Death of the Dead is Almost Painfully Stupid
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Death of the Dead seems to have been beaten within an inch of it's life with the "goofy stick", but somehow this low budget indie film will grow on you as the scenes progress.
Written by The Horror Czar, Don Sumner
April 24, 2011
Movie Trailer
Image Gallery
Release: 2011
Directed by: Gary King
Written by: Bo Buckley
Starring:
Christina Rose as Wanda
Jack Abele as Master Sensei
William Lee as Evil Sensei
Michael Blaustein as Donnie
Poor Wanda (Christina Rose). She spends her days practicing the Martial Arts with her guru, Master Sensei (Jack Abele). Unfortunately she is a complete spaz with no hope of ever winning the big match. In fact, in the final moments when she asks her Master for a secret move to pull out when all seems lost, she receives the reply "run". Run she does, and her station as the biggest loser-dork in school is solidified even further.
Meanwhile a couple of random scientists are trying to decide what to do with the toxic result of their latest failed experiment. For some reason they created an entire 55 gallon drum of the black sludge formula that doesn't work, so now they must dispose of it. They choose the method that is so often the first choice of goofy scientists - they decide to pour it in the sewer.
Little do the scientists know that the bus filled with the Martial Arts students of the mean Evil Sensei (William Lee) is headed their way, filled with the team who won every award at the match, including the championship clenched by Donnie (Michael Blaustein) after he kicked Wanda's butt - and made her run. The occupants of this bus are a bit distracted due to the kid they are beating mercilessly in celebration of their victory, and shocker - the bus crashes into the scientists and their chemical goo. Now we find out what that formula does…
The bus occupants become Ninja Zombies! Hungering for flesh and combat, the Ninja zombies strike out in search of victims, falling first upon Donnie's girlfriend having a chocolate pudding fight with Wanda in a kiddie pool. Wanda escapes unharmed, but the rest of the girls in attendance are attacked and become Ninja zombies too. Now it is up to Wanda and her Master Sensei to rise to the occasion and save the world. Lucky for Wanda Master Sensei has a magic belt that, when worn, will make Wanda and unstoppable Karate Master - plus incredibly hot.
Death of the Dead is really bad, mostly on purpose. With a magic belt and Ninja zombies on the agenda nobody believes they are about to watch a film that takes itself seriously, but the goofiness went so far in the beginning that I hunkered down for a complete groaner and started planning how much I needed to watch before I did something more fun like, clean out the refrigerator. I don't know if I became desensitized to the on-screen mayhem or if Death of the Dead got better, but I soon felt a strange magnetic attraction that rendered me powerless to look away. By the time Wanda got the belt and became hot I was in until the end.
Death of the Dead thankfully avoided the common destroyers of an Indie horror film, namely terrible sound and lighting. Both of these elements were good, and the music worked too. Still, this one may have failed miserably if it weren't for Christina Rose as Wanda. While terribly over-the-top as the nerdy Wanda, hot Wanda was funny and smart - still goofy as hell but in a way that a hot chick can get away with. The only thing missing was a Wonder Woman suit and magic lasso - I would have liked that. Wouldn't have contributed to the film or even made sense, but I like Wonder Woman and let's face it, adding her to any film is a plus. But I digress…
Death of the Dead's Master Sensei, on the other hand, was just gross. When we find out how he came to possess the magic belt it makes sense that he's so yucky, but that doesn't make him less so. I could have lived without the ball gag for sure.
Death of the Dead is Indie horror in the Troma vein - outrageous and goofy with gross gore like chicks having their boob implants ripped out. Nobody intended this film to be serious or "important", and it certainly is not. Christina Rose, though, is absolutely one to watch and I imagine it will become easier and easier to do so because she's good. Low budget Indie horror has a special kind of audience, and if you're one of "those people" you'll definitely want to check this one out.
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