Contains spoilers.
Shh, don't tell
anyone, but I quite liked debut director Patrick Dinhut's direct to TV (Sci Fi
Channel) schmaltzy little zombie shenanigans. Light, funny and throwaway; it's
pleasant hour and a half of albeit formulaic zombie frivolities, comradeship
and bloody scrapes. Directorial confidence provides an abundance of rather
satisfying old school non-CGI blood, gore and action to compliment the
whimsical buddy story, and it's a film I find it rather hard to be too critical of.
For this zombie
story we're talking Cambodia, a sceptical military, an evil scientist and
parasitical scorpions that render a person dead but reanimated and hungry for
flesh and it's all as implausible and absurd as a) you'd expect and b) you'd want. Later in the film there's mention of a virus,
radiation isotopes, and nonsensical unnecessary exposition, but it's got all the
hallmarks of a daft seventies or eighties zombie horror where sense is always secondary to set piece action or gag.
Lt. Bobby Quinn
(Dean Cain), hero, action-man wakes to a scalpel and buzz-saw, moments away from
his own autopsy at the hands of, amongst others the inimitable John Billingsley playing Doctor
Langdon. Without too much fan-fair they all conclude that while no mistake has been
made, and Quinn is actually physically dead, with no pulse, pupil dilation, vital signs, he does still possess higher brain and cognitive
function and perhaps he should spend some time in quarantine. He appears reasonably rational, ethical and concerned with not only
finding some answers but the marines he died alongside, not just out of
brotherly concern but because his new spidie- aka zombie-sense is tingling as
to their whereabouts. Alas though, it would seem fate has not been as generous,
as finding the first of his contingent in a room nearby engaged in an orgy of
blood and violence it becomes apparent that he's alone in not wanting the
never-ending feast of human flesh, and his rescue mission may have turned into
one of seek and destroy.
Dead and Deader is
more action and comedy than horror. While there are some quite tense scenes,
especially later in the film, the narrative in general spins from one stylish
set location blood bath to the next with the between time given to churlish
humour, excessive pop-culture dialogue and dissemination, and a smattering of
romance between Quinn and bartender cum film-geek cum kick-ass Holly (Susan Ward). Private Judson (Guy Torry) is
provided to bring some innocent and naïve humour and distraction, in a manner
reminiscent of the token black guys of 1940s horror, like Mantan Moreland; and
though I'm not going to go as far as talk about racial stereotyping, the fact
I'm able to make this comparison speaks. And while it's all rather predictable
and unoriginal, the pacing is good, the performances from the main three are
warming and engaging and each actual moment of conflict is gritty and
satisfying, as said partly because of Dinhut's decision to use prosthetics and models
rather than sending it all to a budget animation studio to smother things with artificiality.
We do eventually
have it explained (at length) why Quinn alone possesses the cognitive reasoning
to not eat his companions. The scorpions you see, are really 'jindu' scorpion
likes creatures and legend has it they possess the ability to grant everlasting
life but only if they don't manage to get straight to the victims heart. It
seems it's blind luck really that Quinn was saved yet it's not all peaches and
roses, or super strength and instant healing. He still gets a hunger which must
be satiated quite quickly, with raw meat, else he'll turn homicidal killer, and
should he bite anyone, they'll automatically, and in seconds, be enrolled in
the brain eating gut muncher brigade too, so he'll always be that ticking
apocalypse time-bomb. It's all quite the over-elaborate set-up and I'm not sure
full exposition at any point was really necessary. He did give me that
Deathdream (Dead of Night) vibe of a hidden depth that was empty and unnatural
but Dead and Deader is a shallow popcorn flick and I don't think one was supposed to think that hard.
A naughties action popcorn
zombie flick that feels like an old-school eighties one, even with full screen black one
second transition breaks, Dead and Deader provides lots of bang for your buck,
for an evening's fun. Torry and Cain have great on screen chemistry and their
banter is the perfect refreshment while the narrative manoeuvres everyone and everything towards the next big and bloody conflict. Some of the peripheral performances
are disappointing and laboured, but over-all there's very little to actually
complain about with the film gliding by amusing and enthralling in equal measure. As stated though, whether there will be much you'll recall, or care to recall
once the credits have rolled may be a different matter - 6/10.
Steven@WTD.
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