Woodyanders
Horror novelist Bob (the hopelessly wooden William Bates) and his girlfriend Shirley (voluptuous knockout Pat Barrington, who does delectable double D duty as the gold girl) are searching for a cemetery that will serve as inspiration for Bob's latest story. The couple stumble across the pernicious Emperor of the Night (a gloriously fey and histrionic portrayal by Criswell) and his equally nefarious cohort the Black Ghoul (cute Vampira clone Fawn Silver), who force the pair to watch a variety of doomed distaff souls who bump and grind nude in front of them.Director Stephen C. Apostof certainly delivers on the tasty T&A while also treating the absurd premise with a certain endearingly clunky sincerity. Edward G. Wood Jr.'s ridiculous script boasts a wealth of hilariously overripe dialogue (all-time favorite line: "Torture! Torture! It pleasures me!"). The slight story and plodding pace further add to this film's singularly screwball charm. The ten dances contained herein range from the extremely silly -- the Native American fire dance complete with war chants on the soundtrack has to be seen in order to be (dis)believed -- to the genuinely sexy, with redhead Coleen O'Brien's street walker routine and Nadejda Klein's sultry slave girl number rating as definite sizzling highlights. The fog-shrouded graveyard set provides an appropriately goofy ooga-booga atmosphere. A crummy mummy and dimestore werewolf supply groan-inducing comic relief. Robert Caramico's vibrant color cinematography astutely captures all the eye-popping naughty sights. Jaime Mendoza-Nava's groovy score hits the right-on swinging spot. A total kitschy hoot.
AllNewSux
Even Ed Wood should be embarrassed and ashamed of this train wreck! This is not even really a movie per se, but instead is just an excuse to get 9 or 10 girls topless. Now as a heterosexual male, my eyes didn't mind those scenes but I was here to watch an Ed Wood horror/sci-fi movie and instead just got a showpiece for lousy dancers. Criswell acts like he's really drunk or high and Fawn Silver out acts him by a mile! She at least comes across as moderately creepy and weird which is a lot more than I can say for the Wolfman and the Mummy. Holy cow are those two an embarrassment to any Universal monster or mythical creature that preceded them! The Wolfman makeup you buy at Wal-Mart would be better than this and the Mummy sounds like a guy with a traffic cone over his head, reading lines offstage. And you won't BELIEVE the stupidity of these lines. I'm an Ed Wood completist. I had to see this film, but you don't. Had Ed Wood directed the film I think it could have been something special. Instead some obscure Bulgarian Z grade movie director behind the camera combined with Wood's awful script (I use the term script very loosely here) equals pure disaster! Honestly if they would have eliminated ALL dancing scenes they would probably have had a pretty funny and enjoyable film. The problem is they'd also have only 14 minutes...
xnet95
I thought this movie was 1,000 times better than I was expecting. You actually get to see real women with real boobs dancing around in color from the mid-sixties! What more could a man want!?! I grew up watching Ann Margaret, the Gold Diggers, and Batgirl running around in sexy outfits. I always wanted them to drop the skimpy outfits, but they never did...what a frustrating youth! ALL of the women in this movie have nice bodies that are very physically fit. They're not like those corn-fed dames from the 50's burlesque films that look like they could play pro football. The Volcano girl was outstanding, with a perfect body. Any man that whines about this film has to have zero testosterone in his system.I actually read all 81 reviews trying to get some leads on other films like this from the 1960's, and I was shocked by all the apologists and whiners. Have we really gotten to the point as a society where the naked human form is to be ignored and scorned? It's unbelievable how many people panned this movie! It's a titty movie people! Wake up!! Maybe the problem is that Ed Wood's name is attached to it, so a bunch of asexual geeks that watch MST3K came to this movie expecting "horror". Sorry guys, all we have are T&A - sorry to disappoint you. Now I know how Austin Powers felt when he woke up in the asexual 90's. Give me the swingin' 60's anyday! (I know Rob Zombie would like this movie because he always had naked women from this era playing on the screen behind the band during White Zombie shows. Rob Zombie hates all you little homo's that couldn't appreciate the sublime beauty of Orgy of the Dead.)
dbonk
If you are an admirer of Edward D. Wood, Jr. prepare or better yet, brace yourself, yet again.While Ed did not direct this spook-fest, he did write the screenplay (so to speak) based on a novel which he also penned for general release, primarily at fine bookstores which also carried magazines like 'Dude', 'Rogue', 'Nugget' and 'Gent.' For 'ORGY OF THE DEAD' is not so much a horror movie but a beyond the grave burlesque show featuring a bevy of beauties summoned by that master seer himself, Criswell. Look deep into Criz's eyes as he reads from his cue cards and glances up at the camera lens every so often. For this role, Criswell's cape was originally worn by Bela Lugosi as 'Dracula' in 'ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN'. The only humor available in this cemetery plot, though, are between the Wolfman(Rod Lindeman)and the Mummy(Louis Ojena), reminiscent of 'PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE's wise-cracking cops, Paul Marco and Conrad Brooks.A.C. Stephen(Stephen C. Apostolof) directs this flick, with an affectionate nod to the screenwriter. The opening scene takes place in broad daylight with a 1965 Corvair convertible taking in some mountainous curves until the next turn when, in true Ed Wood time management fashion, it suddenly becomes night and then day again along the same mountain pass. The driver(William Bates)delivers his lines to his girlfriend passenger(Pat Barrington)as if he's narrating a documentary on how "Unsafe At Any Speed" the Chevrolet Corvair is. Kudos to Ralph Nader because, wouldn't you know it, this Corvair crashes, too. Pat Barrington (sometimes billed as Barringer) plays a double role here as 'Shirley' and 'The Gold Girl'. (Criswell goes over the top here as he memorably intones "More Gold, More Gold!"). Miss Barringer would soon play lead in 'THE AGONY OF LOVE'. When Criswell starts drooling in 'Shirley's direction, she lets go with a "blood-curdling" scream(not once mind you, but twice)sounding as anemic as the budget for an Edward D. Wood, Jr. production. Actually, Pat Barringer's 'talents' were displayed to best advantage in Russ Meyer's classic 'MONDO TOPLESS.' Go, Pat, Go!This brings us to the real reason to view 'ORGY OF THE DEAD.' In spite of Criswell's rants from his coffin about "Monsters to be pitied, Monsters to be despised," the real show is provided by the likes of 'Texas Starr', 'Bunny Glaser','Rene de Beau' and more grind house marquee starlets. Professional exotic dancers with their own bizarre themes set to music perform for Criswell's pleasure in Astra Vision and Sexicolor, no less.The music sounds like a cocktail lounge blend between Martin Denny and Les Baxter. Actually, the score is provided by Jaime Mendoza Nava, conducting The Chilean Symphony Orchestra(really!). These cryptic chicks dance and bounce topless(no pasties,thankfully) with panties or a G-string. "The Bride" who frugs and jerks to her husband's skeleton and the "Cat Woman" are highlights, but hey, these haunted honeys are all Screaming Mimis even if they don't make a sound and don't always dance in sync to the music, as if that really matters. So don't be surprised afterward if you find yourself baying at the moon at full port. You Have Been Warned!
