Die Nacht der lebenden Loser
Tags: gothic

Plot synopsis:
The film begins in Haiti, where a zombie attacks a small family, only to be quickly killed by being set on fire. The zombie's ashes are gathered in an urn, which is promptly stolen and sold before it can be buried.
Three months later, Philip Fleischhacker (Tino Mewes) is left to watch his parents' house as they go on a trip in their RV, specifically forbidding him to have any parties, drink, or do drugs. He is then picked up by his two friends Wurst (Manuel Cortez), a party-loving stoner and Konrad (Thomas Schmieder), a nerd who is frequently bullied. The three also give a ride to Philip's neighbor Rebecca (Collien Fernandes), a goth girl who has an unrequited crush on Philip. At school, Philip attempts to ask out a popular girl named Uschi (Nadine Garmann), which prompts her jock boyfriend Wolfe (Hendrik Borgmann) to bully and humiliate Philip and his friends.
While in Frau Niedermacher's (Patricia Thielemann) class, Rebecca and her two goth friends Gunther (Oliver Grober) and Frederik (Tom Lass) give a presentation on Voodoo, which is ridiculed by the class, including Wurst and Konrad. When Philip learns that Rebecca knows of a love spell, he asks if she'd use it for him so that he could woo Uschi. Though she tells him it will not work, she tells him to meet her and her friends at the cemetery, where she, Gunther, and Frederik planned to perform a ritual. Later that night, Philip, Wurst, and Konrad show up at the cemetery, where they learn that Rebecca and the goths plan to use the ashes of a zombie (specifically the zombie from the beginning of the film), and a chicken from the grocery store, to raise the dead, specifically to raise Kurt Cobain so that he can play music for them. Though the spell is cast, as the urn is being emptied, a gust of wind picks up and covers Philip, Wurst, and Konrad in the zombie's ashes. Disappointed and frustrated, the three leave.
While driving home, Wurst loses control of his van while messing with his bong, causing an accident that kills all three boys. The zombie ashes slowly re-animate them. The three wake up in a mortuary, and discover that they are dead, but are somehow still alive all the same. They escape the morgue, and after returning home realize that they have become zombies as a result of the ritual. The next morning the three eat raw steaks before going to school.
At school, the boys are bullied again by Wolfe, but quickly discover that because they are now zombies, they no longer feel pain and have tremendous strength. Realizing this, Konrad begins to take revenge on those who bullied him (as he has written down every incident since he started school), while Philip seeks out Rebecca. He initially tries to get her help in fixing his zombie condition, but she mistakenly thinks he remembered her birthday, causing him to promise to spend it with her. Throughout the day Konrad begins to crave raw meat and human flesh, causing him to get in trouble after he bites one of his classmates. At gym class, the boys use their newfound strength and immunity to pain in order to trounce Wolfe and the school rugby team, which earns them the admiration of their whole class. To celebrate their victory, Wurst announces a party at Philip's house, and Uschi publicly declares that she will have sex with Philip. When Rebecca sees this, she storms off, angry and hurt.
Konrad sneaks into the office of the gym teacher (Tim Wilde) and takes revenge upon him by eating him. When Philip and Wurst discover this, they scold him and end up ripping of Konrad's ear, which he staples back on. To keep him from eating anyone else, Philip and Wurst chain Konrad to a pipe in the basement. Later on, Uschi and the rest of the school show up at Philip's home and proceed to throw a wild party. Wurst uses his being undead to win numerous bets, particularly drinking competitions, and seduces Frau Niedermacher. Wolfe, eager for revenge for being humiliated by Philip, sneaks in, leaves a stash of drugs in the basement, and calls the police. Konrad consumes all of the drugs and breaks free from his confinement. Philip pleads for Rebecca to come join the party, which she agrees to eventually. She arrives just as Philip and Uschi were about to have sex, causing her to leave, again feeling hurt.
