Fall Down Dead

A metropolitan city is in the grip of fear when rolling blackouts bring out a serial killer dubbed The Picasso Killer (Udo Kier).

The only thing that makes this film worth watching is Udo Kier, who is always a treat for horror fans. Besides that, you might enjoy the sex scene or a quick shower scene, but the story itself is completely lame.

At no point does the film explain why he is called the Picasso Killer. Now, you might say, "Well, duh, look at the artwork he creates." But we as the audience know that he is an artist. Do the police know that? If so, it is never established. He carves up his victims, but that hardly makes him unique.

Although this film was made in 2007, it did not receive a DVD release until June 2011. The reason, most likely, is because it is a bit of a stinker. They were lucky to get Image to pick it up. It is nice to see David Carradine again (since he has been dead a few years) but this role is one of his absolute worst. A deaf, forgetful old man? Really? What a waste of an iconic screen legend.

Why does it take place on Christmas Eve? This never ties in the story and I do not even recall seeing so much as a snowflake. Making this a Christmas movie makes even less sense than making "Die Hard" a Christmas movie. And why is it called "Fall Down Dead"? Did anyone fall down dead? No.

Check this out if you need a fix of Udo Kier, otherwise just run for the hills if someone tries to slip this in your DVD player.

I just saw it in the premiere here in Istanbul. The movie will come out in Turkey and Romania, it will probably go directly to the video in other countries. It's about a killer who is inspired by paintings and killing for art! Two cops and a few other people are trapped in a building to help him perform his art. The movie has a great cast and they are doing their best to keep the movie watchable, it has an OK story but it has very poor directing. The special effects and the sound effects are awful. The music also doesn't do any good. It worths a rent just for the great cast. If you don't like any of the actors in it, give it a miss.

In a big American city, the serial killer The Picasso Killer (Udo Kier) is terrorizing the dwellers and the police department does not have lead to find him. The bartender Christie Wallace (Dominique Swain) dreams on moving to the countryside with her six year-old daughter Zoe to have a peaceful life far from the violence of the city.

Late night of Christmas Eve, Christie leaves the Tides Bar where she works and walks back home. In an alley, she sees a woman dying covered on blood and The Picasso Killer sees Christie and chases her. She runs to a commercial building where the night watchman Wade (David Carradine) is reluctant to open the door and does not give credit to Christie. She calls the police and Detectives Stefan Kerchek (Mehmet Günsür) and Lawrence Kellog (R. Keith Harris) attend the call. When Christie tells that she can recognize the infamous serial-killer, there is a blackout, the phones are dead and the detectives cannot call the precinct. They lock the building waiting for reinforcement but sooner they find that The Picasso Killer has broken in the building and their lives are in danger.

The dull and lame "Fall Down Dead" has one of the worst screenplays I have ever seen. The plot begins with the free nudity of the character Marie, performed by Jennifer Alden and that does exist only to show her naked body in the bathroom. Then two experienced detectives and a security guard, all of them armed, are easily subdued by the serial-killer that is unarmed. The self-proclaimed The Picasso Killer tells that Christie would be his Mona Lisa; wouldn't be more appropriate the nickname The Leonardo da Vinci Killer? Last but not the least, Stefan Kerchek is shot three times, stabbed, falls from a significant height and is almost dying; out of the blue, he starts walking as if he would be healed in a laughable situation. My vote is one (awful).

Title (Brazil): "Isolados" ("Isolated")

A killer is after some people in a building while the power is out. That's it. Nothing much else happens. David Carradine's character is obnoxious. The other actors do their best, but everybody has to act like the killer is some invincible threat, and act really dumb. And they do their best to stretch this out to 90 minutes, but the script is very thin. Might have worked as a TV episode? But it's a pretty weak movie.

I hadn't even heard about this 2007 movie titled "Fall Down Dead" before now in 2020, when I stumbled upon it by sheer luck. The title initially was the thing that caught my attention, and seeing it being a horror movie, of course I would find myself sitting down to watch it.

Then I saw that the movie had Dominique Swain, Udo Kier and David Carradine on the cast list, so I thought it would actually have a possibility of being an interesting movie. So I must admit that my hopes were up for writer Roy Sallows and director Jon Keeyes' movie.

However, the title "Fall Down Dead" actually depicts pretty much what the movie does. The storyline was only vaguely interesting, but it was quickly losing its momentum as the plot unfolded on the screen. In fact, I managed to endure 1 hour of the movie before turning it off out of complete and utter boredom.

"Fall Down Dead" is a slow paced movie, and it feels even slower because of the rather pointless and very boring plot that the movie had.

My rating of "Fall Down Dead" lands on a mere, but generous, three out of ten stars. This movie was hardly worth the effort, and it was a swing and a miss for the likes of Dominique Swain, Udo Kier and David Carradine.