour stakes, but maybe it could've gone out to shock a little more, then for most part hiding behind the mockery. One thing did get on my nerves from time to time was that twitchy, one-note music score. The performances are mostly dramatically campy and that seems on purpose. A savvy Anne Day-Jones excels in the deadpan lead role Nurse Pasty, as she brings out the right sort of temperament and expressions to convey her startling transformation. Samantha Slan's ham-fisted comic turn as Nurse Goodie is reasonably fun.

Quite unique in patches and something fairly different from the zombie norm. Flawed, but not a bad little charmer. Get the doggy bag ready.

This is a great low budget indie movie! Shot way before the walking dead and zombies were trendy... watch it :if you like black and white movies and hospital dramas or just if you like cheese low budget horror! I especially likes the different camera angles and the fact that it was all shot in black and white. It's really high contrast and it has that old school acting style about it!

It was shot in Montreal and other parts and the acting is surprisingly good for a Canadian film. This movie is well directed and produced and really shows the quality of the Montreal talent (when it's so hard for local English film makers to get any funding in Stupid Quebec...

By the title alone I knew I had to go see it. It played here in Winnipeg at NSI film exchange March 2004.

Basically very well done film especially because it was shot with the intent for it to be silent than all the sound and dialog was added well after the fact in post. This is amazing as I only noticed one or two places where the dialog seemed to be out of sync slightly. it has an interesting acting style throughout due to the fact it was suppose to be silent, a lot of physical expression of emotions and words. It is shot well on black and white, the B$W really builds into the character of the film.

Overall I would definitely recommend it. I can't wait to purchase a copy.

This was one strange movie. It was in black and white, which is OK, but it really felt like a silent film from the 20s. There was very little dialog, and they could have skipped that entirely.

Nurse Patsy (Anne Day-Jones) is a wallflower that is in love with Dr. Dox (Karl Gerhardt), who just happened to be the guy who took her to the prom in high school. He lost his geekiness, but she stayed the same until she was bit by an infected woodsman.

She turns into a hottie that must eat flesh to stay beautiful. This is where the film gets really funny.

The fiancé of Dr. Dox, Nurse Goodie (Samantha Slan) is the only one who suspects the truth and ends up in a sanatorium after trying to expose Nurse Patsy.

The ending was hilarious.

Yes, there are better zombie movies out there. However, there are also much, much worse. Graveyard Alive has a lot of heart and humor behind it, which sells it despite its shortcomings and sets it apart within the genre. Keeping in mind that the budget for this movie was very small, the money was spent where it should have been - on actors and actresses who primarily worked in stage productions and had a strong control of their expressions, on securing a real hospital as a set, and on a decent technical crew. The editing and cinematography are actually pretty pro, and when your genre is so infested with hand-held camcorder affairs in backyard fields, you appreciate a good sense of lighting and photography.

The movie is also notable for the fact that the zombie starlet is your main, sympathetic character - something we don't often see done with zombies, even zombie comedies (and this movie was not intended to scare you, so if you're looking for a frightfest you really should have looked more closely at the description). You find yourself rooting for her transformation, and you want her to succeed - if only so that you can see what she does next.

It's campy, flawed, and I strongly recommend it -- especially to genre fans who have seen one too many disappointing, cookie-cutter low-budget zombie movie in the hopes of catching something different. This is definitely different, and definitely worth a watch. And don't be afraid to smile at the overacting and odd, sparse dialogue - you're Supposed to.