This is one of those Indie B Films that is so awful that it's good. Remember that it's a COMEDY-Horror when watching - it is not a pure Horror flick.It takes the first hour of the film to build the story and suspense before the zombies arise. That first hour is my favorite part of the film.I was born in 1972 and grew up with the 70s humor - stupid dark humor like in this film - so it's right up my alleyway. This is the first time in years I've seen this movie and it's great to watch again - even though it's a mess of a film.7/10

Originally reviewed rather poorly, and referred to for many decades as campy, cheesy, and low-budget schlock, the recent resurgence of the zombie genre has brought a new generation to Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things, and a whole new appreciation. This film holds up. It more than holds up, it gets better with age. Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things. 1973. Not only is this my favorite zombie movie, but it's my favorite movie of all time. For reasons that are as much emotional as intellectual. I first saw it on Elvira's Movie Macabre season 5 episode 17 when I was sixteen years old. The next morning I remember a cross country meet where I was running through the woods. Everyone on the bus had seen the movie the night before and what is forgotten in the descriptions of this movie as campy is that it's a scary movie. The scene where they look out into the night and the female zombie is eating Paul floored everyone. It was what everyone was talking about. Now it's more years since I saw CSPWDT for the first time than it was years since the movie was first made when I saw it that first time. Twice as many years, in fact, if any of that makes sense. http://www.thingsofthedead.blogspot.com/

A flaky theatrical group led by the arrogant and obnoxious Alan (deliciously essayed with lip-smacking hammy brio by co-writer Alan Ormsby) go to a small island. Alan inadvertently resurrects the moldy old corpses from a nearby cemetery after reciting a spell from a grimoire. Director/co-writer Bob Clark does a bang-up job of creating and sustaining a genuinely spooky and unsettling misty midnight-in-the-graveyard gloom-doom ooga booga atmosphere, further jazzes things up with a wickedly funny line in spot-on sardonic humor (the biting, barbed, insult-laden dialogue is often quite amusing and definitely keeps things buzzing throughout), and really pulls out all the stops with the supremely grisly and harrowing climax with the angry zombies attacking the group as a large seething mass. The remote island setting adds an extra unnerving feeling of vulnerability and isolation. The zombies are truly scary and hideous-looking. The game cast have a ball with their colorfully quirky parts: While Ormsby clearly dominates the whole show with his gloriously over-the-top scenery-chewing histrionics, he nonetheless receives sturdy support from Anya Ormsby as the kooky Anya, Jane Daly as the sweet, lovely Terry, Valerie Mamches as the sarcastic Val, Jeff Gillen as dim-witted lunk Jeff, Roy Engleman as the mincing, effeminate Roy, and Seth Sklarey as ghastly ghoul Orville Dunworth (there's a nicely icky suggestion of necrophilia in the scenes between Alan and Orville). Both Jack McGowan's rather rough and grainy, but still occasionally striking cinematography and Carl Zittrer's odd, droning score are up to speed. Although a tad slow in spots and certainly ragged around the edges, this movie overall sizes up as essential viewing for devout fans of 70's oddball horror cinema.

The first time I saw this I was 13 and it aired on channel 9 around 11:30 PM on a school night.It freaked me out! A small time acting crew raises hell on an island then awakens the dead.Alan Ormsby is the lead dude who takes a liking to Orville a corpse.Its creeping and funny with soft gore{standard PG} Its perfect for Halloween viewing due to its mere 70,000 budget.Its my favorite next to Night of the Living Dead and Dawn Of the Dead.Who would of thought that Bob Clark after directing this would go on to direct Porkies.If you are in the mood for a good under rated movie this is it.Alan Ormsby went on to write Cat People which I actually thought it was pretty good.Not as good as the original but hey what is better..right?