Garden of the Dead (1974)

Mid-70s B-movie junk about a bunch of prisoners who turn into photophobic zombies after they die, thanks to their bizarre habit of sniffing formaldehyde. (I don't get it either.) You'd think a movie that ran only 59 minutes couldn't seem so long, but you'd be wrong then, wouldn't ya Sunshine? Then again, you'd also expect said movie to at least keep the vunerablities of its monsters straight. No go, sadly -- what kills one zombie barely bothers another. But the best way to rid oneself of misery is to share it, so here goes: This is another obscurity that presents itself as an essential entry in the Kent Beeson Crap Cinema Canon. This particular flick earns its essential nature by being way ahead of its time in one point -- if I am not mistaken, we have here the first recorded appearance of a species of cinematic monster typed Homo corpus haulassicus, better known as the Runnin' Zombie. The credo here, I guess, is if you can't be good at least be different.

Grade: C-