Philip attempts to seduce Uschi, but she accidentally pulls off his penis, causing him to quickly run away. With the help of Wurst, he reattaches his penis with a stapler. Uschi catches the two in the middle of this, and assumes Wurst was giving Philip fellatio. She then ridicules and humiliates him, prompting people to start leaving. The police show up and search the house, but find nothing, much to the dismay of Wolfe (who didn't realize the drugs he planted were gone) and Philip (who discovered Konrad had escaped). The police find nothing and break up the party finally. Once alone, Konrad bites and kills Wolfe, prompting them to hide his body in the freezer. Desperate for a cure, Philip goes to Rebecca once again. While alone with her, he loses control, attacks her, accidentally burns her spell book, and then runs away in shame. Rebecca then correctly deduces that the ritual she and the other goths performed turned Philip and his friends in to zombies.
The next morning, Konrad is gone, but Rebecca arrives and agrees to help them find an antidote. She has Philip and Wurst steal another copy of her spell book from a museum, and then sends them off to gather the necessary ingredients, including holy water and the blood of a virgin. Wurst and Philip gather all except the blood, which Rebecca reluctantly offers. As she prepares the potion, Philip and Wurst scramble to clean up the house, as Philip's parents (Henry Grundler and Sissi Perlinger) call to inform him they're on their way home. En route, they accidentally run over Konrad and take him to the hospital. When Philip's parents arrive at home, Philip and Wurst fail in convincing them that there was no party held there the previous night, but manage to escape and consume the potion, making them human again. Philip, Rebecca, and Wurst rush for the hospital, using Frau Niedermacher's car.
At the hospital, the group confront Konrad (who had gone through a large portion of the hospital's blood bank), and give chase in an attempt to get him to drink the potion. While cornering him in an autopsy room, Philip ends up impaled on a knife which Konrad threw at Rebecca, and starts dying for a second time. Overcome with remorse, Konrad saves Philip by turning him into a zombie again using his own blood, and agrees to drink the potion. Wurst accidentally drops the bottle containing it, causing it to break. After tasting the contents of the bottle, however, Wurst realizes it was Frau Niedermacher's special cocktail of "moonshine, vodka, and orange juice," and that she in fact had the real potion. Frau Niedermacher then appears with the bottle, and Philip and Konrad become human again.
In the final scene, Philip and Rebecca acknowledge their feelings for one another and have sex in Philip's bed after sneaking her into his room.

Review: The film's underlying connection is obviously the lot of zombie films which have filled the last decades since Romero's "Night of the Living Dead" (1968).
And in this it's pretty funny, because there are many scenes in which the teenage actors are reacting unexpected, but never miss the point to be what they are: a bunch of maturing youths, whose only interests are in women, booze and party!
Interestingly there this a similar film out now with the title "Shaun of the dead" which takes on the funny sides of zombie-films, too, although it has a better making and the puns are more precise than in this one.
A German horror comedy that successfully spoofs all possible clichés of zombie films without ever paying any disrespect to the real genre classics or ending up as a retarded 90 minutes joke itself???
I swear, unless you absolutely have no sense of humor in you, you can't but enjoy this silly story about three typical German high-school nerds that suddenly move up the social ladder because they have the strength and advantages of the living dead.
In a desperate attempt to conquer a girl's heart (and body), Philip and his friends Konrad and Wurst (what's in a name) undergo a voodoo ritual and become soiled by the ashes of a dead Haitian zombie.
While Konrad and Wurst are having the time of their lives abusing their zombie powers, Philip turns to his loving neighbor girl for a cure.
Whereas other German movies are frequently uptight (no offense to any German readers...), "Night of the Living Dorks" specifically focuses on laughing with stereotypes and even the country's own national history.
All the gags and references towards classic films in the script already featured in previous zombie comedies and yet this movie still feels fresh and innovating.
Even the jokes that aren't zombie-related, like soft-drug usage or the "crush on teacher"-syndrome, are effective and will make you chuckle.
The acting of the boys is pretty good, while the girls all look ravishing and show quite a bit of naked flesh.
The gory situations aren't as outrageous as I thought, which is probably due to the German rating system, but there certainly is some nice sloth to enjoy.
Many will disagree, maybe, but I think this pleasant German surprise doesn't have to yield much to similar movies like "Shaun of the Dead", "Return of the Living Dead" or "The Dead Hate The Living".
A decent but hilarious movie combining comedy with typical zombie images.
