Dance of the dead: El baile de los muertos

I walked into this film at it's last showing in The Atlanta Film Festival, not expecting much. It had gotten a little hype, and the Atlanta Journal seemed to like it, so I figured I'd give it a chance. What I got was a delightfully corny zombie film, on par with Shaun of the dead, except even more low-budget. Some of the characters were actually reasonably likable, a fair amount of witty dialogue, and slapstick violence, plus Large amounts of gore to satisfy true Zombie Film junkies. The film is exceedingly low budget, but in many parts that actually works to it's advantage, such as the nuclear power plants conveniently placed directly behind the cemetery, looking as though they were pasted in there with photoshop, and fairly corny zombies. Through much of it, the audience cackled and cheered, and it was greeted with much applause at it's finally, plus I recognized some of the locations, and many of the stars were in the theater. It has many unexpected touches, such as zombie frogs in the science lab, and some deaths twists. Overall, I really enjoyed this film, and if it ever gets wide release, I recommend seeing it.

I always bite on B-horror films like this (and Black Sheep) and so far, the same results - disappointment. Dance of the Dead has absolutely no suspense whatsoever, and the pacing of the movie, along with comedic timing, is a bit off at all times. Then there's the acting which ranges from acceptable to down-right BAD (I guess that's what you get when you cast real High School-aged actors). All in all, it's no better than a b-film. I wouldn't even rank it a B+. But that's not to say it lacks any redeeming value. The character development is weak, but not non-existent. There's some serious lack of creativity (Power Plant for example) and there are moments of complete cliché (I understand what kind of movie it is but let's face it), but there's also some good gory laughs thrown in during later scenes if you can bare with it a while. The gore is here and there, and the special effects are good enough. My main problem was the amateurish aspects of it. The pacing, the timing, etc. The movie just seemed to skip too quickly without building up scenes or parts of the plot. It does get better as it goes though.

I'm no disgruntled employee, but I do think the movie is way over-hyped. It's by no means anything comparable to the likes of Shaun of the Dead or Evil Dead for that matter, but it does have a few things going for it. Only recommended for zombie fanatics that have an affinity for b-quality films. If you like polished production values, you might want to avoid it. A good test is watching the intro sequence.

Like I already said,this is a very good horror-comedy. The only problem is that special effects aren't the best (but that is far away from spoiling you watching this movie). Film offers us enough humor and gore to keep us in the mood to the very end of it.

If I remember correctly, Bishop made his first movie with only 15000 $. The movie was nothing special, but for that budget it was more than satisfying. Almost the same thing happened with this movie (the only difference is that this one is even better than The other side). I have a feeling that with 15000 $ Bishop makes more than some directors with 15 mil. $. At least he knows how to make a very entertaining movie (I don't wanna think how good this movie would be if Bishop had a bigger budget). So I gotta say: "Dammit,will someone finally give this man the money so he can make a movie with decent special effects?!" He really deserved it.

So go,take your friends,watch this movie and you will all have a great time. Take this movie for what it is (by that I mean that this isn't some big budget movie,just the opposite) and this will be one of the best prom nights you have ever seen. In the end,I would give this movie 7 stars,but because of having so little and offering so much,I'll give it 8 for effort.

A high school prom is disrupted by an influx of zombies with the usual mayhem resulting. The school nerds gather to fight the zombies and save the prom. Sort of a cross between Night of the Living Dead and Revenge of the Nerds, with better jokes.

This small budget horror film has the usual zombies with the usual lurching, slobbering, flesh-eating behavior, and an undercurrent of good humor. Various sub-plots, mostly involving unlikely romances between nerds and cheerleaders, are responsible for most of the jokes. The gore is standard-level horror fare, not especially bloody but with enough dismembered bodies for enthusiasts. If there was any nudity it must have been quick because I didn't see it.

This is an enjoyable horror film to watch with friends, there is enough humor and romance for both genders to enjoy. I'd watch it again.

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.