Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Graphic
- eerie
- irreverent
- bleak
- late night horror viewing
- cult movie marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly find the film atmospherically effective and occasionally inventive, but uneven and limited by its low budget and execution.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The acting troupe stages a necromantic performance under the direction of Alan, while the ritual produces increasingly real undead consequences.
The troupe travels to a remote island cemetery, where the surrounding water and dwindling survivors amplify the sense of entrapment.
Alan uses a grimoire and performs a ritual intended to raise the dead, directly triggering the zombie outbreak.
The dead steadily overwhelm the survivors, creating the hopeless momentum emphasized in critical discussion of the film's atmosphere.
Films like Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things, and why
Night of the Living Dead
shared low-budget zombie horror, supernatural resurrection, and bleak survival atmosphere
The Return of the Living Dead
shared irreverent comedy horror, eccentric characters, and undead menace
The Evil Dead
shared isolated setting, occult ritual, and grim supernatural horror
Movie Details
- Director
- Bob Clark
- Release Date
- 1972-06-09
- Runtime
- 86 min
- Rating
- 5.3 / 10 (109)
Cast
- Alan Ormsby
- Valerie Mamches
- Jeff Gillen
- Anya Ormsby
- Paul Cronin
- Jane Daly
- Roy Engleman
- Robert Philip
- Bruce Solomon
- Alecs Baird
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Shudder, Night Flight Plus, FlixFling, Eternal Family, Bloodstream
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube, FlixFling, Bloodstream
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube, FlixFling
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things about?
- A manipulative theater troupe's graveyard ritual unleashes a hungry undead horde on an isolated island.
- What is Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things as graphic.
- What did critics think of Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things?
- Critics broadly find the film atmospherically effective and occasionally inventive, but uneven and limited by its low budget and execution.
- Which films are like Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things?
- Films with a similar feel include Night of the Living Dead, The Return of the Living Dead, and The Evil Dead.
- How long is Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things?
- Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things runs 86 minutes.
- Where can I watch Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things?
- In United States, Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things streams on Shudder, Night Flight Plus, FlixFling, Eternal Family, Bloodstream.
