Deathdream

Rating:
Summary: ANDY'S HOME! 1970'S FRIGHT NIGHT CLASSIC RETURNS TO HAUNT!
Review: Aside from another rediscovered cult classic - LEMORA, A CHILD'S TALE OF THE SUPERNATURAL - DEATHDREAM has always been my favorite horror film from the 1970's that haunted me on numerous late-night TV showings. I've watched this cult classic countless times and have come in contact with numerous bad quality prints on VHS, complete with extremely cheesy box artwork!!! For years I've hoped for a DVD remastering of this special film, and now, thanks to Blue Underground, we have the definitive edition. DEATHDREAM is now in anamorphic widescreen, from a remastered negative and accompanied by juicy extras to please hardcore fans like me! Although there are times when a bit of grain is still noticeable in a few sequences, this is THE version to own.

For the 'virgin viewer,' you're in for a treat. DEATHDREAM is a grim, low-key, and extremely eerie film that benefits from great performances by John Marley, Lynn Carlin, and especially Richard Backus as Andy; a chilling AND moving script by Alan Ormsby; an unsettling music score by Carl Zittrer; grisly makeup effects by Orsmby and a young Tom Savini; and screw-tightening direction by Bob Clark. The overall effect is tragic and haunting.

The film was one of the first to address the cataclysmic after-effects of the Vietnam war when veterans returned to their families. Andy plays one such veteran, a young man whose parents receive the awful news that their son has been killed in action. The night they receive this information there's a knock at their front door. It is Andy, although they are shocked at his pale, sunken face and expressionless demeanor. At first they are elated by his appearance, but as Andy is encouraged by his loved ones to resume where he left off before going off to war, his family begins to realize that something isn't quite right about Andy - something's missing, both physically and emotionally. Eventually they discover that Andy is indeed dead and has come back to them as a bloodthirsty corpse!

The film manages to move and provoke the viewer as well as frighten him/her. There are several truly disturbing sequences, and if you are squeamish about needles (like me) I will warn you that they are Andy's prefered method of obtaining blood! Horror films like these don't appear that often, especially in these irony-addicted times where film-makers seem incapable of taking their subject matter seriously. Despite a low-budget, DEATHDREAM takes itself very seriously and manages to hold up well alongside scare flicks today! Rediscover this long-lost classic ASAP. I recommended viewing this with Bob Clark and Alan Orsmby's other gems - CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS, DERANGED and BLACK CHRISTMAS. All are similarly atmospheric and way creepy, although DEATHDREAM, in my opinion, is their masterpiece!

Rating:
Summary: Good but not great horror film
Review: Bob Clark's 1974 film Deathdream is a very good try at an American horror movie with a great idea that somehow does not quite gel. Fusing the Vietnam War with the classic tale "The Monkey's Paw", Clark here creates what could have been a minor masterpiece but unfortunately falls short.

The main character, Andy, is a young soldier in the Vietnam War. One day his parents receive the tragic news that he has been killed. They are grief-stricken, of course, but cling to the hope that somehow he may still be alive. The mother, in fact, keeps saying to herself, "You promised me, Andy"--to return, that is.

And one night, he does. Naturally his parents are overjoyed. What they don't know is that Andy has come back as, unfortunately, a walking dead man--a zombie. At first things seem to be relatively normal, but soon enough Andy's condition starts deteriorating and he needs a lot of blood to keep things healthy, so to speak.

The film starts to fall apart as the Andy's condition itself deteriorates and it becomes basically a gorefest--which for gorehounds is fine, but for those of us who want more can be frustrating. While the first half of the film is excellent, the second half sags and that's really too bad.

I would really have loved to give this four stars, but it's just not quite there.

