Deathdream

If you're a fan of Bob Clark, then you were probably as stunned and angered as I was earlier this year when he was killed in a car accident with his son. A tragic loss in general, but particularly to us fans. And, if you're not a fan of Bob Clark, then you don't know Bob Clark...and you probably are, but don't know it yet! Bob was responsible for the perennial Christmas movie, A Christmas Story...Now, you're a fan! Bob was also responsible for starting the slasher genre with a little movie called Black Christmas...not the remake, the original 1974 version, which is a far superior movie! But, Bob started his career with a movie called Deathdream, which most people haven't seen...but they should!



Deathdream is the story of a soldier who was killed in Vietnam (so it's partially a comment on the war), when he's killed his mother is praying for him to come home, constantly repeating, 'you promised to come back, you promised to come back'. Well, Andy does come back, but he's not the same! You see, Andy isn't quite alive, he's not exactly a zombie, but he needs blood to keep himself from decomposing. The difference in Deathdream is that Andy knows what he's doing and he only needs the blood, he extracts it with a syringe and injects it into his own veins (another commentary on the drug culture of the day).

When people start being killed, Andy's Dad begins to suspect his son, but Andy's Mom won't hear any of it, she's in complete denial! Deathdream is one of the best movies of the era that I've seen, and confirms what I already knew, that Bob Clark was one talented director. The saddest part of the tale is that Bob was about to re-enter the horror genre by remaking Deathdream and his other classic low budget genre movie, Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things, and he planned on directing one of the remakes...a loss to the entire genre! Fortunately, Deathdream is on DVD and it's just a great a movie as it was when it was first released! I'm giving Deathdream four out of four cigars,

because it's like a great Twilight Zone episode, with better special effects and an ending that's one of the most powerful that I've ever seen, this is really a horror movie that you need to see. So, until next time, when I'll be making a wish of my own...a wish that Twinkies were calorie free...remember that the best movies are bad movies.