Dead Fred

I saw this film first at a film festival in the UK and had to watch it again.

A film with 4 elderly female leads - and to take a serious subject such as alzheimer's disease and make a black comedy is no mean feat.

This is not a fim with jokes. The humour comes from character and the acting process oozes from these great actresses bones. It did hark back to old Ealing comedies and checking out the film's website I see that this was the intention - so well done to all those involved.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. If it comes to the cinema I will watch it again.

The two reviews slating this production are way of the mark. If your the type of viewer who likes Map and Lucia, Midsomer Murders or Miss Marple you will find plenty to enjoy here.

One of the doom laden reviewers gets one thing correct, this is a play not a film. Watched with that in mind the performances and delivery make perfect sense. Sure it's gentle and more than a little cheesy but it's done fondly. Like an ode de homage to the classic mystery farces of yesteryear. Capable performances from all but the standout turn here is Sandra Dickinson. Delivering some of the best laugh out loud lines in the film with top acting chops.

Gentle comedy about "mature " ladies. Obviously not to everyone's taste. If you're looking for edge of the seat car chase carnage, blood soaked terror or best buddy heists avoid this movie.

Don't be fooled by the shill (fake) reviews posted mid-June on this page - obviously written by people connected with this pitiful excuse for a film. From the get-go the script and acting are of a school play quality, although I've seen school plays better than this drek.

Preposterous, derivative and just plain dumb are words that come to mind. "Black comedy"? "Bleak comedy" more like. It's reminiscent of an especially bad episode of Rosemary and Thyme or whatever interminably cheesy and boring '80s TV series you can think of.

These poor women must have been desperate for a paycheque to sign on for this. Not a laugh in the whole thing, groans of disdain more than anything. OTT acting, ludicrous plot, and thumb on "fast forward" just to make it to the end.

I'm sat here trying to think of one redeeming feature of Dead Fred... Nope, I got nothin'.

This is not a good film. It has bad film acting, weird timing, strange deliveries and the like - when looked at as a film. However, the "film" actually works really quite well as a play. The actresses deliver the dialogue like a play and that's what the format is. From this stance, the delivery and character chemistry is way more notable and charming and you can feel what the director was trying to do. The heart and comedy of the piece does come from interaction between the charismatic cast as opposed to actual jokes and with such heavy content you have to admire the feat to be able to create that. The score while impressive, kind of has no place when used and overbears on otherwise poignant scenes more than anything, with audio overall being unbalanced. Dead Fred is a mature dark comedy that is raw, interesting, and really unlike anything else I've ever watched but it will absolutely take a certain kind of person to enjoy.