The topic on it was obvious.This movie is made in Germany, obviously out of the title and it probably won't ever come to the US.
There are only German actors in it who fit their characters pretty well.
The special actor in this movie is Collien Fernandes.
So even your girl should be pretty amused by it.I could imagine that it's related to the bunch of zombie movies which came out (more or less) recently, like Resident Evil 2 and 28 days later.
It has got a whole bunch of funny scenes in it like when parts are falling off of the characters, flat comments and dark humor.
Though I need to mention that I really like this kind of humor.The characters are done well and the zombieteenagers look really freaky as the movie goes on further.The Plot outline describes all you need to know about the story of this movie.This movie is not necessarily one of the top (comedy) movies you might have seen, though I still recommend watching it!.
Extremely Funny Parody of Zombie Movies.
The school friends Philip (Tino Mewes), Wurst (Manuel Cortez) and Konrad (Thomas Schmieder) are high-school losers: Philip desires the sexy Uschi (Nadine Germann), an easy girl for successful boys; the complex Konrad lists all the humiliations he has been submitted in school; and Wurst only cares to dope himself and smoke pot.
While seeking an antidote in the Necronomicon, Konrad, Wurst and Philip find the advantages of being zombies, becoming successful due to their recently acquired strength."Die Nacht der Lebenden Loser" is an extremely funny parody of zombie movies, a sort of "American Pie" meeting "Night of the Living Dead" or "Shaun of the Dead".
The result is hilarious and this enjoyable movie is highly recommended to make the viewer forget, for example, the defeat of his soccer team (my case today), since it is impossible not laughing along the 89 minutes running time.
Definitely funny if a little too much like an American teen flick.
As others have said this is kind "Revenge of the Nerds" meets "Night of the Living Dead".
It kind of reminded me of Bob Balaban's underrated horror/comedy "My Boyfriend's Back" released about ten years ago or "Idle Hands" a little more recently.
After participating in a hilariously screwed-up graveyard ritual with some half-assed satanists, three nerdy losers are killed in car accident (which results from a hilarious bong-related mishap), and come back to life as zombies.
They decide to use their undead abilities to get revenge on their enemies and chase after the girls of their dreams.To this movie's credit it's very funny, and all the characters, especially the three protagonists, are well-drawn and likable.
There's also some subtle jokes like the characters attending "Friedrich Nietzsche High School" (which actually might not be a joke in Germany) and the homosexual gym teacher named "Mr. Stalin".
The downside though is it's a little too much like a modern-day American teen movie (which makes it pretty ironic that Hollywood is apparently going to remake this).
The teens are ridiculously horny even by teenage standards and there is no end to the gross-out, sexually related humor, yet there is also very little (female) nudity.
The main protagonist is in love with an icy Aryan blonde, but in typical Hollywood teen movie fashion doesn't seem to notice that the "goth" girl-next-door who taught him how to kiss is absolutely gorgeous.
I also wish it were even more "politically incorrect"--the funniest scenes are the ones Hollywood would have been too leery to put in a teen movie, like the irresponsible dope smoking while driving or the scene where the dim-witted satanists accidentally draw a Star of David instead of a pentagram ("The only thing you're going to summon with that is the Jewish Council!").If you are going to watch a modern-day teenage movie though, you could certainly do worse than this (a lot worse)..
Invite some friends, get some beer, watch this movie and enjoy it !!!
BUT: It is extremely amusing, the DVD-Extras are superb, and for such a low-budget movie the effects are OK.There are no splatter-blood-spilling-brain dripping scenes in it, so everyone can really enjoy it.So...
Have fun, and if you liked the movie recommend it to your friends!
Even though its in German it is dubbed English and is amazing!!its SO funny XD The actors were fantastic and the special effects were hilarious and with the make up it really ,makes this awesome film even better :D!!!
A very good teen flick ( and much better than the average American XD) its a certificate 15 and contains strong language, comic horror, and loads of sex drugs and rock and roll!!!!!
If your a fan of zombie movies like Shaun of the dead then this is totally the film for you!!
The movie has several well played and sympathetic characters, a nice story and good camera, actors and cut.
It is obviously made like productions from America, but with an unique German approach, so it isn't a copy but a distinct work.It is simply an enjoying movie, with funny dialogs, silly situations and some slapstick in a positive manner.
