9/10
Much fun, better than it looks
26 July 2019
It's a simple premise - four dudes (and two chicks) go to an old house which one of them rented or bought, where there was a brutal killing a long time ago, and they all get trapped in the house with an old dead woman out to kill them.

The movie poster is funny (I saw the film and poster as "Dead Dudes in the House") - none of these "dudes" are in the movie. And actually, only one of the guys is like a corny "dude" at all - he's a hard-edged California tough-guy type who needs beer, hates when people whistle and is sarcastic to everyone.

The dead old lady killer pops up every now and then to kill one of the gang, and the film almost runs like a videogame, with her being the "boss" of a round - if you don't kill her, you sneak around more, finding and making weapons, and eventually confront her again. And the ones she kills come back to life not as traditional zombies, but as talking and rationalizing undead, who are also out to kill the remaining friends.

The gore is pretty good, and of course this being Troma, there's some laughs in between the scares, but it doesn't get insultingly silly. Two characters in the house actually just kind of disappear without being mentioned again, and we never really understand why the dead old lady is super-strong or why she seems to control the house's actions, but that's all part of the mindless fun.

There's decent suspense, lots of cheesy horror cliches and dialogue, and pretty girls, a decent way to spend some horror time.
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