IMDb RATING
6.6/10
6.2K
YOUR RATING
A young soldier killed in the Vietnam War inexplicably shows up at his family home on the night of his death.A young soldier killed in the Vietnam War inexplicably shows up at his family home on the night of his death.A young soldier killed in the Vietnam War inexplicably shows up at his family home on the night of his death.
- Awards
- 1 win
Robert R. Cannon
- Drunk
- (as Robert Cannon)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe first film featuring Tom Savini as a make-up artist.
- GoofsThe sign over the cemetery gate is misspelled as "Brooksville Cemetary."
- Alternate versionsSPOILER: The version of the film released under the original working title "The Night Andy Came Home" contains an additional piece of dialogue during the final scene in Brooksville Cemetery. After Andy buries himself and dies, his mother, kneeling over his makeshift grave, can be heard saying to the policemen who have arrived there "Andy's home. Some boys never come home." In the later Gorgon Video VHS release under the title "Deathdream", this piece of dialogue was intentionally muted out so as not to reference the original working title.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Elvira's Movie Macabre: Deathdream (1982)
Featured review
Superb horror
This is a horror film that expands the boundaries of the genre.
Put simply, it is a film about a dead man walking, but this dead man "died" in Vietnam before he returned home and his unexpected arrival opens many wounds within his family and amongst old flames and acquaintances.
Director Bob Clark is not satisfied depicting returned vet "Andy" as a zombie. Although he does crave human flesh and speaks infrequently, part of the film's charm is the reaction of people to the dead man's less-than-chipper mood.
Shots of Andy rocking like an autistic child are priceless, as is a "conversation" Andy has with the mailman who laments the returned boys "we should have lost". The family pet is not exactly Andy's best friend anymore, either.
John Marley as Charles Brooks, Andy's dad, is really great here. Although he tries hard to accept the new Andy, we really experience his gradual realization and disappointment that Andy is not the same Andy anymore.
Jim Backus is brilliant as the undead vet. He uses his voice to convey Andy's apparent indifference to life back home and adopts a strange, somnambulistic gait.
Technically adequate for a low budgeter, the film's richness of character and situation never shifts our attention to any production deficits.
One of the best horror films ever.
Truly creepy and, ultimately, very sad.
Put simply, it is a film about a dead man walking, but this dead man "died" in Vietnam before he returned home and his unexpected arrival opens many wounds within his family and amongst old flames and acquaintances.
Director Bob Clark is not satisfied depicting returned vet "Andy" as a zombie. Although he does crave human flesh and speaks infrequently, part of the film's charm is the reaction of people to the dead man's less-than-chipper mood.
Shots of Andy rocking like an autistic child are priceless, as is a "conversation" Andy has with the mailman who laments the returned boys "we should have lost". The family pet is not exactly Andy's best friend anymore, either.
John Marley as Charles Brooks, Andy's dad, is really great here. Although he tries hard to accept the new Andy, we really experience his gradual realization and disappointment that Andy is not the same Andy anymore.
Jim Backus is brilliant as the undead vet. He uses his voice to convey Andy's apparent indifference to life back home and adopts a strange, somnambulistic gait.
Technically adequate for a low budgeter, the film's richness of character and situation never shifts our attention to any production deficits.
One of the best horror films ever.
Truly creepy and, ultimately, very sad.
Helpful•4410
- fertilecelluloid
- Jan 13, 2004
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Box office
- Budget
- $235,000 (estimated)
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