Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things – VCI Entertainment (4k UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1972
Director: Bob Clark
Writers: Bob Clark, Alan Ormsby
Cast: Alan Ormsby, Valerie Mamches, Jeff Gillen, Anya Ormsby, Paul Cronin, Jane Daly, Roy Engleman, Robert Philip, Bruce Solomon, Alecs Baird

Release Date: December 6th, 2022
Approximate Running Time: 86 Minutes 32 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265
Rating: PG
Sound: LPCM Mono English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $39.95

"Alan (Alan Ormsby), the brilliant but bizarre Director of the company, has brought them to this foreboding place to dabble in witchcraft; specifically to dig up a fresh corpse and use it in a ritual ceremony which is supposed to raise the dead from their graves. The PAY-OFF: It seems as though Alan has really gathered his "children" here, only to play a practical joke on them and then to party the rest of the night away. However, the joke's on Alan. His bizarre ritual ceremony really does raise the dead from their graves...only they're in no mood to party!" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3.75/5 (4K UHD), 3.5/5 (Blu-ray)

Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things on a 66 GB dual layer 4K UHD

Disc Size: 62.1 GB

Feature: 42.1 GB

Though this transfer looks better than all of this film's previous home video releases, there are a few areas to note that some may find problematic. Notably, there is grain management via DNR reduction. Fortunately, this is not as egregious a use of DNR as VCI Entertainment is known for. That said, colors look very good, details look crisp, there are no major issues related to compression, and black levels fare well, outside of a few moments where they’re not as convincing as they should be.

Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things comes on 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 44.4 GB

Feature: 24.3 GB

The Blu-ray’s transfer uses the same source that was used for the 4K UHD.

Audio: 3.75/5

This release comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in English, and included with this release are removable English SDH. The audio is clean, free of any background hiss or distortion. The range, however, is limited. Dialog always comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and ambient sounds are well-represented.

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD disc include a theatrical trailer (3 minutes 3 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), a documentary titled Dreaming of Death: Bob Clark's Horror Films (72 minutes 50 seconds, LPCM stereo English with removable English SDH subtitles), and an audio commentary with Alan Ormsby, Jane Daly and Anya Cronin, moderated by David Gregory.

Extras on the Blu-ray disc that contains the main feature include a theatrical trailer (3 minutes 3 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), a documentary titled Dreaming of Death: Bob Clark's Horror Films (72 minutes 50 seconds, LPCM stereo English with removable English SDH subtitles), and an audio commentary with Alan Ormsby, Jane Daly and Anya Cronin, moderated by David Gregory.

The bulk of the extras come on a second Blu-ray disc. Extras on this disc include radio spots (4 minutes 23 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), an extra titled Tribute (2 minutes, LPCM stere0, music from the film playing in the background), two music videos by The Deadthings: Dead Girls Don't Say No (3 minutes 50 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles) and Cemetery Mary (3 minutes 55 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), a photo gallery (stills/lobby cards/posters/other promotional materials), a featurette titled Memories of Bob Clark: A Tribute to the Late Director (10 minutes 8 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), The Los Angeles Grindhouse Festival, May 22, 2007 Q&A filmed at the Beverly Cinema (11 minutes 27 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with Ken Goch titled Confessions of a Grave Digger (9 minutes 8 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), and a 2022 interview with Alan Ormsby (33 minutes 32 seconds, LPCM stereo English with removable English subtitles).

Other extras include reversible cover art, a slipcover, and an 8-page booklet with an essay titled Bob Clark’s Dead Things: Low-Budget Horror in the Sunshine State written by Patrick McCabe.

Summary:

Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things was directed by Bob Clark, who would go on to direct two of the most celebrated Christmas films, Black Christmas and A Christmas Story. Other notable films directed by Bob Clark include Deathdream and Porkys.

Content-wise, Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things is best described as a horror/comedy film that leans more toward the latter category. The narrative can be broken into two distinct parts. The first hour of Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things is mostly serious with offbeat humor moments, while the last thirty minutes are a full-on horror film in which the zombies come out in full force.

From a production standpoint, Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things is a film that far exceeds the sum of its parts. The well-executed premise, subversive humor, well-timed jump scares, and a fantastic ending ensure that there is rarely a dull moment. The most surprising aspect of Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things is how good the performances are. Another strength is how the sound design and visuals create a lot of atmosphere.

Though there are many elements in Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things that make for an entertaining ride, the result is a good directorial debut from a filmmaker who would go on to direct more memorable films.

VCI Entertainment gives Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things its best release to date, recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a VLC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer