The Worst Film Ever

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

An old television acts as a portal that enables zombies to enter our dimension and embark on a murderous spree. Boy, does this hilariously horrendous honey possess all the right wrong stuff to qualify as a definite four-star stinkeroonie: The ham-fisted (mis)direction by Robert Scott (who also penned the delightfully dopey script), poky pace, dodgy acting from a lame no-name cast (although the sultry Jennifer Miro manages to register well as a mysterious and seductive blonde babe), silly false scares, generic hum'n'shiver synthesizer score, and tacky gore all give this deliciously drecky darling a distinctly cruddy charm that's akin to a lovably low-rent episode of an enthusiastic amateurish version of "The Twilight Zone." Moreover, Scott deserves some props for not making the story 100% predictable -- a few character deaths are genuinely shocking and surprising -- as well as for providing several wickedly funny moments of inspired dark humor. Greg Becker's competent cinematography and the gnarly zombie make-up manage to rise above the general ineptitude. A real schlocky hoot and a half.

'The Video Dead' feels much more like a student film, held together with Scotch tape and chocolate-syrup blood and looking more like no-budget-1970 than 1987, the year it was made. A mysterious TV inscribed with a skull and programmed entirely with zombie movies is delivered to a man who lives alone. One night, the unplugged TV becomes a portal for zombies. Yup, that's right, zombies escape from the TV and go on a killing spree. I won't pretend that this isn't the fodder of late-night TV. In fact, I vaguely recall seeing it on 'USA Up All Night with Rhonda Shear' back in the very early 90's, usually the final resting place for all 1980's camp horror. What makes this one stand out is its bizarre logic; these are not Romero's zombies.After some time, new residents move into the house and discover the possessed TV in the attic. The film turns into a teen-horror and the characters are given glimpses of another world beyond the screen in which a vampish seductress taunts and a hero garbage man is in search of the escaping zombies. Little of this is explained beyond a few scenes and that plot seems all but forgotten halfway through. In the second half we're introduced to a mysterious roaming Texan (a poor man's Slim Pickens) hoping to avenge his wife's death which was apparently at the hands of these zombies.As if that wasn't weird enough, the zombies giggle, taunt, and torture their prey. There's no biting here, more likely, these ghouls are apt to strangle and kill in elaborate ways (see washing machine death) usually reserved for the likes of 'Jason Voorhees' or 'Michael Myers'. There's also a number of rules (a la 'Gremlins') that can be used in combating them. There was something to do with mirrors, bells, and having to convince the zombies that they're dead; there was even a scene where claustrophobia seemingly causes one of their heads to explode and the others turn cannibal. I didn't really follow all of it but it didn't really matter. With some schlocky gore and a plot drifting from comedy, to stoner movie, to chainsaw wielding buddy adventure, I suggest just sitting back, turning your logic-cap off, and having a laugh at this one; without being at all good, it's not all bad.

