Deathdream
Directed by Bob Clark
When their son returns home after dying in war, a couple suspect he’s not human. Soon enough, Andy is thirsty for blood to keep his body from rotting - which naturally causes problems for him and his parents. Before moving on to mainstream fare, Bob Clark (A CHRISTMAS STORY) directed three well-regarded horror films (including BLACK CHRISTMAS) of which DEATHDREAM is the most powerful, marrying W.W. Jacob’s classic horror story “The Monkey’s Paw” with an important social message about the violence of the Vietnam war - and how veterans bring it home with them.
When their son returns home after dying in war, his parents suspect he’s not human.
Cast: John Marley, Lynn Carlin, Richard Backus
Member Reviews
I'd heard of this but never seen it so thanks Shudder. However it seemed edited? The same as Body Melt? Not sure what's going on with that. Anyway this is completely dripping with great atmosphere and full of encroaching dread all the way through. This creates an eerie distance throughout but also pulls you in at the same time which just can't be replicated nowadays. A huge treat!
A lot of fun, a rotting corpse tries to convince his parents that, well, that he's not a rotting corpse. Campy of course but I enjoyed it a lot
Super campy, very b movie, much lack of funding. Great movie, Tom Savini effects so it’s awesome
Once the film's "twist" is discovered, it really begins to drag. Unfortunately, the "twist" is made pretty obvious very early on. The effects are good (early Savini!) and there is potential for a decent movie it just suffers from a fairly slow pace to the point where we are just waiting for what we know will happen to occur. Not unwatchable, just not great.
on paper this is a throwaway slasher, but it's shot through with something one wouldn't expect. stylish, above and beyond the call of duty. it has a strange spinning, off-balance feel throughout. many scenes are shot or lit in ways which significantly add to the feel, and various interesting inclusions (the cop playing with the venetian blinds comes to mind) contribute to the dreamlike quality.