The Civil Dead

Saw this at Florida Film Fest. If you ever get the feeling that many modern movies can be formulaic and uninspired - watch this. Your faith will be renewed.

Also the two main characters (who also wrote it) are funny as hell.

Slamdance Film Festival 2022 Greetings again from the darkness. What a terrific film to kick off this year's Slamdance festival! Writer-director Clay Tatum and co-writer Whitmer Thomas co-star in their own story that brings the "old" meaning of ghosting back to the forefront. But fear not, this is about as scary as the clip from the classic cartoon "Casper the Friendly Ghost" that's included. Rather than spooky horror, this is about comedic situations involving a particular ghost (not named Casper).

Clay (Tatum) is a frumpy slacker who fancies himself a photographer, but lacks the drive to market himself or his work. He does, however, think a different haircut might help, even if he wields the scissors himself. His wife Whitney (Whitney Weir) chuckles at the idea, but seems extremely supportive (or forgiving) of her husband's lack of effort in life. While Whitney's away on a business trip, Clay seizes the opportunity to eat and drink the hours away, somehow accomplishing less than he would on a typical day.

Displaying an unusual spark of inspiration, Clay crafts a scam to raise his share of the rent ... proving his lack of drive might actually be his finest quality. Later, while out taking pictures, Clay runs into his old friend Whit. They may be from the same hometown, but there is something a bit off in their re-connection. Clay tries to part ways, but Whit's having none of that - he's thrilled to be seen by his old buddy.

Robert Longstreet adds a jolt of energy in a poker sequence that evolves into a slow-motion booze-filled musical interlude. It's yet another example of Clay's moral compass, but most of the movie revolves around the interaction between Clay and Whit ... and that's fertile ground for some laughs and a premise that works pretty darn well. The filmmakers start us with a prologue with a bump in the night, though we aren't really allowed to understand it until near the end of the film. It's a nice start to the festival and an impressive project from the young filmmakers.

The description does not do this movie justice. It makes it bland. The trailer is what made me watch this movie immediately. A guy down on rent meets a friend who turns out to be a ghost. That's THE hook of the movie. That's what got me interested. I actually stopped watching the trailer once the ghost part dropped because I was hooked.

And the rest of the movie explores that. How do they get along? Do they fight? Does the ghost help him? How'd he become a ghost? How does having a ghost buddy complicate your life?

The acting is great. It's funny. It's even sad. Love the camera work, too. The script feels polished. I wound up enjoying this far more than I expected.

I even like the ending (which seems to be very controversial). But I'll say the ending is a bold choice and absolutely memorable. In fact, I even understand the ending and respect the character's decisions decision, given what the movie set up earlier.

When his wife goes away for a weekend, "Clay" (Clay Tatum) is quite happy just dragging the mattress in front of the television and beering out! He's a photographer by trade and wandering around the city he encounters "Whit" (Whitmer Thomas) whom he knew years earlier. Their's is an uneasy friendship, but he is polite enough and the two spend a day together that concludes in the most unlikely of revelations! It appears that "Whit" isn't quite what he seems! Of course scepticism abounds, but a conversation with his neighbour confirms the worst - nobody else can see "Whit"! What now ensues are a fun series of increasingly exasperating escapades as the former man finds his new gadfly pal persistently more and more annoying and demanding whilst he just wants to get on with his life - especially when his wife returns! Perhaps a few days in a remote mountain cabin for the two men might provide a solution? Although it's really dialogue heavy and the scenarios do repeat themselves a few times, this is still an entertaining film with plenty of quirkiness and two engaging performances from the lead characters who try to avoid the obvious "Scooby-Do" style stereotype spooks. The end of the film rather entertainingly explains the beginning, too. No, you'll never remember it afterwards, but it's quite an enjoyable tale of the geek and his beast.

As I sat down to watch the 2023 comedy "The Civil Dead", I had never actually heard about it. I happened to stumble upon the movie by random luck, and thus, I opted to sit down and watch it.

However, writers Clay Tatum and Whitmer Thomas didn't exactly churn out some of the greatest material here. Sure, "The Civil Dead" was watchable, but it was a rather monotonous viewing experience. And for a movie, then the script was rather devoid of funny contents. And that made it even more of a drag to sit through, truth be told.

I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in the movie, but usually a movie that stars the same people whom writers and directs the movie isn't a particularly good sign.

Sure, "The Civil Dead" was a fair attempt at making a movie, however, writers Clay Tatum and Whitmer Thomas just failed to entertain me with what they concocted here.

This is not a movie that I will ever return to watch a second time, nor is it a movie that I will recommend for comedy fans to rush out and get to watch.

My rating of "The Civil Dead" lands on a three out of ten stars.