Dead Dudes in the House

1989 "Where Trespassing is a Matter of Life or Death!"
5.2| 1h34m| NR| en| More Info
Released: 01 October 1989 Released
Producted By: October Films
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

A group of friends decide to renovate an old house located in the middle of nowhere, in the hope of turning it into their crash pad, but shortly after arriving, a strange and seemingly senile old woman is found to be lurking around the premises.

Genre

Horror

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Director

James Riffel

Production Companies

October Films

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Dead Dudes in the House Audience Reviews

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good
Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.
Salubfoto It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.
Lachlan Coulson This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.
Comeuppance Reviews When a group of constantly-squabbling young adults drive out to a creepy old house for an attempted renovation job, they don't realize they are in for a night of horror. It turns out the house was owned by the Leatherby family, the matriarch of which was a cold-blooded murderess back in the 40's. When one of the moronic kids breaks her tombstone which lies on the property, the malevolent old lady comes back to life and begins not just killing the kids, but turning them into some sort of zombie that will do her diabolical bidding. And, they're trapped in the house. Will any of these one-dimensional house-flippers make it out alive? Dare to find out...The House On Tombstone hill is a nice low-budget regional effort that's a little bit better than you probably think it is. It was released around the time when AIP had some sort of deal going with Troma. So the tape under this title was a joint release from the two companies. Later, when it was wholly owned by Troma, they changed the name to Dead Dudes In the House and found a picture of unrelated homies to put on the front cover. Just why they thought misleading people into thinking there are homies involved in this movie when there clearly aren't any remains a mystery. Where are the promised homeboys today? Were any viewers disappointed when said homies never materialized? Why did they think that (of all approaches) was superior to the movie as it was? All unanswered questions. But back to the movie at hand...So despite being an AIP/Troma co-release, the whole venture feels very CITY LIGHTS, and anyone who has seen their horror output such as Epitaph (1987) or Hollow Gate (1988) would likely agree. One of the main highlights of THOTH are the makeup and gore effects. They were created by Ed French and his team, well-known in the practical effects world. And they are indeed effective. Without these high-quality gore effects, the movie as a whole would greatly suffer. So while the whole "Old Dark House" theme is certainly well-worn ground, French spices up the proceedings sufficiently enough. Director Riffel does pull off some intense moments, but the pace overall is slow, and there are way too many scenes of characters banging on doors and windows attempting to get out of the house.The fact that the entire movie was shot at one location - the house - does provide some claustrophobic moments, but it also leads to unneeded repetition. A couple other settings would have been welcomed. As for the cast, they get absolutely no character development or backstory whatsoever. For those keeping track, Bob is the jerk who smokes and drinks and isn't likable, Mark is the blonde nerd, Steve is the redhead nerd, Jamie is the dark-haired girl, Linda is the blonde girl, Ron is the "normal guy", and Joey goes out on a beer run. That's literally it as far as character development goes. If we knew these people just a bit better, we might care about their plight more than we do. But the moments of horror are what THOTH is all about, and they are duly delivered.The House on Tombstone Hill is not a bad little horror movie and worth picking up if you can find it cheap. But where are the missing homies...? For more action insanity, drop by: www.comeuppancereviews.com
outhousepunk That was my favorite line in the whole movie. All I have to say is I felt cheated.The description led me to believe I would watch a mixture of 'House Party' and 'Evil Dead'. It promised me "hip-hop yup's" and "groupies". The cover had kids in hammer pants and a guy that looked like Boy George.Did I get any of that? No. I got a movie that introduced a character by having everyone screaming his/her name in an empty mansion. Two nobodies show up just to raise the body count and to have a questionably aged girl flash the screen. Also for some reason they only ran around the same rooms. The villain was an old crone that could only be stopped by stabbing her hunchback. Lot's of people die in ridiculous ways and there's blood. And of course a loose plot.I felt cheated because there was no rapping, no hip-hop or even a little slam poetry. I mean the guys on the cover didn't resemble anyone in the movie. That's why I watched it! I hoped some kid would have a rap battle with a zombie in overalls.Have I seen worst films? Sure. But if you're going to advertise the movie as urban kids meet undead, country cracker grandma please come thru for me.
Dennis G. Barnes (Zod-2) This is how low-budget horror movies should be made. While the story could have used a bit of tweaking for the most part the film was creepy and suspenseful. The old lady is particularly effective. One drawback is the acting, it is a bit below par and detracts from the suspense as does much of the dialogue. There are a few plotholes, some of the dead that return don't go on the hunt for the living humans while most do...why? Also a bit of reason as to why anybody comes back could have been added. Other then that for the budget involved it's quite enjoyable. A silly 30 second introduction to the old lady at the beginning of the movie could have been left out as it does nothing for the film and only made me laugh. If you are looking for a film to scare you this just might do it, but don't expect anything too glossy. Especially good to watch with your girlfriend as she will be clinging to you almost right from the beginning. Rating 6 out of 10. Not too bad.
Joe-587 This is one of the scariest movies I ever saw! I saw it when I was around 10 and am still scared of it today. It concerns a group of college kids fixing up an old mansion. They have no idea that the former owner is still in the house. Breaking her tombstone in the backyard causes her to awaken and she begins to kill them in grizzly ways. But, they don't stay dead. They soon turn into murdering zombies. Worst of all, there is no way at all out of the house. Be warned, there is a decent amount of gore. I know I closed my eyes when I first saw it at a few scenes and I NEVER do that with horror movies. Also, don't pay any attention to the Troma label on the tape. They had NOTHING to do with the actual production of the movie, it's just under their label. So this is nothing at all like the movies they usually make. If you're in the mood for a good scare, rent this movie immediately!