I'm not going to summarize the story here; if you want to know it got watch the movie. I'm just going to say that, contrary to popular belief, this movie does indeed contain zombies, just not the ones most people know. The word zombie has more meaning than people seem to realize. There's the Romero 'Night Of The Living Dead" variety that most are familiar with, but there's more than just that. There's also the old voodoo zombies that are brought back by magic, usually to be used as slaves. There's the kind where you drug someone so they appear dead even to the trained eye, and then after all is said and done you kidnap them and use them for your own gain, continuously drugging them so they don't regain their memories or become too smart. Then there's this movies type of zombies, where it's a regular person who's either brain dead, lobotomized, or otherwise hypnotized into becoming perfectly capable, yet usually perfectly obedient, robot-like zombies.
Now, first things first, the writing. I felt that the writing here was pretty good, the conversations didn't feel forced, and the story was interesting. What we have here is a group of people from the 1800's who stay alive by injecting themselves with a serum made from the brains of others. One of the teachers replaces the missing brain piece with a crystal, resulting in the students becoming smarter, robotic, and subservient zombies. They control the students through classical music that connects to the crystals. Truly great stuff. A+
Still, a good script is nothing without a good cast, and this movie sure delivered on that end. Virginia Madsen does great work as Andrea, especially in later scenes as she grows more frightened and shocked. The ever lovely Richard Cox turns in a wonderful performance as Philo, a professor who administers the crystal, and who slowly starts to want to change his ways by helping Madsen's character. Everyone else does an amazing job as well, though if I kept going on and on I wouldn't be able to stop. A+
The music in the film is great. The incidental pieces are at times creepy, saddening, and beautiful, everything that they need to be. It truly elevates the film. There's also a number of rock and pop songs thrown in, and they are of a good enough quality that I find myself wishing these people had gone on to a career in music. After finishing this I'll be trying to get my hands on a copy of the soundtrack, that's for sure. A+
There's not much room for special effects in the movie, but what we do get is great. The blood looks as realistic as you could get at the time, the aging effects on Philo and the other teachers are phenomenal, and there's this great scene near the end where the teachers have aged so much that their flesh is rotting and falling off, and you can often see their bones underneath. These are more close to the type of zombies a modern viewer might be looking for. A fight to get some of the anti-aging serum erupts in a wine cellar, and as it drags on they just keep aging and rotting, until they're nothing but bones, and even a few of those keep moving. Then there's that final shot where Andrea and Barry are triumphantly riding off on his motorcycle to the tune of "Kiss My Butt", and the film takes on a "Take On Me"-esque look, all pencil drawn and stuff. Just incredible. Again, A+
Finally, the editing. This is the one part where I have to dock some points. There are some really odd cuts throughout the movie, sometimes barely giving characters enough time to finish speaking before it jumps away. There's a lot of odd dissolves placed between scenes that can sometimes ruin the mood. At times it seems like a new editor trying to show off all their new effects, which is incompetent, even for a student film. Also, there's times where the sound mixing is off, where the actors can't be heard over the music. Still, it suffices. B
Overall, an amazing horror movie from the 1980's that managed to slip through the cracks for many, and one that I will definitely be revisiting time and time again. Final score: A-
Now, first things first, the writing. I felt that the writing here was pretty good, the conversations didn't feel forced, and the story was interesting. What we have here is a group of people from the 1800's who stay alive by injecting themselves with a serum made from the brains of others. One of the teachers replaces the missing brain piece with a crystal, resulting in the students becoming smarter, robotic, and subservient zombies. They control the students through classical music that connects to the crystals. Truly great stuff. A+
Still, a good script is nothing without a good cast, and this movie sure delivered on that end. Virginia Madsen does great work as Andrea, especially in later scenes as she grows more frightened and shocked. The ever lovely Richard Cox turns in a wonderful performance as Philo, a professor who administers the crystal, and who slowly starts to want to change his ways by helping Madsen's character. Everyone else does an amazing job as well, though if I kept going on and on I wouldn't be able to stop. A+
The music in the film is great. The incidental pieces are at times creepy, saddening, and beautiful, everything that they need to be. It truly elevates the film. There's also a number of rock and pop songs thrown in, and they are of a good enough quality that I find myself wishing these people had gone on to a career in music. After finishing this I'll be trying to get my hands on a copy of the soundtrack, that's for sure. A+
There's not much room for special effects in the movie, but what we do get is great. The blood looks as realistic as you could get at the time, the aging effects on Philo and the other teachers are phenomenal, and there's this great scene near the end where the teachers have aged so much that their flesh is rotting and falling off, and you can often see their bones underneath. These are more close to the type of zombies a modern viewer might be looking for. A fight to get some of the anti-aging serum erupts in a wine cellar, and as it drags on they just keep aging and rotting, until they're nothing but bones, and even a few of those keep moving. Then there's that final shot where Andrea and Barry are triumphantly riding off on his motorcycle to the tune of "Kiss My Butt", and the film takes on a "Take On Me"-esque look, all pencil drawn and stuff. Just incredible. Again, A+
Finally, the editing. This is the one part where I have to dock some points. There are some really odd cuts throughout the movie, sometimes barely giving characters enough time to finish speaking before it jumps away. There's a lot of odd dissolves placed between scenes that can sometimes ruin the mood. At times it seems like a new editor trying to show off all their new effects, which is incompetent, even for a student film. Also, there's times where the sound mixing is off, where the actors can't be heard over the music. Still, it suffices. B
Overall, an amazing horror movie from the 1980's that managed to slip through the cracks for many, and one that I will definitely be revisiting time and time again. Final score: A-