Good movie but grossly overrated

As Good As It Gets

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Grave Misdemeanous is an enjoyable b-movie. The film is actually better for the first two thirds, before the zombie element comes into it. In this section it is funny (with some pretty good lines and visual gags that had me giggling, much to my surprise), entertaining and well shot with some great lighting.It's still OK after the zombie's come into it but the quality does dip a fair bit, mainly because some daft bits start to happen and the zombie's aren't very zombie-like but act like normal people in make up. This is especially evidenced when the zombie's start using high kicks and all manner of fighting techniques to beat up some cops in one scene. Those kids didn't even do that when they were still alive! Where did that come from? It wasn't even done in a comical manner, they just turned into weird karate zombies.

Review based on the full 88-minutes long, UK version, titled Grave Misdemeanours. Well meaning, but slightly dim, high school kid Archie works at his uncle's funeral home, with a convenient explanatory scene telling us, the audience, why he works there. When four jock idiots play another prank on him at the funeral home, his cruel and mean spirited Uncle, V. J. Flanders (played superbly by John Astin, in what is basically an extended cameo) fires him. When the four jocks are involved in a fatal accident later that night, V.J. recalls Archie to collect the bodies. Slow motion scenes of Archie coming to the crash and finding the bodies lends a surreal, hallucinatory feel, as life often does in, times of crisis like that. But are the four boneheads really dead?His cruel Uncle rotates one of their heads nearly 180 degrees, in a heartless effort to show that they are dead, for Archie. But again, are they really dead, or did the lightning, and truckload of radioactive crap they plowed into do something ... *strange* to them? Lightweight horror/ comedy fare, the real horror doesn't really kick in until the final 30 minutes, when the four do indeed come back from the dead, and seek revenge on Archie, and anyone else they happen across, in particularly gruesome fashion. Astin's Uncle character has an especially awful demise. That final 30 minutes, and John Astin's successful cast-against-type role make this a winner.

There are never going to be enough zombie movies in the world. In the eighties it was at it's height, with everything from multi layered franchises to plenty of stand alone gory greetings that pack a punch and keep mutilating even after all these years. Scott Grimes leads the charge in a geeky way as he plays a dweeb in high school whose making ends meet by helping his uncle "Flanders" played by the unflappable John Astin, take care of a funeral home in small town middle of nowhere. His school is ruled by jocks with good genetics who have pounced on 99% of the prime real estate (chicks) in the entire school. One greasy haired diva Cheryl Pollak (pump up the volume) runs a tune-up gas station at the edge of town, she specializes in putting Scott Grimes heart on the lift. Things go wrong for the popular kids in this movie as their mangled in a horrible car wreck. But a little Frankenstein inspired lighting brings'm right back, and the outcome is AWESOME! Now from the point of the accident on, the audience is brought on a hell ride as the recently dead go on a killing spree! The special effects consist of guys wearing flame retardant gear and lots of split open dummy heads, and blood, poured on in the gallons! Lisa Fuller whose career consisted of posing in her bra and panties in plenty of eighties B movies makes an appearance, as do many other noteworthy lost in the fray artists. This one is not on DVD, it's probably online somewhere but i had to buy mine on VHS and it did cost me. Costly but worth checking out.

17.1 NIGHT LIFE (horror/comedy, 1989) Archie (Scott Grimes) works with his domineering uncle Flanders at the local mortuary. Though he hates the job, he needs the money to go to college. At school Archie is constantly bullied by the local 'jocks'. In one of their many pranks they get him fired. If that wasn't enough his only love interest is leaving town. But Flanders offers him a second chance when he asks his help with some new corpses. Archies' assignment is made all the more difficult when they unexpectedly come to life.Critique: Horror comedy mixes youth exploitation plot with good dozes of zombie fun. In fact, the whole film seems geared at a 'Revenge of the Nerds'-type audience; as Archie gets repeatedly bullied, has failed romantic exploits and so on. The difference being that our hero turns out to be more resilient, tougher and smarter than your usual self-pitying film geek. Film has good special effects, spooky atmosphere, action and humor. Above all it's a fairly surprising showcase from an otherwise unknown, capable cast. Particularly appealing is Scott Grimes' Archie. A cross between Michael J. Foxs' 'Marty McFly' from the 'Back to the Future' trilogy, and Macauley Caulkins' 'Home Alone' kid. He is funny, charismatic and exhumes a surprising leading man-type appeal. A fun but otherwise gory film.