The youngster's acting is convincing, especially Thomas Schmieder as Konrad, but also Manuel Cortez as Wurst and Tino Mewes as Philip and the supporting actors.
Funny horror-comedy from Germany....
I saw this film as part of the Cinemuerte Horror Film Festival in Vancouver recently, and I have to say that I did enjoy it, as silly as it was.The characters were affable, the zombie and gore effects were solid, and the storyline was good fun.
The actors were all very natural, and seemed like real teenagers, despite the fantastic situations they were in.
Anyway, when this film will reach DVD on North American shores is hard to tell, but if you like 80's-style teen comedy flicks, and are a fan of zombies and gore (there are some gross and violent scenes, but nothing as extreme as what you'd see in a Romero film, and they're mostly played for laughs), then this film is good for a laugh and worth renting.
It's certainly better than most teen flicks coming out of Hollywood these days!.
Zombie-Comedy fun basks in endearing silliness.
As my usual SIFF ritual, I attended a "Midnight Adrenaline" screening, and this year it happened to be "Night of the Living Dorks", a German "zombie-comedy", a spoofing genre that has seemed to kick off since the massive cult success of UK's "Shaun of the Dead".
And this film does play like a nutty hybrid of "Revenge of the Nerds" and "Night of the Living Dead", and it's joyfully naughty, undemanding fun.This particular horror spoof/send up takes place in suburban Germany, focusing on group of unpopular high school geeks in all their individual, expected ways.
Of course, this wouldn't be a teen movie without a pair of sidekicks: best friend Konrad (Thomas Schmieder), an uber Micheal-Anthony-Hall-ish nerd who keeps a precise, daily recording of the endless taunts and vile pranks repeatedly pulled on him, and Wurst (Manuel Cortez), a perpetual stoner who remains completely insouciant and unaffected by the group's considerable lack of a social life.
And in true John Hughes' fashion, there's the lovely next-door gal pal, Rebecca (Collien Fernandes), one for whom is trying on a Gothic lifestyle to see if it fits, who has a none-too-subtle crush on the oblivious Phillip.And the night that puts the story's pivotal turn in motion is at a pathetic meeting of Collien's goth clique and Phillip's nerdy triad, for which an inept voodoo ritual to try and reverse Phillip-n-crew's downward social spiral goes awry, as they die in a car crash during a roadside bong haze, only to wake up in the city morgue that night to realize there the walking dead!
And when they return to school the next day, they realize their luck is about to change: not only do they crush the athletic jocks at their usually unbearable PE class (with heavy reverence to "The Longest Yard") and find they have superhuman strength, but also throw a totally radical school-wide party at Phillip's pad (for whom are on vacation), completely reversing their terminally unpopular streak.But of course, things don't quite go as smoothly (body parts falling off at inappropriate times, a conniving, emasculated jock planning to bring them down and Konrad's wildly uncontrollable violent outbursts), and they realize they are now on a ticking clock to resurrect themselves with a "magic mixture" before they officially go forever back into the grave.Now all this is a pretty predictable template, but director Mattheius Dinter's goofy, manic energy and the unpretentiously clever vignettes (Finding ancient zombie remains on E-bay; an ultra-cheery mother barging in on an awakening Phillip to see he has an erection under his sheets) helps elevate this gross-out comedy/teen-horror-romance to the above-average category.
The movie does have a few deeper observations than expected (noting that a Zombie's "Hunger" for human flesh reflects the boy's burgeoning sexuality), but really it just wants to have fun, as even the movie's climax is pretty much you would expect (with some minor surprises), it still works splendidly.Great fun, no matter how petty it actually is..
Awesome Zombie comedy.
my friend give it to me and i was having nothing more to watch so i watched it and i think i did a good mistake :P cause this movie is really cool..
i really loved it they actors they played great characters and they act very well i love the other cast too the teacher lover , the nerd everyone beats him and the main character one ..
there are many laughs in the movie if you are a teenager or a adult and love comedy movies then this one is a must watch movie..Acting 10/9..
A unique take on the zombie genre, this film is a must see..
