The Dead Next Door (1989) Movie Review
Written by: ML
Edited by: Grave Reviews Staff
Film Information
Director: J.R. Bookwalter
Producers: J.R. Bookwalter
Writers: J.R. Bookwalter
Date Released: November 1989
Cast:
Peter Ferry as Raimi
Bogdan Pecic as Dr. Moulsson
Michael Grossi as Mercer
Jolie Jackunas as Kuller
Robert Kokai as Rev. Jones
Floyd Ewing Jr. as Capt. Kline
Roger Graham as Dr. Franklin
Maria Markovic as Anna
Jon Killough as Vincent
Jeff Welch as Cmdr. Carpenter
J.R. Bookwalter as Lloyds
Jennifer Mullen as Powers
Rating = 2.5/5 Graves
***May contain some spoilers***
Synopsis
The story is about an elite team of soldiers called the “Zombie Squad” which has been tasked to control the zombie epidemic. They were sent out on a mission to recover the serum that can supposedly kill the zombies quicker which would make their task easier than using guns. They came across a mysterious cult that protects and feeds the zombies, believing them to be a punishment ordained by God. The task force’s mission is now a battle of belief.
Gore Factor
The blood, guts, and gore in this amateurish zombie movie is so good. From the start to the end, there had not been any lack of brutal zombie feeding spree. The most notable ones include the following: the scene at the start where a beheaded zombie was still alive and squirting blood, with the head biting off fingers and it slides out the neck wound; Vincent’s dead body fed to the zombies; a zombie trying to eat a rat but got out through the hole on his cheek; the zombie that was overrun on the road; Jason sizzling to a skeletal zombie as an effect of the serum; the reverend getting eaten by a horde of zombies; and zombies clawing at Moulsson’s face and body, among many others.
The Grave Review
The emotionless acting paired with monotonous dialogue was problematic in this movie. A lot of times, it seemed as if the characters were just throwing lines at each other.
To make up for the lame acting, there were several comic relief scenes inserted such as the zombies renting the “Living Dead” movies, the captain who died in an instant with just a shoulder wound, and the people getting randomly bitten because of carelessness that could’ve easily been avoided.
Aside from the amateurish look and feel of the movie, there were also evidences of poor editing as seen through the bad cuts from scene to scene.
In any case, the blood, guts, and gore were the best things in this movie. The effects, prosthetics, the act of biting and eating body parts were all so good. The zombies in this movie can compare with those from the “Living Dead” franchise. They could run, they could talk, and does not easily die.
But the ending was quite sad in the sense that the world was eventually overrun by zombies. The entire mission was a failure. No one survived and the task force was eventually called Human Squad.
Overall, this movie is recommended for viewers who love zombie movies and the gory details that go with it.
For the foregoing reasons, Grave Reviews gives The Dead Next Door (1989) two and a half graves out of five graves.
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