When “Night of the Living Dead” arrived in theaters in 1968, it not only revolutionized the genre as a whole but also set in motion a series of changes to the zombie subgenre, by changing the misconception of the creatures overnight. What had, until that point, been a genre dominated by the concept of the zombie as a brainless, emotionless slave under the control of a malevolent individual to do their evil bidding, the new presentation of zombies as flesh-eating ghouls ready to rip apart others became one of the more prominent takeaways from the movie into the new series of films inspired from “Night of the Living Dead.” One of the first titles to take influence from “Night,” the Spanish film “The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue,” serves as such direct inspiration for South Korea's first zombie film in Kang Beom-gu's “Strange Dead Bodies”.
Upon arriving in South Korea from studying abroad, Su-ji (Yu Kwang-ok) heads out to the countryside to find her relative living in Suri Village, eventually needing Kang Myeong (Chiang Ming) who helps her find the way. After finding her sister Hyong-ji (Hong Yeung-jong) they both learn that they've been attacked by the same individual who the authorities (Am Park) claim to have died several days ago despite being convinced of the identity behind their attacker. As Kang Myeong joins them to uncover the truth in their quest, they all realize that an experiment being conducted in the area involving ultrasonic wave transmissions being tested on insects to protect the crops has instead revived the dead and turned them into vicious killing machines,and they race to stop the creatures from continuing to kill while convincing the police about their evil presence.
Frankly, there's quite a lot to like with “Strange Dead Bodies.” Among the film's more likable features is the familiar and engaging storyline taken from “The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue” wholesale. The same setup features here, involving the use of a special radio transmitter intending to protect crops and vegetables from voracious insects, but instead, it's discovered that the signals from the broadcasts are reviving the dead from nearby cemeteries and turning them loose in a blood-soaked rampage. Granted, this isn't an original premise from writer Ju Dong-woon, but it still comes off serviceable enough. Things are kept fast and fresh with little downtime as Su-ji and Myeong come together and head off into the countryside within the first few minutes of the film. As well, the general setup with the characters is the same, with the demeanor and attitude and the setup of the disgruntled officer investigating the crimes, which are quite familiar yet integrated rather nicely. Granted that several encounters in the countryside surroundings before even approaching the half-hour mark appear, there's plenty of string work to get the creatures going and move the narrative along with this rather likable setup.
Following this enjoyable setup, “Strange Dead Bodies” manages to include a lot of likable zombie action and encounters. Initially focused on the confrontations with bizarre figures in the middle of the woods but being unaware of their true nature, the first attacks focus on Su-ji and Hyong-ji coming across strange bodies wandering through the forest who are identified as deceased individuals by the locals. With the incidents drawing the attention of the police due to the vicinity of the reports and attacks, the intensity becomes enhanced considerably as the action features more zombies coming to life and attacking. From the encounter at the cemetery where the creatures first emerge or the fantastic finale at the hospital that features a lot of fun zombie action in the race to contain as they escape the rapidly escalating situation, it's quite exciting and generates some wholly likable qualities.
“Strange Dead Bodies” does have some flaws though. The main issue is the apparent familiarity derived from the setup by being so similar with “Manchester Morgue” in the first place. The taking of the same setup involving the couple coming together in the countryside to visit a relative, coming across the transmitter conducting tests on insect repellent on local crops, and being inundated with zombies as a result, are all taken directly from the other film. The secondary subplot with the detective investigating the crimes and suspecting the couple in the middle of everything rather than looking at the indisputable evidence that the living dead are responsible instead, resulting in nearly-obsessive levels of tracking them down to dispense justice comes directly from the inspiration film. This can cause “Bodies” to feel rather familiar and unsurprising at times. The other factor with this one is the lack of overt blood and gore, cutting away from the kills without showing anything and relying only on strangling with bare hands when it's kept on-screen, which kinda distracts from the impressive zombie make-up that gives them a unique look. While not too distracting, these issues do crop up for this one.
An enjoyable enough genre outing when taken on its own terms, “Strange Dead Bodies” is really only let down by being so familiar that it still doesn't come off too bad overall. Fans of European zombie fare, the Asian counterparts, or just plain curious about the origins surrounding the film will have a lot to like here.
