Shatter Dead

When I borrowed a friend's copy of Shatter Dead, I expected to get some thrills of the zombie gore-fest variety. What I received was really really bad. It wasn't even good in a really really bad way. The first thing that upset and disgusted me was not blood or wanton violence but rather that it was shot on video, not film, immediately cheapening the whole experience. The pictures on the DVD case (yes, DVD) misled me into thinking that this would be a professional piece of work. I have seen many low-budget films, but this takes the prize for worst makeup. Some characters, many of which I'm sure were willing locals and student volunteers, donned grey paint on their skin. Others had some some cheap looking gashes about the face. Most, however were not made up at all. It was also very slow paced, a bit confusing and featured both flat staging and acting. It was hard to tell whether it was the poor acting or the poorly written lines ("Don't be scared, I'm scared too") were what made me want to turn it off.

Having ripped in to this movie quite a bit, it's only fair to share some highlights. Indeed writer/director, Scooter McRae puts an interesting spin on the old living dead yarn that discusses "souls" as being un-killable, despite condition of the body. It also receives my thumbs up for explicitly using, one more than one occasion, a hand gun as a phallus. It's also encouraging to any aspiring filmmaker to see the manifestation of McRae's ideas and labor, on DVD no less. I guess it won some sort of award, too. Bottom line, this flick is for hardcore low-budget horror fans only. If, on the other hand, a friend owns it you might want to watch it. If not for a laugh, then at least to broaden your filmic horizons.

Shatter Dead exhibits much weakness within its plot and structural makeup. The story appears to be dreamed up as some kind of twisted fantasy of the director as the filming process progressed. The "blood and guts" effects were possibly the largest downfall of the film. The same effect could have been achieved by merely dumping spaghetti and meatballs on the actors and actresses. A majority of the acting was unprofessional and cheesy.

Sadly, the only scenes which are able to keep an audience awake are the ones which contain nudity. Sound effects are another large problem which adds to the films downfall. The camera crew is able to be heard brushing up against the camera. That is acceptable in a documentary or a film of that caliber but not a "walking dead" movie. In conclusion, Shatter Dead merits a 3 on a scale of 10 for not containing key element of a credible film.

More regrets:

I have to be the biggest sucker in the world. What other person would go out and buy so many of these backyard home video horror movies? Why did I buy into all the hype that these little genre websites give to these pieces of garbage!?

Well I've learned my lesson. Yes, I was an idiot to go out and buy so many of these films but having done so, I feel safe in saying that any positive reviews that junk like this gets has to be written by cast members or the directors themselves because there's no way anyone besides people involved who could actually like this crap.

First off, this is not a movie for fans of traditional zombie films! Shatter Dead is a cheap looking home video. It's not a horror film in any sense, it's nothing more then a wanna be art film. It's got the most vile looking cast ever assembled to carry the lame story forward. It's got the lowest production values I've ever seen and I've seen a lot of these type films lately. There was no way of getting behind any of the character's because they all sucked! A bunch of art film school students making a video in their backyard. Nothing more!!! The only good thing about this garbage was the DVD sleeve which worked like a charm in suckering me into buying it.

If one is desperate for a z-grade zombie film then they'd be better to look into MEAT MARKET 2 which I also recently bought. While that movie was nothing great either, it's at least a zombie film that entertains the viewer. Shatter Dead does nothing but annoy and bore the viewer.

0/10 AVOID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Having read of this film and its charms in such reputable genre magazines as "Rue Morgue" and "Fangoria" over the past eight years or so, I finally got around to viewing "Shatter Dead" in its newly released DVD format. That said, I find myself shaking my head (and just shaking in general) as to how anyone with an IQ higher than that of the most scholarly of algae could summon up anything positive to say about this terrible waste of time and money. While the premise of having the living dead trying to live amongst us is an intriguing one to this long-time viewer of hardcore porn, (Oops! Did I say hardcore porn? Sorry, I meant to say zombie movies.) there is nothing at all intriguing about watching a lousy student film (which is to say, a student film) shot directly to video, starring said student's film school chums running around backyards and stripmalls with the same blatantly latex makeup jobs as if they'd all consumed cases of Schlitz Malt Liquor with Vicatin chasers. Much more interesting would be a film about a pencil factory where the evil CEO falls into the grinding machine and his soul comes to inhabit millions of number two pencils the world over. Mankind, armed only with his own moxie and a few good pencil sharpeners, in the end are no match for this fiendish plot, and soon succumb to the heathen pleasures of permanent and non-permanent inks. I call it, "Get the Lead Out!", and while it may not exactly be coming to a theater near you anytime soon, when it does, you will find it a much more harrowing experience than say, "Shatter Dead", and you will believe (!!!), or, at the very least, you'll think twice before chomping on our bright yellow friends. As I close, I am reminded again of this kindergarden klownfest's declaration that "God Hates You!". Well, duhh! Tell me something I don't know! Of course God hates me. He told me to watch "Shatter Dead".

