Dead 7

I certainly wasn't expecting much from Dead Seven, especially after I learned that it was a Brain Damage films release. They are the production criminals that have unloaded excrement like Maniacal and the rancid Carnage Road on to unsuspecting movie fans for the past ten years. But with that said though I'm always open minded when it comes to low budget features, because for every twenty Camp Bloods there's always the chance that there could be a Samhain lurking amongst them somewhere. Surprisingly enough – Shock horror - Garret Clancy's slasher opus was a damn site better than it had any right to be, and it has somewhat restored my faith (momentarily) in shot-on-video features.

Clancy opens proceedings with a neat collage of woodland wildlife shots that brought eighties schlock classic The Prey to mind. Next we cut to a girl named Venus who is searching for her younger brother in the dense forest. She is very protective of Harley as he is death and mute, which makes it harder for him to communicate and let people know if he needs help. The two had been playing hide and seek until Harley's attention had been diverted by the mysterious station wagon that had parked just yards in front of him. Hidden behind the camouflage of the dense trees, the young boy watches on as two men climb out of the car and drag a struggling man out of the boot. Franky (Matt Emery) and Brownley (Joe Myles) are viscous drug dealing gangsters that are just about to enforce the consequences of messing with their clique. They drag the victim out to an abandoned mine shaft and decapitate him with an axe before throwing his body down the pit. They hurriedly leave and meet up with their girlfriends Julie (Tanya Dempsey) and Karen (Janet Keijser) and their coed friend Drusilla (Gina Zachory).

Franky suddenly realizes that he has left his wallet back at the shaft, and after consulting Brownley, the two decide that they'll have to go and find it without arousing the suspicion of Drusilla. Despite having very bad taste in friends, 'Silla doesn't seem like the type to be a part of any immoral activities and that's why they try to keep the corpse under wraps. All five of them head back to the scene, and leave Dru to join Harley playing Hide and Seek. Unfortunately whilst searching for a hiding place, Harley comes across the foursome in a pretty inexplicable situation, which means that they have no option but to silence him…for good! So down the mineshaft he goes with no chance of ever escaping or calling for help. Poor old Drusilla has no idea that her buddies have just killed the youngster and she is dragged away without an explanation.

A couple of months down the line, everyone except Venus seems to have forgotten about Harley's death. But the gangsters are given an ominous reminder when an unseen intruder throws some incriminating evidence through Franky's window. This results in a chain of events that leads to the gang being stalked and gruesomely slaughtered one by one by a mysterious stranger. Brownley has already proved that he is a ruthless killer, but it looks like he may have met his match in this mystifying vigilante. But who could be behind this frenzy of retribution?

Even though it sounds like a textbook slasher by the numbers, Dead Seven is actually a fairly engaging and moderately authentic take on the genre. It makes a refreshing change to have a mystery that actually pays off the viewer with a satisfying conclusion, and Clancy has enough screen writing flair to keep you guessing 'til the climax. He directs with a confidence that exceeds his lack of experience, and the photography is fluid, crisp and innovative all the way through. Kudos also to the editor who did an extremely credible job when compared with similar no-budget offerings. The decision to shoot all the horror scenes in broad daylight was a wise method of avoiding the frequent problems caused by insufficient lighting and even though the locations were those of the 'take what you can get' variety, they suit the desolate atmosphere of the feature. Modern day horror enthusiasts might be disappointed by the lack of any really convincing gore, but the murders are fairly imaginative all the same: Death by copious amounts of cocaine anybody? The acting is fairly shoddy and unconvincing, but it's by no means the worst I've seen. It's perhaps ironic that the best performance happens to be the director's cameo as a bent copper.

It goes without saying that Dead Seven does show it's amateurism in places. Clancy's script includes some inadvertently amusing dialogue that certainly wasn't his initial intention and one or two of the bargain bucket death scenes are hilariously hokey. One guy gets his ears lopped off and spends the rest of his screen time covering them up with his hands so that we don't see the wounds! But in all fairness the killer's face make-up in the final scene was actually quite credible and there's also a gooey slashed throat among other grisly highlights.

The net result is a fairly good slasher with a supernatural sheen that manages to keep you watching from start to finish. And that's a target that many other Brain Damage monstrosities couldn't even dream of achieving. There's some raw but worthwhile talent on display within Dead Seven, and I hope to see a few of these names on other cast & crew lists in the near future. Hunt this one down if you can.

DEAD 7 has the appearance of having been made by a bunch of friends (and possibly in their backyards!), but I found it to be fairly original and fun. I assume the director/writer was going for some "tongue-in-cheek," and if so, he succeeded. The female leads are sexy; the killings pretty original; and the story, though not completely original (what horror movie is, these days?), made me keep watching. Oh, yeah -- and the girl who plays this woods/witch (Delia Copold) is downright freaky! Overall -- pretty well-done on clearly a nothing budget. The filmmakers must have spent at least a little bit on SFX. And the cast, on the whole, is buy-able. Check out the cameo by the writer/director Clancy as a sheriff.

Like the other commenter I am shocked a movie of this quality came out of Brain Damage inc. I truly was not expecting much after the hoaky introduction from the Brain Damage spokesman with the spiked hair and leather jacket. Was even about ready to turn off the movie when the first 5 minutes were filming lizards in the desert. But what happened afterwards - while not Oscar material, was certainly better than expected. This is probably one of the best written slasher movies I have seen in a long time (Did that sentence really come from me?). Rarely has a slasher movie plot line interested me as much as this one. Most slashers as we all know rely on special effects and gore to sell movies, this one had little of quality of either, but relied instead on a somewhat original storyline, imagine my surprise. The characters of the Equinox siblings, were excellently written if mediocrely portrayed. Subtract a few dumb ass lines from the meth dealer's script and his character was right up there. The supporting staff needed help - but they were what I have come to expect from Brain Damage.

Anyone who wants a change of pace from the traditional slasher fare movie this is a definite must-see - just fast forward whenever you see a dude with spiky hair.

In DEAD 7, meth dealers become murderers, resulting in their being stalked and killed off by a mysterious avenger.

This is a Brain Damage production, so expectations must be lowered accordingly, if not abandoned altogether.

That said, this is far better than most of the sub-par sludge pumped out by BD. It makes the best of its nonexistent budget with loads of dreary atmosphere and lurking menace. There's a mineshaft that's actually ominous!

So, tread carefully, but this one's pretty good...

I dunno what the others watched, but this is pure nonsense.

I won't go into details, but who is we should root for? The gangstas have no redeeming quality, this is not Pumpkinhead, nor I spit on your Grave.

Then there is the problem of the deaf girl - the film at one point simply forgets she is supposed to be deaf! To the point she is making shouting conversations through walls!!!

She is also unbelievable as the killer, shown trying to bash open canned goods on rocks. She is cavemen-level simple. So how should I believe she does all that planning?

The gypsie voodoo is also coming from nowhere.

Finaly: there are soo much walking around in silence, I've watched this.in triple-speed mostly.