Rating:
Summary: Bob Clarke is the forefather of American slasher films..
Review: Deathdream, alternatively known as The Night Andy Came Home and Dead Of Night, is that rarest of things-essentially a slasher film with a social conscience.
Andy is a young soldier fighting in Vietnam, his family eagerly awaits his return home. Much to their dismay, they receive the news that Andy has been killed in battle. Awakened by a knock at their door later that night, the family is shocked but relieved that their son has returned. But Andy is a very different person-withdrawn and prone to outbursts of extreme violence. It seems that Andy is now a shell of his former self-the living dead requiring the blood of the living to rejuvenate himself. Andy is no ordinary vampire, he injects the blood of his victims into himself with a hypodermic needle-much like a heroin addict. The film climaxes in a strangely poetic graveyard scene with the soldier committing himself to his earthly resting place with his distraught mother at his side.
The acting in this is above average-John Marley(The Car), is excellent as Andy's concerned father and Richard Backus is suitably creepy as the doomed Andy.
Bob Clarke, should be considered a pioneering horror film director. The influence this film, along with Black Christmas, has had on later films like Carpenter's Halloween is incalculable. Clarke has fashioned in Deathdream, an exceptional supernatural/slasher yarn that is clearly anti-Vietnam. The previously mentioned climax is especially moving, as is Andy's limited dialogue throughout the film.
Blue Underground has provided an extras filled DVD that should be considered a must for fans of this unique film. If you remember seeing this film on late night cable, as I first did many years ago, you should give it a second glance-it has aged very well. Fans of suspenseful slasher fare, who prefer atmosphere and narrative over gratuitous gore and sex will be pleased with this too.

Rating:
Summary: Bob Clarke is the forefather of American slasher films..
Review: Deathdream, alternatively known as The Night Andy Came Home and Dead Of Night, is that rarest of things-essentially a slasher film with a social conscience.
Andy is a young soldier fighting in Vietnam, his family eagerly awaits his return home. Much to their dismay, they receive the news that Andy has been killed in battle. Awakened by a knock at their door later that night, the family is shocked but relieved that their son has returned. But Andy is a very different person-withdrawn and prone to outbursts of extreme violence. It seems that Andy is now a shell of his former self-the living dead requiring the blood of the living to rejuvenate himself. Andy is no ordinary vampire, he injects the blood of his victims into himself with a hypodermic needle-much like a heroin addict. The film climaxes in a strangely poetic graveyard scene with the soldier committing himself to his earthly resting place with his distraught mother at his side.
The acting in this is above average-John Marley(The Car), is excellent as Andy's concerned father and Richard Backus is suitably creepy as the doomed Andy.
Bob Clarke, should be considered a pioneering horror film director. The influence this film, along with Black Christmas, has had on later films like Carpenter's Halloween is incalculable. Clarke has fashioned in Deathdream, an exceptional supernatural/slasher yarn that is clearly anti-Vietnam. The previously mentioned climax is especially moving, as is Andy's limited dialogue throughout the film.
Blue Underground has provided an extras filled DVD that should be considered a must for fans of this unique film. If you remember seeing this film on late night cable, as I first did many years ago, you should give it a second glance-it has aged very well. Fans of suspenseful slasher fare, who prefer atmosphere and narrative over gratuitous gore and sex will be pleased with this too.

Rating:
Summary: How about a DVD release in the UK?
Review: I am originally from Georgia, U.S.A. and have been living in the UK for more than five years now. I first saw "Deathdream" at a drive-in in Georgia under the title "It Came From The Grave!" back in the 1980's. I then saw it there on VHS video under the title "Deathdream". It was out here in the UK a few years ago on VHS video and played on t.v. here under the title "Dead of Night", which could be confused with the 1945 British classic of the same title. I sincerely hope that Blue Underground will make this DVD release of "Deathdream" available here in the UK very soon. Along with Bob Clark's other classic, "Black Christmas", it is one of my favorite horror films of all-time. It's great to see "Deathdream" finally getting the recognition that it has long deserved.

