Deathdream (1974)

Solid low budget fare from director Bob Clark that’s a sort of variation on “The Monkey’s Paw” combined with the country’s at the time disillusionment with the Vietnam War. After being told only hours before that their son was killed in the war, a middle aged couple along with their daughter are shocked to discover their “dead” son Andy, in complete military uniform, standing eerily in a corner of the house during the middle of the night. While they all have a good laugh about what a mistake the State Department has made, something about Andy seems just a little “off”. Instead of his old good natured and sociable self, Andy now prefers to sit alone in his darkened room, hardly utters a word to his family and likes to take midnight strolls in the local cemetery. Did I mention that Andy has also developed a taste for human blood? Hmmm….

“Deathdream” works in an almost perfectly sublime and dreamy way, as during the first half of the feature you are never told flat out that Andy is dead. Sure, the guy acts a little funky and anti-social, but it’s only during the film’s second half when decomposition sets in that you know for sure the guy’s a walking cadaver. Actor Richard Backus does one hell of a job as Andy, as the guy brings just the right look and sense of restraint to the role. As many have said before, director Clark uses the character of Andy to portray many a Vietnam vet whom, after the war, were simply unable to adapt back to civilian life and were often stricken with various mental disabilities or plagued with drug addiction. Pretty heady stuff for what’s nothing more than a low budget drive-in flick huh? Combine this with above average acting, a thoroughly creepy score, some decent Andy/Zombie make-up and one doozy of a poetic ending, “Deathdream” serves up scares on the cheap, while giving you a little more to chew on than the typical low budget horror flick. Recommended.