Why didn't they just name it The TV Dead? That would have been a lot more accurate, there's no video in it.. Okay, this is my third all-time favourite zombie flick, taking pride of place right behind Zombie Flesh Eaters, and Dawn of the Dead. I just love horror films that involve things emerging from the television, it's such a cool creepy idea! It gives me such a chill when the zombie turns and glares evilly right out of the screen... The prologue is so spooky when the ugly grizzled guy keeps turning off the haunted TV but it just keeps turning itself back on when his back is turned. I wish "Zombie Blood Nightmare" were a real picture! His ashen corpse is very eerie with the party stuff all over him. They ~played~ with him, brr.. ::: I love the Garbageman scene - just look at that face! He's like the Old Man of the Sea come to life! That gnarly old man really brought his A-game! The Garbageman's on a roll so ya better listen and listen *good!* Just what the hell was he supposed to be anyway, the guardian of friggin' Dimension X or what!? I find it funny when the dumbass Jeff can't seem to say anything to him that doesn't end with a question mark, and it really slays me how the old buzzard says "A mirrorrr..." as he leaves, like he's trying to be all 'mysterious!' ::: Rocky Duvall.. Wet behind the ears doesn't begin to cover it. His voice was so silly and high-pitched. He also had a kind of lisp that seemed to come and go. His acting skills really did stink, but I just thought he was so funny it didn't matter. He was like an eager puppy! And he still wasn't as bad as the mom from Troll 2. I thought it was a bit of a shocker when his character meets an unexpected and surprisingly brutal demise. I found it a wee bit sad too... ::: A lot of the other reviews Declare that Roxanna Augusen as Zoe was as bad as Duvall, I didn't think so. Yeah, she too was pretty weak for the most part, but I thought she really came into her own when it got to the final act where she's playing it terrified/fake happy hostess for the zombies! That must have been a very interesting task for any actress. And I thought she was excellent in her absolute terror in the chilling closing scene that wraps things up oh so perfectly. All I could remember of this film for years was the scene where she's standing at the front door of the house with the sun setting and she says to the rather confused zombies: "How nice to see you all! Won't you come in?" I don't know why but those lines always stuck with me, so totally bizarre and surreal. Some of the big dialogue scenes, such as the one with Garbageman or when the obnoxious cowboy explains the rules kinda wind up not being as interesting as they should be, and just kind of taper off thanks to a few misplaced words and clunky sentences. It's like someone didn't have a complete grasp of what a screenplay was or something... I can't believe some of the complaints are about the way the zombies look. Are you nuts!? For the time it's got some of the best looking makeup effects going - much more menacing and impressive than the blue-skinned terrors of Dawn of the Dead-forever great and classic creations though they may be. I think that was one of the big problems. It looks like all the money may have gone into those zombies! And about those undead.. Well they weren't strictly the undead at all as such, were they? not in any conventional sense. They were more like malicious ghosts that liked to pathetically pantomime at being alive. That's one of the reasons I love this so much-the 'zombies' are totally unique, and that's something-especially today when you've got absolutely wretched low rent zombie trash endlessly being spewed out by the bucket load. A lot of this film's music is seriously creepy, and helps to set a genuinely nightmarish and unsettling tone of dread. This film deserves..if not respect than a least a little consideration, if only for the mood, makeup effects and perhaps originality. There's something of the old E.C. Comics spirit about it, I think. A real fun mad '80s gem that's best enjoyed with someone, it's got a lot of charm and style. I love it to death, and you can tell they had fun making it. Bye!

Robert Scotts' low budget shocker "The Video Dead" wasn't quite as much fun as this viewer would have liked. Sometimes it's just too silly and inane for its own good. Still, there's always something to be said for endearingly tacky cheap cheese fests like it; it's got its heart in the right place and there are some very entertaining sequences.A mysterious package arrives at the home of a reclusive writer. It turns out to be a TV set, but this ain't your typical TV set. It only features one program, a movie titled "Zombie Nightmare", and soon the zombies in this movie-within-the-movie manifest themselves in reality. Fast forward a few months, and a new family is moving into the writers' house. They come to realize that the zombies are attacking the living, and with the help of a Texas character named Joshua Daniels (Sam David McClelland), they try to take care of the problem.The makeup effects are a highlight, and the zombie performers are certainly enthusiastic. They're all fun to watch, especially one that is dubbed The Bride. There are some irresistible splatter moments, with extremities and other body parts being lopped off and some healthy nods to "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre". Best of all is a showdown between Jeff Blair (Rocky Duvall) and The Bride (Diane Hadley). The sense of humour really helps; writer / director Scott refuses to ever take this stuff very seriously.The acting is frequently quite amateurish, but this merely adds to the amusement factor. Roxanna Augesen is appealing as our heroine, Zoe Blair, and Victoria Bastel is a hoot as local rich gal April. McClelland is very sincere as the guy who knows the answers to the zombie problem, and Jennifer Miro adds sex appeal as the mystery woman from "Zombie Nightmare".Overall, "The Video Dead" is agreeable enough entertainment for lovers of B movies, getting off to a good start and working its way towards a fun finish.Seven out of 10.