Movies: Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things

Rodney Anonymous will show the 1972 movie in Laurel Hill Cemetery.

This Friday, Rodney Anonymous of living-legendary Philly punk band the Dead Milkmen will host a screening of Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things in Laurel Hill Cemetery — Philly’s historic and increasingly unsacred burying ground. BYO chairs, blankets, food and drink (or partake of the fancy food trucks).

The premise for the 1972 cult favorite is one we’ve all experienced: A bunch of theater nerds dig up a corpse for use in a satanic ritual or prank or something and learn a valuable lesson as to whether or not children should play with dead things. They should not. Here’s the trailer:

The film mixes real horror thrills with camp corniness — but the biggest shock is that director Bob “Benjamin” Clark went on to direct A Christmas Story, Baby Geniuses and distinctly Hollywood fare. Then again, he did give us Black Christmas, Porky’s and Porky’s II. So I guess the real mystery is how the guy who did Black Christmas landed a project like A Christmas Story.

More info on the screening here.