Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

A gaggle of young actors, and their asinine, irredeemably annoying leader, Alan (Alan Ormsby), arrive on a remote island graveyard in order to perform an arcane ritual. After much mumbo jumbo, a blasphemous good time is had by all. But, wait! Something has gone... all too right. Something has caused the subterranean residents to stir. Tonight, the living had better watch out. CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS is a surprisingly effective low-budget horror movie, w/ a beautiful, slow-building atmosphere of dread and doom. In spite of some overt cheeeze, there are some genuine chills to be had here. Ormsby's William-T.-Shatner-on-speed performance is at once jaw-dropping and totally infuriating! His presence also makes the whole story work. Without his arrogant idiocy, the sting of what unfolds would be nowhere near as potent! Annnnd, the finale is... to die for! CSPWDT stands as a unique entry in the realm of living dead cinema...

It wasn't until the VHS boom that I was finally able to see this film. I watched it and wasn't all that impressed having built up my expectations based on a poster I'd seen and word of mouth on the movie. Sure it was a decent horror film but by this time I'd seen three George Romero zombie films and countless others as well. This movie lacked the fine tuning of those when it came to quality of production, screen writing, etc.So now the movie comes out from VCI in Blu-Ray format. They've released it earlier in standard DVD format but this was a special edition. Has it improved in the 44 years since it was first released? Truth be told, yes it has. I was surprised at how much better it seemed after all this time. Not only that but the quality of the print here, remastered by VCI for this edition, actually made a difference as well. No washed out tones, not scenes too dark to see in and sharper than before, enough so that the titles seemed to pop off the screen.The movie is definitely 70s material with a hip acting troupe taking a small boat out to a mysterious island that director Alan (Alan Ormsby) says is haunted and filled with the dead bodies of murderers and criminals. The island does have a huge graveyard in it, one that we saw a gruesome ghoul of a creature digging in and attacking the caretaker. Alan moves his group through the wooded areas of the island, across the graveyard and to an old abandoned building that they break into.He has brought the troupe here with the intent of raising the dead with a book of demonic spells calling upon Satan to help him. At the same time what might be his bigger objective is to insure that all members are put in their place, beholden to him for a paycheck and willing to do whatever he tells them to. Their inclusion in this ceremony is just an example of his control over their lives.The group heads to the cemetery and digs up a grave, Alan speaks the spell in the book and…well I'll leave that surprise for those who haven't seen the film. Once that finishes he orders the group to take the body that was in the grave back to the house where he talks to it, ridicules it and basically tempts fate with his desecration of a corpse. Stereotypical characters surround him from the diva to the handsome lead actor to the Trippe backstage assistant who seems to see something mystical in all things. Eventually all come together when the spell that Alan uttered actually raises the dead and people begin to fall under their attacks. Just who if any will survive and how they can fight this evil waits to be seen.The first thing many should know about this film is that it was directed by Bob Clark, listed here as Benjamin Clark. If that name sounds familiar it should. Clark went on to direct the cult classic horror film BLACK Christmas, then created/directed the PORKY'S movies, the great Sherlock Holmes movie MURDER BY DECREE and eventually A Christmas STORY, that perennial favorite come Christmas time. When this film was made he was just starting out having directed only two other features by this time. What he accomplished here with a minuscule budget and an aspiring cast is quite good actually. There is some dialogue that is questionable when it comes to being believed but much of it rings true. You can actually believe that these characters are saying what was written. The hippie/Trippe portions that are found might seem dated at best but there were plenty of movies using that same style of dialogue at the time.The movie itself offers a few jump moments and actually does have some truly scary parts that will be sure to haunt the dreams of young viewers who are allowed to watch. The movie is unrated and doesn't include any nudity but the gore effects (quite well for the time) and mentions of Satan will make this a movie parents will want to offer supervised if at all. For most it will be a harmless creature feature, one that terrified their parents years ago but might seem mild for kids these days.Look, I grew up with the drive-in as a source of entertainment with new movies twice a week. Some were the best Hollywood had to offer at the time, some were low budget films that were coming out and many of the second features were movies that were there just to offer a second film. Those movies were made by people who loved movies, who wanted to make the attempt at creating something original and who wanted to see their efforts on the big screen. That the people behind this went on to make bigger films (those noted by Clark as well as Ormsby going on to write MY BODYGUARD, CAT PEOPLE and THE SUBSTITUTE) shows that in some of the smallest films there is talent waiting to explode. That they could make a movie this good with no budget speaks volumes as well. Kudos to VCI for making sure that a movie like this isn't lost and has received such caring treatment. If you love horror movies then this is a must have for your collection.

