She s writing a thesis on authentic versus faked suicides, and sees this wave of violence as an opportunity to study and compare many cases of both. That envelope later turns out to be very important, as it contains Betty's suicide note, addressed to Simona's father. Most folks that remember it do so for its repellent morgue scenes, but those bits are more there to make an artistic statement and set the viewer on edge than to provoke all-out horror. However, the film's main focus is on the Hitchcockian mystery and thriller aspects, not the horror. The Dead Are Alive - doesn t concentrate enough on plot to build suspense.
Atmosphere is king here.
The entire movie seems like it s suffering from sunspots, shuffling about in a daze. Anchor Bay's transfer is crystal clear, and perhaps the most complete cut of the film ever available. One scene cut from English version is retained in Italian. However, though the disc has both English and Italian language tracks, there are sadly no subtitles available. Some may find this picture to be a nicely creepy little sleeper.