So many movies rip off the Romero canon that is is great to see the occasional movie that rips off something else. The something else ripped off by Night of the Dead: Leben Tod is Re-Animator, a classic in its own right. And in the course of ripping it off, NotD: LT turns out to be a pretty solid zombie outing.
The plot is a little convoluted. There’s a pregnant woman and her husband, who is the nephew/intern of a mad doctor who runs some sort of bizarre private clinic. There’s the reanimating serum he’s developing — bright, fluorescent pink instead of green, here. Then you throw in a bunch of goofy yet creepy sidekicks, some dead family members and an unlucky bunch that chooses the worst possible place to stop for help in a medical emergency. Shake and bake those elements and let the good times roll — flesh-eating mayhem and buckets of gore ensue. Seriously, buckets – this film doesn’t skimp on the grue.
The uneven pacing — some passages move along at an excellent clip, while others take forever to go anywhere — and some weak acting dragged this one down, but it had its moments. Like the hilariously cheap-looking car accident that triggers one of the main plot points. Or the hen-pecked mad scientist lead role. Or the little girl that just loves to eat the living. It’s not as funny or as well-executed as its inspiration, but for a shot-on-video, low-budget zombie movie it’s quite enjoyable.
[…] 9) Night of the Dead: Leben Tod – The little girl in Night of the Dead: Leben Tod is also kind of cute, but a lot creepier. In part, perhaps because she’s also complaining about being hungry, and like all good little zombies, she exists strictly on a “fresh meat” kind of diet. She’s one of the best things about this surprisingly good zero-budget Re-Animator-inspired gorefest. (Review Here) […]