There's good reason to be afraid of the dark.Night Life (1990), not to be confused with the similarly titled Nightlife (1989), is an exceptionally fright find in that is has largely become a forgotten cult classic. Directed by David Acomba, Night Life in grand Universal fashion with a black and white sequence of a teenager (Scott Grimes) aimlessly sorting through various body parts as he disposes of them. Meet Archie Melville, a young man who's too smart for his own good and stuck working for his Uncle Verlin (John Astin) at the local funeral home.
Hated by his peers at school and berated by his Uncle, Archie finds vindication when a freak accident lands four of his antagonizers from school to his slab. It seems, however, that nothing comes easy for Archie as a twists grants the four stiffs a new lease on life and they return to harass him from the grave. Poor Archie. Hilarious hi-jinks ensue and limbs are lost as the rest of this horror comedy unfolds.
While the plot is your typical boy meets bullies scenario, the film does achieve some great moments of characterization and the special effects by Craig Reardon (Poltergeist, The Gate) is pretty impressive, giving the zombies a rather realistic portrayal of decomposition. Unfortunately, it would seem that this is yet another hidden gem whose headstone has been left unattended as no official DVD re-issue has been released. Here's hoping that lightning does strike twice.
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