This is the kind of film that is obviously a labor of love. When watching And Then They Were Dead, the apparent directorial debut of Rey Schwetz, it becomes quite apparent that money was tight and aspirations were high. Unfortunately, some of the aspirations were a little too high. Couple that with some of the most inane ideas ever set aside for a film and you've got a recipe for disaster... or this.
The film follows a basic Agatha Christie-style murder mystery, with shades of Italian giallo films and good old fashioned American slasher flicks. A group of people end up in a big house and, one-by-one, begin knocking each other off. Sounds fun - and is for the most part...
Where this film runs awry is the rationale behind it. The characters have absolutely no qualms with their strange weekend trip, which should seem mighty peculiar to virtually anyone who doens't spend their Friday nights in strangers' homes. They speak to each other like horny teenagers although they are all middle-aged adults. The french maid, complete with hilarious outfit, looks like she fell out of a schoolboy fantasy. The icing on the cake, however, is the sex scene which takes place only moments before the visitors plan on taking down the murderer. Its like the film decided to stop dead in its tracks so two people can get it on behind a pile of empty U-haul boxes. It wouldn't have been so bad if we would have at least had some nudity, but all we get is a shirtless guy with a huge tattoo scrawled over his back on top of a fully-clothed woman.
But, before I completely shut out the film, I should address the good points. The effects are a blast, but I wish I could have seen more gore in the film. Joe Zaso is a riot, as usual. Willie Hill is fun as a mysterious butler. Darian Caine is lovely, as always... So, if you're in the mood for some camcorder cheese, this might be the perfect way to spend 90 minutes. If you seek high art, or even a good horror flick, look elsewhere.