Even the director/producer calls it a "video" instead of a film in the credits, so maybe I should be careful before calling it a "film." But right there, we have an example of honesty that is a rarity among typically egomaniacal filmmakers, and this very terminology is an indication of the inner integrity this -- ahh, film -- possesses.

Now it's not that my fellow reviewers are totally off base. Yes, the plot is full of holes. Yes, the acting and production values aren't so wonderful at times. And, yes, the standard horror elements have been given a back seat. (And the latter was fine with me, because I believe a film has to be taken on its own merit; there are plenty of mindless zombie films out there, many of which tread the same tired ground, and can get pretty boring at times.) But what do you expect? The production has no budget. Given those limitations, one has instead to inspect whether the film has heart. And this is not a by-the-numbers production. I'm not sure I would normally recommend this film to anyone, frankly, but right there -- given its heart -- SHATTER DEAD deserves much credit.

Eyeing a couple of the external reviews, I see the film was "Winner of the Best U.S. Independent Feature Award at the Italian Fantafilm Festival in 1995." That says something, as I doubt the production team held the political sway of a Miramax at Sundance... this award must have been offered "purely." I also see Joe Bob Briggs says "check it out." Fine. These opinions, although more "official," need be no more valid than the one-vote giving ones here who have concluded "Crapper, Crapper," and (from zombie film fans) "Completely Absurd," as well as "Deeply disappointed." Yet, the former still serve as an indication that there is more to this movie, beneath the surface. (Officialdom = 1; Zombie Film Fans = 0.)

Indeed, the lead actress was not a glamourpuss, as could be said for the rest of the female performers. But the fact that her teeth were crooked and her chest was ungenerous only serve to provide a sad commentary of what our brainwashed movie-goers have come to expect. Frankly, I appreciated her form more than the dime-a-dozen plastic robo-hootered variety that permeate the B-movie kingdom. I liked the fact that she wore no make-up. These were touches that made her more "real," given the awful situation where we have been required to suspend our disbelief. And, yes, the delivery of her lines left something to be desired at times. Then again, she exuded a weight-of-the-world on her shoulders weariness that was most fitting for the depressing context. (She was actually quite lovely in the behind-the-scenes DVD extras, where the director gives a tour of his house.) Suspension of disbelief are the magic words for an enterprise such as this, and that goes beyond the fantastic plot. We have to accept the harsh realities of guerilla film-making, and excuse such matters as the ridiculous toy rifle strapped around her neck.

On the other hand, I appreciated what the film has achieved... for example, in the establishing sequence, the crew shot in a small town without permits, and managed to convey a desolate, "last man on earth" type of atmosphere... not an easy task, without a Hollywood machine to grease the wheels. Secondly, there were special effects that were quite well done, from exploding squibs to a man on fire; the make-up wasn't "that" horrible, either, contrary to what some of our more spoiled reviewers have claimed.

I could have done without some of the extreme "shock" scenes, but I guess that's the sort of thing that makes this kind of film more "fun." (One of the IMDb reviewers complained of "gynecological" hardcore close-ups during the "gun" intercourse scene; in the Sub-Rosa DVD I viewed, there were no such close-ups, so perhaps they were edited out.) The film didn't allow me to get bored (well, okay, maybe the scene with the preacher's rantings went on a bit long). Basically, I'm giving SHATTER DEAD a reluctant thumb's up, mainly for the richness of the ideas conveyed within; that's a lot more than we can expect from a cinematic excursion fully belonging in the trash heap.