Dance of the Dead

Not being a huge zombie flick fan, but being surrounded by MANY, I was surprised to have really enjoyed the classic zombie feel this movie had, but with the musical twist. It was one of my favorites in the Atlanta Film Festival this year and most everyone I have talked to loved it, both here in Atlanta and at SXSW. I think that Gregg Bishop really has an amazing talent and I'm hoping for more from him and his crew in the future and will go back and check out the ones I've missed.

You can tell at times that this was a low-budget flick and pretty indie, but had a good story line and really had you rooting for these kids all the way through. Of course the classic "ready for war" walk down the hall is always a great addition and there were some great lines.

There were issues with editing that I caught all along, but the director was also the editor and producer and I'm quite sure had his hands full, maybe having someone a little more removed would be helpful, but budget is budget :). Can't wait to get this one home and have folks over for a movie party!

My first and obvious reaction when I saw "Dance of the Dead" standing on the shelves of my local video store a couple of years ago was: "Yet another highly acclaimed and supposedly hilarious zombie comedy? I think I'll pass…" Zombie comedies (also referred to as 'zom-coms' or even 'zomedies') exist since many years, as in the 80's and 90's we already had cult classics like "Night of the Creeps", "Return of the Living Dead" and "Braindead", but particularly since 2004 and the release of "Shaun of the Dead" we can speak of a genuine epidemic. A selected few of them actually manage to be original and funny (like "Zombieland", "Dead Snow" and "Fido") but the vast majority of them are just dumb, derivative and downright pathetic. Automatically assuming that "Dance of the Dead" would fit right into the latter category, I always refrained from watching until now I could pick up an ex-rental DVD copy for the bargain price of $1. Now I'm pleased to announce that "Dance of the Dead" is a lot better than I thought it would be, merely because it's a 200% unpretentious, straightforward and rejoicing little flick. Nearly all the characters are stereotypes and the gags/situations are hugely predictable, but at least the movie is never boring and doesn't waste any time on wannabe intellectual dialogs or far-fetched plot twists. The film opens with a quirky cemetery caretaker having enormous difficulties to keep his cadavers underneath the ground. As the camera zooms out, we perceive that the cemetery lies right next to an overactive nuclear power plant; so there's your explanation. In this same sleepy nuclear energy town, the popular kids prepare themselves for the annual high school prom, whereas the outcasts carry on with their Sci-Fi club meetings, rock band activities and pizza deliveries. As the zombies adrift from their regular cemetery boundaries and head towards the prom, it's up to the freaks and geeks to rescue the rest of the school. Personally, I wouldn't refer to "Dance of the Dead" as one of the best zombie comedies ever made, and I would definitely not label it as an instant cult classic, but it's undeniably a fun and unhinged little gem. The clichés and stereotypes are amusingly enlarged and the make-up effects are often gloriously over-the-top. The pacing remains fast throughout the entire running time and the movie doesn't contain any redundant sequences or padding footage whatsoever. The acting performances are more than adequate, as you can clearly tell that everyone truly enjoyed starring in this one. Recommended to watch in group, or on a lazy and rainy Sunday afternoon.

On the day of the Hawaiian Hula Prom, the high-school students are excited with the party. The immature pizza-boy Jimmy Dunn (Jared Kusnitz) has an argument with his girlfriend Lindsey (Greyson Chadwick), who is the vice-president of the student council and wants to wear a corsage, and she calls off their date. The outcast Steven (Chandler Darby), who is one of the members of the mocked Sci-Fi Club, invites the cheerleader Gwen (Carissa Capobianco) to go to the prom with him, but she prefers to invite the leader of the band Quarter Punks Nash Rambler (Blair Redford) to have a date with her, but he rejects her invitation. During the night, Lindsey dates the snobbish Mitch Cutter (Jeff Adelman), who is the president of the student council, and he heads his car to the local cemetery nearby a power plant to make out with Lindsey. Meanwhile the members of the Sci-Fi Club – the president Jules Reiner (Randy McDowell), Steven, George (Michael V. Mammoliti) and Rod (Mark Lynch) – decide to spend the night investigating the cemetery using a MIT device that Jules borrowed from his brother. Out of the blue, Rod is attacked by a zombie and the trio of survivors runs away from a legion of living dead. Meanwhile, Mitch is beheaded by a living dead and Lindsey drives his car to escape of zombies. She rescues Jules, Steven and George and break in the funeral house. Meanwhile, Jimmy is delivering a pizza and is attacked by the dead. He flees and sooner he meets the badass Kyle Grubbin (Justin Welborn) and Gwen that is jogging on the street. The Quarter Punks is rehearsing in Nash's garage and they discover that the zombies like their music. The three groups team-up under the leadership of Coach Keel (Mark Oliver) and together they decide to help the teenagers in the prom. But it may be too late.

"Dance of the Dead" is an entertaining and gore horror comedy with a huge potential of cult-movie. The plot is not original, actually it is a combination of "Carrie" and "Night of the Living Dead", but the story is hilarious and I laughed a lot. The special effects are another plus of this delightful film. The resemblance of Greyson Chadwick with the sweet Julianne Moore is impressive. I really enjoyed this funny film and laughed a lot. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): Not Available

Really zombie movies are such a hit and miss genre that you can't ever honestly watch one with high hopes. Which is why when one turns out to be pretty damn good you are more than pleasantly surprised.

This was just a well put together movie. I thought the direction, script, and acting were all very well executed...especially for a bunch of relative unknowns. It had gore, humor, story...and what I really appreciated was they gave you just enough insight and character build up that when someone did finally kick the bucket...you know who it was and cared. The dialog was also pretty fun to listen to. I'm a fan of horribly foul language...which this movie did not have...but the dialog kept me interested enough that I didn't even notice the lack thereof.

Plot summary. It's prom time in this town, and all the teens are scurrying to find their dates. All teen categories are featured here, there's the nerds (sci-fi club), the misfits, the punk rockers, and the in-crowd (tools). While this minor school drama that everyone can relate to is going on, a menace is looming. The town power plant has been leaking toxic waste into it's surrounding town causing the dead to return to life. While the prom is in full swing, the dead arise and start wreaking havoc. Naturally the first to notice are those who are without dates and it is up to them to not only protect and save themselves...but to save the obvious buffet that is the teen prom.

If you like fun zombie movies, with good lines, and gore...watch it.

Definitely worth a look. Good laughs (good cheesy one liners), good horror, good gore. I was pleased to see a lower budget come out high on my list of zombie picks. Zombie films are a hit and a miss. This one with the humor was a hit. More flicks like this need to be made. I don't want to explain the plot except its a Prom Dance with Zombies. How do you survive? From beginning to end the film keeps you involved. There wasn't a dull moment or too heavy of a character build up. It was a film that doesn't go out for shock value yet creating the B style horror. The CGI was fantastic with ample amounts of gore to please any horror fan.