The Dead Want Women

Nice Catchy title that.  Always one of the gifts of Charles Band.  As I've said before Charles Band wanted to be the next Roger Corman, but he came too late and was around to see the death of the drive in.  Not a quitter though, Charles came back with Full Moon Pictures and a promise to put out one film out to DVD a month.  By george for a few years he did it too.  They weren't exactly good films, Lord no, but they were often interesting, funky and filled with a comic book aesthetic.  Charles Band was mixing his films together long before the Avengers.  But then with films like "Doll Man Vs. Demonic Toys," that's not really a virtue.

No one could keep that pace up forever and eventually Full Moon went from interesting bad to just bad bad.  It eventually collapsed on itself like a house of cards in the middle of a typhoon.  But, just as the South rose again there are signs that Full Moon is coming back.  "The Dead Want Women," is a fairly hopeful sign at that.

Not that it's a good film.  Remember, Full Moon, right?  Right.  Just to tick off its negatives, its has more padding than the bras at a junior high dance.  The credits alone last something like five minutes.  The film itself is very much a Charles Band inaction movie.  We are treated to long scenes of cleaning of an old house and people standing around at a party.  The film at times plays nearly like a still life. 

So why did I end up liking it, to be sure liking it like I would like a dog with a definite derpa look.  Well, it has a bit more interesting plot than most zombie/ghost flicks.  In 1929 an actress is having a party.  She's a borderline psycho and she's definitely crossed that border a while ago.  She has her own posse consisting of stand ins for Lon Chaney, Tom Mix, and Fatty Arbuckle.  Since no one alive today outside of a film class has seen a Fatty Arbuckle film that actor instead unleashes his inner Curly instead.  It works really well, a psychotic Curly is pretty nasty and funny at the same time.  Actually I'd see an entire film with just him.  Anyhooooo, they are all doing some kinky magic sex thing with hookers when the actress learns she's been let go from her studio because she would suck in talkies.  She grabs a pistol and shoots everyone and then offs herself with a knife.

Now its the present day.  Two real estate agents are waiting for the buyer to the actress' house.  They do a lot of cleaning and talking.  A lot of cleaning and talking.  Finally, that night the ghosts/zombies of everyone before pops up and threatens our two heroines.  I can't say I cared much for either of them but there was enough going on with the bad guys to keep things interesting.  Did I mention the Tom Mix type cowboy was played by Eric Roberts?  Makes you wonder, years ago did he every see himself playing a zombie cowboy dry humping a dead hooker?  Ah life.

So, it's not a good film.  I've been clear on that.  But it has some charm.  It gives me a little hope that the old Charles Band is coming back.  I'd love to see more films like this, and less films like "Evil Bong III:  The Snogging."