Tuesday, June 3, 2008

The Dead Are Alive!

The skeletal spotlight shines this time on:
The 1972 "The Dead Are Alive" poster.

Click to view larger image.

"Heeey, kids! Never pass out drunk when working with acid!"

A photographer on an archaeological expedition digging up Etruscan ruins in Italy begins to suspect that not all the Etruscans buried there are actually dead.

This little-known film from 72 by Armando Crispino is more of a mystery than a horror film; an Italian gallio. The mystery is whether the murders are being committed by a human or the living dead. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting to see any reanimated corpses, though. Again, a misleading title and poster. Were it not for suckers like me, the movie industry would not be a profitable one for producers. If they only lived up to the posters, how much more enjoyable the film-going experience would be! More than once I've come out of a theater or finished a video and wished I could sue the makers for false advertising. But, hey: we at least have some good posters to enjoy if not the movie itself.


Click for a shocking high-rez photo of the poster!


You can find more info on the film on other sites if you are curious: such as here. I'm just sharing the cool, and very well done, skull-centric poster right now. However, I'm thinking the poster artist must have been influenced by the 1971 "Psycho" cover I've featured earlier on this blog. There's a little too much similarity for it to be a complete coincidence. Here's the mag cover again:


"Aargh! Not only is my skin being ripped off, but now my image!"

You tell me.

2 comments:

Mr. Karswell said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mr. Karswell said...

I bought a dvd copy of The Dead Are Alive from a guy on ebay a few years back and didn't hate it... but yeah, hard to live up to that poster. Hell, if all movies had to live up to their posters then every film made before the 80's would probably suck.

Sorry about the deleted comment too! Full of typos...