Rating:
Summary: Andy the Veteran Came Home In the Dead of Night
Review: In the horror flick DEATHDREAM (1972/1974), director Bob Clark and screenwriter Alan Ormsby borrow the basic concept from author W.W. Jacobs' famous short story "The Monkey's Paw" and remold it into a low-budget but effective statement against U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. DEATHDREAM tells the story of a U.S. soldier (Richard Backus) who is killed in Vietnam but nonetheless returns home exhibiting some semblance of life. However, unbeknownst to his family--happily surprised to see him after having been informed by the Army that he was killed--he has become a vampiric zombie who must ingest human blood to maintain the pretense of being alive. The problems that his undead state causes for himself and his loved ones are really intended as allegorical reflections of the devastating effects of the Vietnam War on returning vets and their families.

As a horror film, DEATHDREAM is clearly a product of its time. In spite of the compelling plot and the presence of accomplished thespians among the cast--e.g., actor John Marley, here playing the soldier's father, made cinema history with his Oscar-nominated performance as the businessman who wakes up next to a severed horse's head after refusing Marlon Brando's offer in THE GODFATHER (1972)--the dialog is often inordinately histrionic and the acting therefore very melodramatic at times. To be fair, though, these qualities add a sense of surrealism that mostly compliments rather than detracts from the film's creepiness, and such histrionics and melodrama actually comprise an aesthetic that is common to many horror greats of the '70s such as Tobe Hooper's THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE (1974), Larry Cohen's IT'S ALIVE! (1974), and Richard Donner's THE OMEN (1976), to name just a few. So DEATHDREAM is not really a bad film. But the fact that its primary theme revolves around the era's counter-culture attitudes towards the Vietnam War, in combination with its palpable 1970s cinematic aesthetic, make it a bit dated, and it therefore hasn't aged quite as well as its better-known contemporaries.

Regardless of its trivial flaws, DEATHDREAM's infamously disturbing and graphically macabre climax could alone elevate the flick to its status as a minor genre classic. The unique and grisly scene is arguably as chilling as any in the history of horror cinema, and the imagery stays with the audience long after the closing credits have rolled. DEATHDREAM is also notable for marking the first professional film credit for makeup FX legend Tom Savini--just back from a tour in Vietnam himself--who would later do FX work for George Romero on the legendary DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978) and DAY OF THE DEAD (1985) in addition to many other genre classics.

The DVD release of DEATHDREAM from Blue Underground offers a very good digital transfer, made from a recently discovered negative, in the movie?s original widescreen aspect ratio (enhanced for 16x9 TVs). It has been wonderfully restored, though a few filmic artifacts and some color shift are occasionally noticeable. The film was released at various times over the years bearing several different titles, and though it was more commonly known as DEATHDREAM in the U.S. (hence the DVD title), the negative used for this transfer--which is apparently the only complete copy known to exist at this time--uses the title DEAD OF NIGHT in the opening sequence. Interestingly, DEAD OF NIGHT was the title under which the film originally premiered.

Also on the disc are some pretty cool extras, including two feature commentaries--one with the director; one with the screenwriter--alternate opening titles, a recent interview with actor Richard Backus, a featurette profiling FX man Savini, and more. DEATHDREAM is definitely worthy of a place in the DVD collections of all serious horror fans.

Rating:
Summary: Horrible cover art- great DVD
Review: Like Blue Sunshine, Deathdream (here retitled Dead of Night) used to be a staple of KHJ channel 9 in So. Cal back when I was a kid. Also like Blue Sunshine, it's been given a first-class DVD release. The transfer is excellent and the extra features are interesting and plentiful.

If you've never seen the film, it's a very well done zombie/vampire film with anti-Vietnam overtones. The acting is excellent by the leads and Alan Ormsby's story (particularly the ending) is actually both creepy and moving- no easy task. Bob (Black Christmas, Porky's, She Man) Clark's direction and Ormsby's disturbing makeup are very good.

Clark's commentary is a little dry, but has some interesting insights about his career and past experiences. Ormsby's commentary is more robust. There's a recent interview with lead actor Richard Backus (who does a funny re-enactment of one of his Deathdream character's not-so-subtle rage building scenes) and a recent interview with Tom Savini (who assisted Ormsby on the makeup).

So good it makes me want to check out Black Christmas again.

