‘The entrance is the gateway to Hell!’
Don’t Go Near the Park – also known as Curse of the Living Dead, Nightstalker and Sanctuary for Evil – is a 1979 American horror film directed by Lawrence D. Foldes. It was belatedly released in September 1981.
The movie stars Aldo Ray, a one time Hollywood star whose career was markedly on the wane. It is also noteworthy for featuring an early performance from future horror ‘scream queen’ Linnea Quigley.
The film gained notoriety when it was successfully prosecuted in the UK and placed on the video nasty list. It was one of four “Don’t” titles on the list. It does feature some rubbery cannibalism scenes and has the no-no of scenes showing children in peril but its general air of goofiness perplexed nasty fans looking for full-blooded horror shocks. Apparently, it was also trimmed to avoid an ‘X’ rating for its US theatrical release.
Plot:
After being cursed by their mother, a caveman brother and sister (Gar and Tra) are forced to live their lives by preying on young people in a park and devouring their entrails in order to stay young.
After 12,000 years of killing they attempt to lift the curse and become immortal by finding a virgin’s soul, they can sacrifice, with the brother fathering a daughter for that purpose…
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Reviews:
“A film that never fails to leave first-time viewers in a state of utter disbelief, this completely insane mixture of gory cannibalism and time-hopping weirdness lurks behind an innocuous title easily confused with countless early ’80s slasher films. Don’t expect panicked babysitters or holiday-obsessed stalkers in this one, folks!” Mondo Digital
“In the pantheons of bad movie-making, few films can hold a candle to the completely nonsensical mess that is Don’t Go Near The Park. Despite an onscreen warning that tells us this fictional film was based on actual events, it’s about as unrealistic as you can get, blending medieval fantasy with flat out gut-munching horror into a finished product that almost defies description.” Rock! Shock! Pop!
