The Dead Talk Back (1993)

A lost film that should have stayed lost, 22 July 2006

It's almost impossible to find out anything about The Dead Talk Back. It was made in 1956 or 1957 (depending on which sources you're look at) and immediately shelved. As far as I can tell, it was never shown anywhere. I'm assuming that sometime around 1993, Sinister Cinema found the film and somehow procured the rights to it and released it on video. I assume 1993 because that's the year listed on IMDb for the movies release. Somehow The Dead Talk Back came to the attention of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and was included on their Season 6 schedule. That's about it as far as the story behind The Dead Talk Back. If it weren't for MST3K, I doubt this thing would have more than 5 votes on IMDb.

As for the movie, it's mind-numbingly awful. It's dull, uneventful, and a total waste of time. The acting ranges from over-the-top to, well, no acting at all. The special effects look like they came from a 1950s Radio Shack equivalent clearance sale. The plot attempts to include elements of horror, drama, mystery, science fiction, and every other genre you can name and fails miserably at each. There's so little entertainment value in The Dead Talk Back that the MST3K crew seemed to have trouble with it. They just didn't seem as "inspired" and, as a result, this is one of the weaker episodes of MST3K I've seen.

1/10