CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS (1972)
Zombie Walks to Blu-ray
Cult-Classic, Directed by Bob Clark, Finally Gets Deluxe Hi-Definition Treatment
Release Date: February 23, 2016
Language: English
Subtitles: English
Duration: 87 minutes
Rating:PG
VCI is set to release the micro-budgeted, horror classic, "Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things," on February 23, 2016. A big hit with the drive-in crowd of the early 70's, this little gem, directed by Bob Clark, has become a big success on home video in the years since, earning true cult-film status along the way. VCI decided it was high-time to give "CSPWDT" the special Blu-ray attention adoring fans have been asking for, and it certainly paid off.
Bob Clark, the well-respected director of such other popular horror movies, including, "Black Christmas" (1974) and "Dead of Night" (1974), actually directed, produced and wrote "CSPWDT" very early in his film career under the pseudonym, 'Benjamin Clark'. Bob perhaps attained his biggest level of fame for giving us the incredibly funny and raunchy, "Porky's" (1981), and perhaps more so for the holiday treasure, "A Christmas Story" (1983). Though CSPDWT was never conceived to be an 'Academy Award Winner' - main star, Alan Ormsby, even jokingly said it was a "Night of the Living Dead" rip-off - uniquely talented, Bob Clark was able to infuse his little film with surprising elements of humor and spooky atmosphere, witty but memorable dialogue, and just decent-enough make-up and effects, to raise this little "rip-off" up from the b-movie graveyard, so it could earn its rightful place among other truly iconic horror films. Perhaps not surprisingly, a remake of CSPWDT was announced in 2006, with Clark to direct again. Unfortunately, Bob Clark was killed in a 2007 car-wreck, which also claimed the lives of his son. His incredible film legacy will still live on.
To produce the Blu-ray, VCI's in-house team spent over a 100 hours on the digital restoration alone, making this one of the most extensive projects ever conducted. Starting with a new 2K scan from Cinepost, Atlanta, an expert in transferring vintage film, the project moved back to VCI for additional color correction, mega-grain reduction, dust and dirt removal, and film fixes, plus some other VCI 'magic'. The results were definitely worth the effort - the movie has never looked better. View a sample of the restoration here: http://bit.ly/1n4jPpM.
The Blu-ray package was completed with the addition of many bonus features, including: 2 commentary tracks, video tributes to Bob Clark, the original theatrical trailer, music videos, and some very rare, and clever radio spots, which have not been heard since the original theatrical release, plus much more.
VCI also enlisted input from the many fans of the movie, via social media. This resulted in a huge response and led VCI to make changes in the original package/cover design. VCI ultimately decided to include three cover designs: a two-sided (reversible) cover-wrap and a special 3rd fan-inspired cover option printed on a separate insert. Also included is a collectible booklet, with movie photos and liner-notes, written by Mike Kenny.
SYNOPSIS
Led by a mean-spirited director, Alan (Alan Ormsby), a theater troupe travels by boat to a small island graveyard for buried criminals. Using a grimoire, Alan begins a séance to raise the dead. The group finds more than they bargained for when the dead return from their graves, forcing the troupe to take refuge in an old abandoned caretaker's house. Can they stay put until daylight against the onslaught of the undead, or do they flee into the pitch black night? Will anyone survive?
