THE LIVING DEAD AT MANCHESTER MORGUE (aka "Don't Open the Window" and "Let Sleeping Corpses Lie") is a slow, boring movie that is enlivened by some shocking gore (still effective by today's standards) and a few genuinely creepy moments. Unfortunately, that's about all this movie has to offer, and most of what falls in between the shocks is pretty banal.
An experimental device that is supposed to use high frequency sounds to combat crop-killing pests turns out to have an unanticipated side-effect: it brings dead people back to life. The plot is obviously nothing more than a rehash of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, just not as scary and far gorier.
That is the movie's main claim to fame: it's the first direct rip-off of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. Many of the movie's defenders say it is a precursor to the Italian gut-munchers of the the late 70s and early 80s when really it's just NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD in color. It has its moments, including a few scenes charged with a primal horror, but it never manages to maintain a scary or intense atmosphere. It delivers a good scare or an effective gross-out, then goes back to being a dull movie about people we don't care about.
It's worth a look for zombie movie fans, but its inconsistent atmosphere, slow pace and dull characters will probably disappoint first-time viewers for whom its reputation precedes it.
An experimental device that is supposed to use high frequency sounds to combat crop-killing pests turns out to have an unanticipated side-effect: it brings dead people back to life. The plot is obviously nothing more than a rehash of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, just not as scary and far gorier.
That is the movie's main claim to fame: it's the first direct rip-off of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. Many of the movie's defenders say it is a precursor to the Italian gut-munchers of the the late 70s and early 80s when really it's just NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD in color. It has its moments, including a few scenes charged with a primal horror, but it never manages to maintain a scary or intense atmosphere. It delivers a good scare or an effective gross-out, then goes back to being a dull movie about people we don't care about.
It's worth a look for zombie movie fans, but its inconsistent atmosphere, slow pace and dull characters will probably disappoint first-time viewers for whom its reputation precedes it.