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PLOT: A dowdy nurse contracts an odd strain of the zombie virus which changes her into a flesh-eating sex maniac.
WHY IT WON’T MAKE THE LIST: There are plenty of weird elements in this low-budget B&W horror comedy, from slightly out-of-sync dubbing to deliberate overacting to Eraserhead-inspired dream sequences, but they seem forced and shallow, like an attempt by the filmmakers to distance themselves from the thin material they have to work with.
COMMENTS: One of the hardest things to do in the movie universe is to make deliberate camp. Yet, it’s a pitfall that beginning directors seem to fall into over and over. They want the audience to realize that they are too talented to be making a silly zombie nurse movie, when what the audience really wants is to not notice the direction and enjoy a silly zombie nurse movie. There is some talent on display here, especially in the black and white photography, but overall the humor is alternately too subtle and too broad to work. It’s obvious that the filmmakers and the crew and actors (who worked for free) enjoyed themselves tremendously, and that do-it-yourself enthusiasm comes across on screen and makes the movie seem less of a failure than it might otherwise have been.
Parts of the movie are obviously inspired by the look and feel of the films of fellow Canadian Guy Maddin. In fact, the movie was originally intended to be silent (which may help explain some of the mugging for the camera from the guy who played “handsome” doctor). The dubbing was added later by different voice actors, after the director and producers decided Graveyard Alive didn’t work as a modern silent.
WHAT THE CRITICS SAY: