Horror comedy. We start the movie with a segment showing the events in the lighthouse of Hellview in 1882 complete with voiceover. Captain Howdy (played by Richard Kiel) the lighthouse keeper is watching a boat carrying his wife heading towards shore. His mistress Venetia (Julie Newmar) appears and he tells her the relationship is over. She takes exception and curses him before being electrocuted by the lighthouse light which also kills Captain Howdy who is knocked out of the window and drowns. The light goes out and his wife is killed when the boat hits the rocks.
We now fast forward to 1983 where Frederick Lansing (played by Bill Hudson) who has written a bestselling book has developed writer's block and wants to get away from it all (all told in jokey voiceover) so rents the lighthouse (that has been abandoned for 100 years) in Hellview under the name of Casper, a "ghostwriter".
When he enters the town he is accosted by psycho with a knife until he tells him that he is staying at the lighthouse when the townsfolk tell him he's doomed and shun him. He meets Kate the daughter of the town Sheriff who shows him the lighthouse. When he is in the lighthouse the ghost of Venetia appears and tells the viewer that now a man is in the lighthouse he will become the vessel for the return of her beloved Captain Howdy.
A body is then found in the sea near the lighthouse and is taken to the local morgue. as it is an unusual corpse they call in an expert in the bizarre Professor Paul Batton and his assistant Fritz (played by Mark and Brett Hudson).
The body of Captain Howdy vanishes from the morgue and starts to kill people. When they are killed they become reanimated zombies with pale faces, who wear turtle neck sweaters, have bushy eyebrows just like the captain's and say "What difference does it make?" when asked a direct question.
We now fast forward to 1983 where Frederick Lansing (played by Bill Hudson) who has written a bestselling book has developed writer's block and wants to get away from it all (all told in jokey voiceover) so rents the lighthouse (that has been abandoned for 100 years) in Hellview under the name of Casper, a "ghostwriter".
When he enters the town he is accosted by psycho with a knife until he tells him that he is staying at the lighthouse when the townsfolk tell him he's doomed and shun him. He meets Kate the daughter of the town Sheriff who shows him the lighthouse. When he is in the lighthouse the ghost of Venetia appears and tells the viewer that now a man is in the lighthouse he will become the vessel for the return of her beloved Captain Howdy.
A body is then found in the sea near the lighthouse and is taken to the local morgue. as it is an unusual corpse they call in an expert in the bizarre Professor Paul Batton and his assistant Fritz (played by Mark and Brett Hudson).
The body of Captain Howdy vanishes from the morgue and starts to kill people. When they are killed they become reanimated zombies with pale faces, who wear turtle neck sweaters, have bushy eyebrows just like the captain's and say "What difference does it make?" when asked a direct question.
Casper and Kate start a tentative romance but whenever they are together in the lighthouse Venetia spoils things and makes Casper transform into a semi Captain Howdy. Eventually she breaks up with him.
As the movie progresses there are more and more zombies and the way in which they are made are quite funny. Our heroes are chased around town by more and more zombies including at a carnival until the eventual climax at the lighthouse where Casper is released by Captain Howdy who makes it up to Venetia. The finale sees the lighthouse explode and everyone is set free.
My rating: 6/10. I first watched this move back in the mid 80's when I was about 10 or so and I loved it. It was just spooky enough for a kid and the laughs were funny. Particularly the scenes were the Professor and Fritz arrive in the car with the top down during the rainstorm and the car is full of water and the scene where Casper falls out of the window. A recent rewatch made me reassess it. It is still quite funny in parts but the tone varies wildly throughout leaving it quite a psychotic feel.
One of the worst aspects of the movie is the stupid voiceover at the beginning. I know it is meant to be funny but it wasn't!
There is nothing very bad about the movie. It was designed to be a vehicle for the then famous music group The Hudson Brothers and delivers. The zombie makeup is good and the acting isn't bad either. There isn't any gore and some of the scenes are quite spooky but it isn't anywhere near as good as I remembered it.
General rating: 3/10. I think that the non horror fan will find this quite boring. The jokes aren't enough to carry the movie.
If you like this: Then watch Mel Brook's Young Frankenstein (or should that be Fronkensteen?) which is a much wittier and referential movie for the spoof side of things. For the horror side of things go for The Fog (the original and NOT the remake) which is the movie Hysterical is parodying. Again it has a lighthouse and zombies but this is a true chiller with jump out of your skin scenes.
As the movie progresses there are more and more zombies and the way in which they are made are quite funny. Our heroes are chased around town by more and more zombies including at a carnival until the eventual climax at the lighthouse where Casper is released by Captain Howdy who makes it up to Venetia. The finale sees the lighthouse explode and everyone is set free.
My rating: 6/10. I first watched this move back in the mid 80's when I was about 10 or so and I loved it. It was just spooky enough for a kid and the laughs were funny. Particularly the scenes were the Professor and Fritz arrive in the car with the top down during the rainstorm and the car is full of water and the scene where Casper falls out of the window. A recent rewatch made me reassess it. It is still quite funny in parts but the tone varies wildly throughout leaving it quite a psychotic feel.
One of the worst aspects of the movie is the stupid voiceover at the beginning. I know it is meant to be funny but it wasn't!
There is nothing very bad about the movie. It was designed to be a vehicle for the then famous music group The Hudson Brothers and delivers. The zombie makeup is good and the acting isn't bad either. There isn't any gore and some of the scenes are quite spooky but it isn't anywhere near as good as I remembered it.
General rating: 3/10. I think that the non horror fan will find this quite boring. The jokes aren't enough to carry the movie.
If you like this: Then watch Mel Brook's Young Frankenstein (or should that be Fronkensteen?) which is a much wittier and referential movie for the spoof side of things. For the horror side of things go for The Fog (the original and NOT the remake) which is the movie Hysterical is parodying. Again it has a lighthouse and zombies but this is a true chiller with jump out of your skin scenes.