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Writer/Director Michael Hurst's Sci-Fi Channel sequel to Stan Winston's classic horror tale of revenge gone awry has its moments and some decent gore, but ultimately falls short in comparison to the original.

I'm pretty sure the filmmakers weren't trying to make a comedy, but I caught myself laughing throughout. A family feud started over a car accident is the basis for this entry into the franchise. The Hatfield and McCoy families live in a backwoods town with dirt roads, drive pickup trucks, drink moonshine, and kick each others asses every chance they get. Just when they thought it was safe to hate each other and live happily ever after, Jodie Hatfield (Amy Manson) and Ricky McCoy (Bradley Taylor) decided to fall in love causing the fit to hit the shan. One night the two lovebirds decide to head out into the woods for some quality time while Ricky's sister plays lookout, but it just so happens that on that very night some of the Hatfields accidentally kill Ricky's sister and catch him and Jodie together. You know what happens next. Ricky finds his sisters body and decides to pay a visit to Haggis so that he can exact his revenge through the mighty Pumpkinhead. Ye Haw! Also, Harley (Lance Henriksen) is back to warn potential damned souls against using Pumpkinhead to ease their pain. Which really put a kink in the story because Harley is supposed to have called on Pumpkinhead years before this story takes place, but the setting and characters look like dirty Pilgrims that somehow traveled through time in order to bring the pickup truck back to Plymouth. Then there's the Sheriff (Rob Freeman) who has his own ties to the demon and looks like he belongs in a 70's revenge movie instead of a made-for-cable horror flick.

Some of the gore and special effects were cool, but instead of sticking to the man-in-a-suit way of thinking Hurst used some terrible looking 3D shots for certain scenes. One particularly embarrassing shot shows Pumpkinhead jumping from tree branches like a badly rendered 3D monkey. The cinematography was exceptional and elevated the quality of the movie quite a bit. The acting was pretty decent also, with the exception of a few poorly executed accents.

Family feuds never end well, especially when the families involved in the feud have to deal with Pumpkinhead. I didn't enjoy every minute of this flick, but it was much better than most of the movies the Sci-Fi Channel spits out. Maybe it's a sign that the Channel is trying to bring the quality of its movies up to match the quality of its original series'. I wouldn't waste any coin on a rental, but if you get the chance to catch a rerun of it on the boob-tube I would say to check it out. It's a not-so-killer-film but it rises slightly above the level of trash that makes it onto DVD these days.

I dig action flicks, and Deaden is an ACTION flick that doesn't pull any punches, in fact it starts kicking your ass from the opening frame. Writer/actor John Fallon and his partner in crime director Christian Viel have created a film that remembers what it's like to have an old fashioned bloody good time at the movies. Combining the things I loved about the Death Wish, early Chuck Norris, and Dirty Harry flicks with a little Cobra thrown into the mix. The only thing missing was a bad ass car, but they had a bad ass bike so I guess they knew what they were doing. The tag line for the flick is "If you stop feeling pain, you can start using it", and the lead character Rane (Fallon) takes those words seriously. On a pain killer and cocaine infused rampage he seeks out those that have wronged him, and using some of the most inventive kills to ever grace the silver screen kills them. Now as fun as this film is, and it's a blast, it is also very difficult to watch at times. I'm just saying, go into this flick ready for anything to happen because in the world that Mr. Fallon and Mr. Viel have created here even the kitchen sink is scared to come out of hiding. So we've got action, violence and lots of ass kicking, but Deaden also has some heart. Fallon shows his sensitive side in flashback sequences where Rane is remembering the good times he had with his wife. Plus his relationship with bad boy Kersey played brilliantly by Deke Richards puts a little bit of the buddy aesthetic that works so well in films like The Rookie, and Beverly Hills Cop into a what is sure to become a cult classic. The chemistry between Fallon and Richards is awesome, and when they weren't on the screen together I found myself waiting for my next fix of those two crazy guys in action. In Deaden the bad guys are bad, and the good guys are bad and the vengeance is served on a platter along with your balls. So do yourself a favor and let Deaden take you back to a time when action flicks ruled!