So, how do you like your Hippie?...Rare? Medium? or, Well-Done?....Would you care to try some Hippie, Fricassee-Style? Mmm. Mmm. Sounds delish, doesn't it?.,...There's just so many fabulous ways to enjoy a Hippie. Like, how about Hippie Tofu-Burgers? Yum. Yum.....You know, with all this talk about Hippies, I'm starting to get pretty hungry for a morsel, or two, of some choice Hippie-Meat, myself.But, of course, if you ask Orville how he likes his Hippie he'll probably say 'Raw'. No ketchup. No pickles. No onions. Nothing. Just plain, raw Hippie. Preferably one that's still alive and kickin' and screamin' when it comes to Orville's feedin' time. Yeah. That's the only way that Orville enjoys his Hippie. Not a fussy guy, this Orville. Neither are the rest of his clan.You see, Orville, and his kin are Zombies! That's right. The Un-Dead!! So, what can you possibly expect from these savage, human flesh-eaters who've obviously got dead taste-buds, anyways? Eh?....It's all Raw-Raw-Raw for Orville, and family. You know, these Zombie guys, and gals, definitely ain't no Gourmets. That's for sure!! Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things (CSPWDT) is a comedy/horror, of sorts, about (what else?) Zombies and their ferocious appetite for living, human flesh.....Well, at least, CSPWDT starts out as a comedy (as lame as this movie's humor is), but once Orville 'Rises-To-The-Occasion' (and, boy, does he ever rise) it's no laughing matter any longer.WARNING : CSPWDT is no Shaun Of The Dead, I guarantee you that.CSPWDT story revolves around what eventually happens on Halloween Night to a group of young and dippy hippie-actors, headed by their chief-hippie, dippy Alan. This group of 8 brain-deads (male & female) are heading out for some serious partying on a small, remote island off the shore of Lake Michigan.Situated upon this island is a tiny, neglected cemetery of about 30 graves. Just before nightfall, after smoking about a pound of 'weed', as the full moon rises in the sky, Alan gathers all his little, thespian love-children around him. And in front of the rickety entrance-gates to the creepy, little cemetery he tells them all why they are here."We are here to raise the dead!", Alan solemnly states."Ha! Ha! Ha! No way, man. You gotta be joking!" is the typical. snickering, hippie reaction, all around.But, no, Alan ain't joking. And before you can say "What's up. Doc!?" Alan has pointed out the grave of Orville Clark, handed out the shovels, and, is now ordering the poor, little Flower-Children to start digging like lots of human-gophers."Yeah. I really 'dig' you, Orville" is what they all must be thinking.Once Orville is out of his grave and onto a small alter-type platform, Alan, in a corny Merlin the Magician's costume, begins to perform a well-rehearsed 'Raise-The-Dead' ritual (totally straight-faced) over Orville's barely decomposed corpse (very suspicious). But, the truth is, no one is really taking any of this business very seriously and before long the interest in the resurrection ceremony has waned considerably by one, and all.The whole farce is soon abandoned completely, with everyone laughing like ninnies while leaving the cemetery, and Orville, far behind. The ever-resourceful Hippies then build an organic campfire near the edge of the woods, and start singing some really nauseating, 'feel-good' Hippie songs......Boy, I totally rejoice over my Anti-Hippie sentiments.Meanwhile......Back at the graveyard.....Orville stirs. Then Orville rises to his feet. Then about 20 other zombies tear right out of the ground and join ranks with Orville, who's the obvious leader of the pack.....And then.....And then......Well, I really don't think I need to tell you what happens 'THEN'.So, after all, Alan's mumbo-jumbo has actually worked on corpse revival. Hallelujah!! CSPWDT Is a flick that's very reminiscent of Night Of The Living Dead.With all the bad acting and cheap effects aside, CSPWDT really isn't too bad for a low-budget horror flick. It's actually more entertaining than most Z-Grade Zombie films that I've seen. There's certainly no shortage of carnage....And there's plenty of gore....And buckets of guts....And barrels of blood.... Yeah. It's enough to keep any horror-movie fan satisfied right up to the last drop, during the final, maniacal slaughter.....Shlurp! Shlurp! CSPWDT is a perfect Halloween Nightmare-Treat for all of you ravenous ghouls and goblins.

I'm a huge advocate of not letting others sway one's decision. This sentiment could not be truer in regards to movies. No one has the same taste, experience, or open-mindedness when viewing a film for the first time. My point is, that a bad review for a film doesn't mean a damn thing if you, the viewer, love and appreciate the film. I am admittedly, hard to impress, but I couldn't help but feel like I was experiencing something awesome when I saw this movie for the first time. A low-budget can be what makes a film special, and in this case, the low budget only lends a hand to the atmosphere. So, if you are curious about this fun, creepy, fuzzy-looking zombie flick, please check it out and then come join me as I party with Orville!