Fred Olan Ray brings us The Alien Dead, a zombie film that, despite its title, has little to do with aliens. Fred is good at making cheesy movies like these since at least they aren't completely trashy, there are some OK elements in the film, but overall its really just a z-movie.The film opens up on both a narration and a prologue, the narration its pretty useless since there isn't a consistent narrator in the film, the narrator its only in the film at the beginning, making it useless, not only that, but its also one of the few decent scenes in the film, after that there's a prologue, which isn't as good as the narration scene but it at least has something to do with the film, you choose between a narrator or a story that unfolds, not both, Fred. After that the film goes down hill, in pure z-grade fashion.The zombies in the film are people with make up on them making them look really bad, but if you like z-grade films you may like it, even laugh at it, some of the gore effects are decently done, but they are ruined because of the awkward editing and music in the "horror" scenes, there is no sound on those scenes, just weird music, which its very bizarre, but not rare for this kind of film. Some of the music on the film isn't really that bad, it may be a decent score.What you get from this movie its exactly what you would get from a z-grade zombie film, hooky acting, trashy effects, trashy writing, trashy directing, its trash, but it may be fun trash if you are willing to accept it.

Spoiler alert: I describe what happens during a zombie attack by one of the female zombies. Tom Corman is a journalist working for the local paper. He takes a story on the disappearance of Mrs. Griffith who gets swallowed by something in the swamp. The Griffiths are a pair seen hunting on a boat in the beginning of the film. I'm not sure why they are hunting at night with a flash light and not a strobe light since, this is way after 1931 when the strobe light was invented, and I'm sure they can afford something like this. I found this prologue to the film to be clever. Great beginning with music that is synonymous of an old twilight zone episode and the music just gets better as the film rolls. Referencing, perhaps, the kind of music Lucio Fulci uses a lot in his films. This film tries to indicate a zombie race of an alien life force in the opening scenes, but enters a dimension of idiocy instead. In one scene Tom is too dumb to pull his shoes from the guck they are in when he steps in the swamp. Why would he step in the swamp in his new shoes anyways? Something is eating up the gators in the swamp. Fred Ray adds some interesting twists N turns to this film. Again, this film I think tries to be like Fulci's Zombi in places such as, when Jimmy is cutting wood and the viewer sees the zombies walking out of the woods. It's cool here that we see what the zombie sees in some shots by Fred Ray. Sadly, the zombies appear to look more like a group of people in a cult. The sheriff's logic is that "sense there are mosquito's in the swamp, let's go shoot up the city." The film is playful at times, but why on earth is Miller going fishing when it looks like a storm is moving in? The dialogue in this film is silly. Like when Gordy and Miller are talking in the bait shop about the corpse. This seems like the two are taking an acting course and practicing their class project together. During the jump cuts Cambell just stands there. For example, when we see him looking at the beautiful woman skinny dipping. Fred Ray had a chance to make a few scenes awesome. But, there isn't any time left by the time he decides to make one couple, in one scene, when after their car breaks down, lunch-meat. This is so slow paced that you could have attended there funeral and returned and they still wouldn't be dead yet. In this man-eater scene we see the woman sucking on a detached hand. Though you don't see the zombies with a saw and the hand looks cleanly sawed through. The lady runs into the woods, and then the zombie is right there. You wonder how fast that zombie can run. I like the idea of a summary being explained within a film. Awesome job by Fred Ray here. Taking the story of Mrs. Hopkins, and describing the meteorite revival of the dead. Later, in the final scenes. When Miller lights the gun powder and throws it this would blow out before anything could be ignited. Then Miller is seen being tackled. However, the clip before shows zombies far away. Then we see him strung up like a pig. Possibly referencing The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Tobe Hooper, 1974. It's incredible how these Alien zombies know how to do this that fast. Where did they get supplies Mr. Fred Ray? All in all a fun classic zombie movie that shouldn't be taken too seriously!

This is not a good film. But for a film made in 1979 for $12,000 by a young filmmaker with little experience (that would be Fred Olen Ray, who by this time has directed over 100 films of various levels of worth), this is okay and has some enjoyable moments.Realize that I am grading on a curve here, and what Fred was able to do here for $12,000 (including getting Buster Crabbe for the film!) is pretty well amazing.A lot of it doesn't make a whole lotta sense, but it is a fun way to waste 90 minutes if you're a zombie film/monster movie fan.If you're expecting professional level film making, awesome special effects, or even professional level writing or acting (Crabbe aside), you will be out of luck, so stay away. But this is actually one of the better examples of low-budget, regional horror filmmaking out of the 1970's or 1980's. It beats the tar out of anything by Don Dohler, so on that basis it's a mild recommendation.

I remember reading about this in the old fangoria magazine,at the time it looked good,well many years passed and finally got a chance to watch it.and really what a piece of i dare not say,poor Buster Crabbe being the star of this really terrible bomb.they basically use the plot of night of the living dead.and i usually like Fred Olen Ray movies but this early work is very crude.the special effects are bargain basement.well i know Buster Crabbe has done bad movies but this was his worst ever.i think he did a better job on an episode of buck rogers with gil gerard as a fighter pilot.there's some nude scenes thrown in,zombies coming out of the swamp,ripping of the 1977 film shockwaves.if you see this one in the $1.00 store.take my word for it and don't bother,its about 77 minutes of your life you'll never get back.instead watch the more superior night of the living dead,its better and it most likely had a lower budget than alien dead.