The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies (1963)

A series of disappearances turns out to be linked to a maddened amusement arcade fortuneteller Madame Estrella who throws acid in the faces of the men who refuse her and then keeps this as disfigured monsters locked in the back room of her carnival booth. When teen lay-a-bout Jerry comes to have his fortune told he is placed in a hypnotic trance by the spinning disk and turned into a murderous zombie to serve the gypsy and her hunchbacked servant.System Requirements: Running Time 87 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR Rating: NR UPC: 631595041255 Manufacturer No: GPDVD-0412 Product Description

It really is as bad as everyone says it is.

The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? (Ray Dennis Steckler, 1963)

This is another case of me watching a movie that has been universally panned thinking "it really can't be all that bad, can it?" Yes, yes it is. Director Steckler (whose thirty-year-plus Hollywood career contained such highlights as Debbie Does Las Vegas and Teenage Dessert) does double-duty as the film's lead character, Jerry, a lunkhead who does most of his thinking below the belt. He, his roommate Harold (Atlas King), and his girlfriend Marge (Carolyn Brandt) head to the fair one night to see what's happening. After a rather strained session with fortune teller Madame Estrella (Brett O'Hara, suffering from what I assume is the worst make-up job in history), the group split up, with Harold taking Marge home after a fight with Jerry, who wants to see the girlie show. A little setup, and Jerry is back in Madame Estrella clutches, hypnotized into becoming a hit man for her.

Now where, you might ask, are the zombies in that synopsis? Well, they're nowhere. (They do put in a small appearance towards the end of the film, to be fair.) They're pretty pathetic zombies, and the musical numbers (yes, the musical numbers!) get more screen time than the zombies. The acting is terrible, the direction is awful, the technical aspects of the film range from hideous to terrifying (not in the way Steckler intended, I'm sure). This is one movie that thoroughly deserves its reputation; it's probably good to have on in the background at a party where the main goal is everyone getting as drunk as possible, but I can't see any other uses for it that makes sense. (half) March 10, 2008

The Incredibly Bad Film Which Will Bore You and Become a Cinematic Endurance Test

Yes, The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies. I recently picked this up very cheap at my local Family Video since they are clearing out B films like this to make room for a Blu Ray shelf. I had to pick it up since I love B films and had always heard of this movie but never had a chance to see it. What can I say, Ugggh......Uggh! This is one of the worst movies I have ever seen. One, the acting is horrible. Normally in these movies the acting makes you laugh occasionally,but in this it's just dull,very dull. Two, Why is this called a monster musical? There are no monsters involved in musicals! There are a couple dance numbers by showgirls,but they are 100% NOT MONSTERS!!! Was there a plot to this movie? It just seems they said "hey, lets turn on the camera and lets see what happens" The film bounces around from bad edit to bad edit. Also,if you are expecting anything close to a "zombie",you won't find it here,at the end of the movie I guess these guys in pirate outfits in cheap Walgreens halloween masks are suppose to be zombies. This movie is so bad,you can put it in with the likes of "Manos, Hands of Fate" and "The Undertaker and His Pals". Trust me, if you are in for a (very) slow moving and boring B film endurance test,this is your thing. December 16, 2007

Incredibly bad film making

The movie is actually more retarded than the title which at first judgement would seem impossible.
Mr. Ray Dennis Steckler (Cash Flagg) has provided a campy monster flick set in a carnival background. Without looking at Carol Brandt in leotards this film was a complete waste of time. So many dragged out scenes that don't amount to anything entail about 75% of the 100 minutes. Bad burlesque numbers and sexy costumes aren't enough to keep most people's attention, let alone a B-Movie buff as myself.
The bad acting isn't even worth laughing at, because it's so dull. Some movies are so bad that they achieve a cult status such as this.

Don't waste your money.
November 20, 2007

Silly campy movie....

I've only seen this strange piece of dreck from MST3K when they were on the Sci-Fi channel and they did a real good job,which you can get on one of their box sets.If you like silly/campy/bad acting and directing movies,then this is for you,but otherwise,stay away! It is decent for what it is,but rent it first to be on the safe side.. December 6, 2006

If only there was a zero star option

This has got to be the worst film ever made. When I saw it on television, I actually turned it off. When it was on again, I decided to see if it got better towards the end, but it did not, instead it got worse. The film may be a cult classic, but I keep asking myself whether there was even a script writer (I know that the credits says that there was, but I have my doubts). It just seemed like a bunch of drugged-out amateurs decided to try to make a zombie film, and did not even know how to work a camera, and someone actually funded them.

When I saw it for a third time on television, it was on Mystery Science Theater 3000. Even the jokes made did nothing to plug the stench of the film, but the misery was not as extreme since I had the joking robots and Mike making fun of it to focus on.

If only there was a zero star rating, since one star is being too gratious to this film. It's better to stay away from this film, but if you really want to see it, then best see it on TV, that way you don't spend any money and you can actually flip to something else. February 22, 2006

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