Night of the Living Dorks (2007)

DVD

Night of the Living Dorks is one of those movies that feels like it comes from the mid to late 1980s. The story is well worn but for some reason it feels redone here. Philip and his pals Konrad and Weener are your typical social misfits. They get sucked into a voodoo ceremony put on by some Gothic people at their school, and after a fatal car accident this band of losers becomes zombies. Yes, you read that right.

This is where the 1980s kick in. These aren't your typical zombies out to kill people. Sure, they want to do that, but they also want to party, having a good time, and exact revenge on those who did them harm before they got zombified. However, there is a race against time because these zombie studs are decomposing, and Philip is hoping that he can make some headway with the girl of his dreams before this happens.

While certain zombie purists might be scandalized by the license taken with this film, and other horror aficionados might like their scary films a bit more serious, Night of the Living Dorks was created for no other reason than to provide a good time.

Behind the Scenes
If this featurette had not been on this DVD, I would have been very surprised. As I was watching Night of the Living Dorks, I kept thinking thinking to myself, "I'll bet they've put something about this on the DVD." Now, this section isn't the most elaborate "making of" I have ever seen, but it is fun and it gets the viewers into the mindset of what the production was like. This was by no means a big budget production, but it's apparent that the people involved have really put their time and effort into something they believe in.

Deleted & Extended Scenes
Night of the Living Dorks isn't the kind of movie that 's going to turn heads with these extra scenes. By this I mean, they aren't going to somehow illuminate a story arc that was lacking in the film proper. These scenes seem like the filmmakers thought they were a good idea at the time, and then in hindsight realized that they probably held the film back more then they helped it along. These are definitely worth a look as they appeal to the fans, but if you weren't in love with this movie you can skip these.

Alternate Ending and Fun Scenes
While I am not going to give away the alternate ending, I will simply say that if you liked this movie you will be ecstatic that they have put this on here. In addition to that, the fun scenes play more like a blooper reel, in which the participants have even more fun on the set then they had as they were making this movie. While by this point in the DVD I was sort of all "funned" out, I think that these extras are entertaining but they should be watched with some distance from your screening of the actual movie.

I wasn't too sure what to expect from Night of the Living Dorks. Having been very put off by some other zany horror movies that I have seen recently, I was expecting this film to just be a load of garbage. Anchor Bay seems to give asylum to those filmmakers who love horror movies, yet their skills may not be where they need to be in order to achieve major, mainstream success. This isn't to say that Anchor Bay releases bad films. Far from it. In fact, this company is great because of the time and thoughtfulness that they seem to put into all their releases. However, there is a gap between someone like George A. Romero and Mathias Dinter.

That said, I don't think Dinter would deny that assessment at all. He seems like a true fan of this sort of material, and he has taken his love of horror films and pushed it into what Night of the Living Dorks eventually became. Do I think this movie is one of the best horror films ever created? No. Is it the kind of movie that will be watched many times, and most likely be a favorite of many people? Yes.

At the end of the day that is what's most important and it's obvious the filmmakers know that.