Zombie Death House is a Classic Example of a Not-a-Zombie Zombie Movie
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Zombie Death House could have actually been a good movie with more budget. A zombie movie review by the Zombie Master.
Written by The Zombie Master
Lee Roberts
April 4, 2007
Release: 1987
Directed by: Nick Marino and John Saxon
Written by: Devin Frazer and William Selby
Starring:
Dennis Cole as Derek Keillor
Anthony Franciosa as Vic Moretti
John Saxon as Colonel Gordon Burgess
Tane McClure as Tanya Karrington (TK)
For anyone who has the desire to become more knowledgeable about zombies and zombie movies you must first prepare yourself. By that I mean that the vast majority of zombie films are either low-budget or no-budget. Taking that into account, you have to look at other aspects of film making to place judgment on any piece of zombie cinema. Let’s look at a perfect example.
Zombie Death House starts out innocent enough. Derek
Keillor (Dennis Cole), a Vietnam vet in need of a job, starts working
as a chauffeur for Vic Moretti (Anthony 
Franciosa), the local mob boss. Derek is also
chauffeuring the boss’s wife to a hotel room taking advantage
of some fringe benefits. The boss however is not aware of these
benefits and when he finds out he kills his wife and has Derek framed
for the murder. Derek is found guilty and sent to Townsend State
Penitentiary to await execution.
Lucky for Derek, the state pen is where Colonel Burgess (John Saxon)
has decided to test an experimental drug that has been altered by the
military. Unlucky for Derek, this drug contains a mutated virus that
turns the inmates into zombies. Talk about having a bad day.
As if things could not get worse, now Colonel Burgess has decided that
the best thing to do is to quarantine the prison and blow it up. Will
the Colonel’s plans follow through? Will Vic Moretti get his
in the end? Will Derek get out in time? Will anyone really care by the
time it’s all over? Only after watching Zombie
Death House will you know for sure.
Zombie Death House is a classic example of a good story that
required more monetary backing to be made into a good movie. It is also
an example of what happens when you try to pack 10 pounds of info in a
5 pound movie. Zombie Death House is confusing,
very choppy, and covered with loose ends. However, it is a fun
movie because it is classic 80’s
cheese. All but one female is blonde with big hair, the dialogue is
corny, and there are occasions of unrelated placement of boobies.
John Saxon is well known to horror aficionados in roles from the original Black Christmas to Cannibal Apocalypse to Nightmare on Elm Street. In Zombie Death House he takes on two roles: actor and director. In my humble opinion, he should have picked one and stuck with it. My vote would have been acting because his directing needed some help. By taking on both roles however, his acting ends up being very dry.
If you are looking for a work of cinematic genius I would definitely look else where. If you are looking for a fun, low-budget, cheesy, not-really-a-zombie zombie movie then you should check out Zombie Death House the next chance you get. Questions or comments about Zombie Death House? Contact us!
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