Rating:
Summary: a supernatural zombie tales from the vietnam war!
Review: Many of us baby-boomers remember "Deathdream" as a staple of late night T.V. horror flicks like "Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things" and "Psychomania." Many films in this B-Movie horror genre, when released on DVD, get the "Budget Buy" treatment: just the movie, no cool "behind the scenes" or "Movie Trailer" extras.

So imagine how jazzed I was to pick up this DVD expecting only the bare-bones movie, and found a cool mountain of extras including Commentary by Director Bob Clark, Commentary by screenwriter Alan Ormsby (who also wrote and starred in the abovementioned "Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things"), a Tom Savini feature, an interview with lead man Richard Backus, not to mention the cool theatrical trailer.

Just hours after learning that Andy has been killed in Vietnam, his family is pleasantly shocked to find their lost beloved show up at their doorstep, looking very much alive, albeit a bit shell-shocked. With vampiric needs and zombie mannerisms, the horror ride begins!

Of the bonus features, I enjoyed the interview with Richard Backus the most. When I read that the interview length was 12 minutes, I thought it would be low key and trivial, but the crew wound packing a lot of cool information into that 12 minutes! Richard Backus has aged really well, and its hep to see that he has fond memories of his campy first film role. He is even good-humored enough to recreate one of his more over-the-top moments in the film! Backus went on to appear in a number of movies and several Soaps, including "As the World Turns" into the early 1990s.

As for the film itself, what trips me out about "Deathdream" is that while it has a low budget and campy feel, the performances, direction, and editing are quite exceptional. Also starring in the movie are John Marley (who is probably remembered best for waking up next to a horse's head in "The Godfather."), and Lynn Carlin (in my opinion, one of the most underrated actresses from the 60s & 70s. She was exceptionally good as an unstable mother in the almost forgotten 1973 film "Baxter"). The majority of actors in this flick went on to get a healthy dose of work in the TV and movie industry, and even the folks whose only role was in "Deathdream" did a good job.

Aside from the horrid looking bloodbath in a doctor's office that looks more like a botched interior paint job, the make-up and effects are impressive. Andy's deteriorating appearances, be they subtle or excruciating, look cool!

For those of you who remember "Deathdream" from the Land of Late Night TV Past, this movie plus the extra features will be a fun trip down memory lane. If you have never seen this before and are a connoisseur of campy horror, this is essential for your collection!


Rating:
Summary: Disappointing.
Review: The reputation of this semi-legendary, rarely seen(until now) horror film suggests that it's much better than it actually is. Don't get me wrong: this isn't a bad movie. John Marley and Richard Backus both give strong performances and the script is scathingly critical of the Vietnam War, but "Deathdream" moves at a snail's pace. I found myself yawning about halfway through, and when things finally started to pick up it was just too late to redeem the film(for me, anyway). You expect this kind of pacing from 1930s and '40s films--not from something made in 1974.
The last fifteen or twenty minutes of "Deathdream" are compelling; the movie ends with a much-needed bang. What disappointed me the most, I suppose, was that I was expecting a lot of creepy atmosphere from this film, and it just didn't deliver on that count. Bottom line: interesting, but not great. Kudos to Alan Ormsby and Tom Savini for Backus's wonderful zombie makeup.

Rating:
Summary: This one will chill you!
Review: This is a very low budget 1972 horror flick concerning the return of a Vietnam vet to small town America after his parents had been notified he was dead. He acts very strange, won't eat or sleep, but has a strange craving... Bob Clark, who would become a huge cult icon with Black Christmas, Christmas Story, Porky's and Murder by Decree, cut his teeth on this low budgeter. His talent shines through. He was lucky enough to get a young Tom Savini to do the bloody effects. Richard Backus plays the young soldier. He is quite restrained and very creepy!
This is one of the first anti-Vietnam War films.
You've probably only seen it on late night TV. Now, Blue Underground releases the film in all it's glory: included are two commentaries (writer and director), an interview with Backus and a short about Savini. This is a must for early 70's horror freaks, and all others are invited to be creeped out!!