Dead & Deader

Dead and Deader is about some insects that infect humans who then become flesh eating zombies. The star is infected, but cuts the insect out before it can fully infect him and helps the living get ride of the infected. I expected the film to be a real bomb, but it wasn't too bad for a cheap TV movie. Not too dark and not too gory as a small group of heroes take on the zombies and the don't ask don't tell military to save the world. Flakey fight scenes and poor fight camera work just make you dizzy watching it. I think I can attribute the film's appeal to the seasoned actors and a lighthearted storyline. It's not too serious and not the best technically, but not a total waste of time.

After dying in Cambodia, a team of soldiers wake up back in America to discover... they're not quite dead. But also, they're not quite alive. Bobby Quint (Dean Cain), the most human of the team, decides to stop the rest of the soldiers before they infect the whole world with their zombie illness.

There should be some discussion about what this film is, and what it isn't. While the film is funny to a point (or at least it doesn't take itself seriously), Fangoria's assertion it's a "zom-edy" like "48 Hours" is overstating this more than just a little. I enjoyed this film, but certainly didn't think it was really laugh-out-loud funny (for that, rent "Shaun of the Dead").

What this isn't is a high budget film with professional quality. It's a made-for-TV film from the Sci Fi channel. However, keeping in mind it's in this category, it's quite good. Unlike "Abominable", this film is decent... and considering it is made by a first time director, I was quite impressed with what they accomplished (calling in an all-star cast and Greg Nicotero for makeup was a good idea).

Also, this probably isn't a film for the general public. They might enjoy it, but I will say this: my number one reason for liking this film (besides the sexy Susan Ward) was the constant barrage of references to other films ("Dawn of the Dead", various James Bond films, "Bullet", etc.). If you're not a film geek, much of the humor will go over your head. The rip on Michael Bay was the bait for me, and the hook came with the lengthy analysis of "Dawn of the Dead" versus the remake (which correctly, in my opinion, pointed out the key differences including the consumerism aspect and Ken Foree's role in both films).

Much of the plot doesn't really make sense if you think about it and plot holes are more common here than one might like (and we are left with questions such as the sexual ability of zombies). But this film isn't here for the plot... it's here for showcasing makeup and was clearly made just to have fun. The makeup, by the way, is great... although some of the props -- such as a fake arm -- were sort of cheesy and filmed from poor angles.

If you're skeptical about this one, don't rent it. But for the right audience I think this film has something to offer. I certainly enjoyed what it was trying to do, even if some things seemed really thrown together hodge-podge (the witty black sidekick, the gratuitous shower scene). And if Sci Fi is showing this, keep your remote control on the coffee table, because this is the best thing you'll get out of them for a while.

This movie was much much better than what I was expecting. The action was exciting, the acting decent, and the writing very funny. It had a ton of "in jokes" for horror movie fans, and movie buffs in general. Although it was mostly a comedy, it wasn't light on horror, action or gore. The main villain was very creepy in a soft-spoken way. Susan Ward's character was awesome! Tough and sexy, yet a movie geek at heart. Where can I find a woman like that? haha The zombies in the film were great! They had the zombie-walk down, but were a bit quicker than the average Romero ghoul. My only complaint is the bitten victims became zombies a little too quickly. The whole scorpion thing was an interesting twist also. All in all, an excellent movie. I can't wait to own it when it comes out on DVD.

This movie was about average for the Sci-Fi channel. Dean Cain added some humor.Not wanting to give away the plot let's just say this is the standard comedy with zombiesque "movie of the week" qualities.Mad scientist, Army men(Douglas Tait,) hot babes(Susan Ward,) One black Eddie Murphy type character(Guy Torry,)etc. Even though the formula was stale "Dead and Deader" is better than some of SF-C's movies. The female breast on the one corpse shocked me because it slipped past the sensors. So guys slow the Tivo when you see the metal examination tables. The effects were better than usual also because they didn't over use the CGI. Better stories are needed for us hard core fans.

One thing I've always liked about Sci-Fi channel is their fun movies they like to produce themselves.

Army Lt. Bobby Quinn (Dean Cain) and his platoon are assigned to a special trip to Cambodia to find out why a secret scientific lab stopped sending communications to the United States, and upon arriving at the secret lab, they are confronted with dead soldiers and scientists who are zombies infected by a mysterious mutated species of insects that the lab was working on. The zombies attack and kill Cain and his platoon and are later discovered by another expedition sent in to investigate.

The second group transports Cain and his platoon back to the United States to another secret research compound where he is presumed dead and awaiting processing in the morgue, when he wakes up during autopsy. Although Lt. Cain was bitten and infected and died like his platoon, for some reason, he doesn't completely die and turn into a flesh eating monster like the other soldiers. Seems that he has something in his blood that limits his zombie traits although he does take on some of the characteristics of the zombies like needing to eat raw meat. He is told that he has to stay on the compound but Cain's platoon, now flesh eating zombies, start waking up and killing the military and scientific staff at the compound. During the confusion Lt. Cain escapes the military compound with the help of his new friend, army cook Hieronymous Judson (Guy Torry) who, by the way is very comedic. Judson, Cain's new sidekick, is very funny and provides plenty of comic relief throughout the movie. Keep your eye on Guy, I'm betting you see more of him in the future.

So, Caine and Judson go on a crusade to find the compound with the source of the infection in the other secret compound. In a bar where Cain and Judson stop for a bite to eat (ha ha) he meets a saucy bartender named Holly (Susan Ward), a beautiful but independent heroine that is typical modern American woman: she can beat you up while looking beautiful. When Cain is caught by local authorities to take him back to the military compound where he's accused of murder, Holly steps in and rescues him, and gets caught up in the crusade after she sees friends at the bar die at the hand of hungry munching zombies. As the movie progresses, it becomes obvious that Holly has a thing for Cain.

As these three go from location to location looking to destroy the source of the infections, and kill zombies, they encounter bad guys and plenty of hungry zombies who love a good fight. There's lots of humor and flirting going on between Cain and Holly, and lots of good fun and cheesy zombie effects. So people, when you watch a Sci-Fi movie like this, be glad that they choose to carry on the great tradition of weekend horror movies that provide light entertainment and enjoy them for what they are: fun times and some good scares and laughs. This movie is recommended for a good time with that good friend, some popcorn and your favorite beverage!