I must laugh out loud at various points throughout the film, yet the humor, at times, should be subtle enough that not everyone understands the jokes (this is my self-indulgent side who loves more than nothing else to break out in the childish chorus: "I know something you don't know").
Well given the aforementioned qualities of a good film, Night of the Living Dorks is a recipe I can not wait to cook up for friends.
A lesser version of Idle Hands (1999) due to the pot references and a lesser version of Shaun of the Dead (2004) due to the zombie comedy.
Few horror-comedies out there, and most of them usually rely on gore and extremely bad language for the gags, but not this one, oh no, Night of the living dorks is a sure winner!I won't go into details, cause they are better to be explored by the viewer and keep the fresh pace throughout the entire movie, but I can assure you, this dark comedic production will not make you gag, smile, or snort a little, but laugh out loud plenty of times!
And after these recommendations, I'm gonna stop writing, as Night of the living dorks is a movie to be watched first, then discussed!
The ultimate in German teen zombie comedy!.
My review is based on me experiencing this awesome comedy in German language, so it might be a bit biased for you English speaking folks out there.If you enjoy a laugh along with a bunch of stereotypical characters then you better fasten your seat belts as this movie takes upon lots of clichés from the Zombie movie genre as well as teen comedies - with a German twist, though.
There are boobs, butts and drugs, but not much gory violence as you'd expect from a classical Zombie movie.
Nonetheless this movie also contains one of the most-closely to real-life teen party scenes I've ever witnessed on screen.This movie is best watched with a couple of friends and plenty of beer for even more entertainment - and if you're able to: do so in German.
I whole heartedly recommend this movie to anyone sporting a good sense of humor.
It didn't let me forget for one minute that I was watching actors (well, sort of...) in a movie.
And I was well aware, that this was going to be a somewhat silly teen comedy.
"Night of the Living Dorks" rocks!
It's "American Pie" meets "Night of the Living Dead".
It is so rare that I see a teen horror film that works on so many different levels, the way "Night of the Living Dorks" does.
Thus, I was shocked to see some "real dork" posting all these negative comments about this amazing film, which unfortunately comes up as the first user comment one sees, when most of the user comments on "Night of the Living Dorks" are favorable.My only advice is watch the film in German (with English subtitles) because the dubbed version is lame, and the actual voices of the actors in this movie are hilarious.
"Night of the Living Dorks" was OK in it's own right.
I can't say that the story was exceptional, nor was the acting, effects, etc., but it did blend two genres: comedy and horror effectively enough.The movie "borrowed" elements from such American teen comedies as American Pie, Revenge of the Nerds and Weird Science and mixes them with the obvious: Night of the Living Dead.I won't be giving anything away by saying there's teen zombies, revenge and bare breasts (not in that order though).
As far as German teenage comedies go, this one at least doesn't suck.
Our hero Philip chases after the posh Uschi who turns out to be the type of female sexual predator who constantly talks about getting it off and pleasing her man and who will be the first to be brutally offed by the zombies in a run-of-the-mill US-American teen comedy.
The film steers towards a pretty far-fetched but at least fairly original ending.I didn't get to see this movie when it came out ten years ago.
Overall this is what it claims to be, a working teenage zombie comedy.
"Die Nacht der lebenden Loser" is a German movie from 2004, so this one will have its 15th anniversary two years from now.
The writer an director of this 90-minute movie is Matthias Dinter and if you take a look at his body of work, then you probably already can roughly estimate the quality to expect here.
Even the likes of Henry Gründler who may be a talented comedian are just no quality performers in terms of film acting, even if it is comedy.
You never had the impression you were watching actually existing characters (of course there are fantasy elements, but still) and the actors sure didn't make things better.
Now if this had at least been somewhat charming with the romance element attached to it and the way the central character and Ulmen's get together, but it was all predictable and for the sake of it and once again the lack of talent in acting and writing makes this painful to watch.
The genuine drama moments like the knife scene at the end are ones where the film actually dares to take itself seriously despite how garbage it is.
And still it is pretty famous still even today, most certainly the most known work by almost everybody involved with the project and that shows how much people are curious about zombie movies.
I highly recommend to stay far far away from any copy of "Night of the Living Dorks".