Sweet, a new Full Moon flick! I saw this on their webpage a couple of weeks ago and while excited, tepid as to whether or not I should purchase it, as the title and premise didn’t look too appealing. Compound that with it not being on Blockbuster Online (or in the store) yet and I was .. skeptical .. to say the least.In comes OnDemand PPV! Out of the 2349872349867 movies offered, my girl and I concluded ‘Deadman’s’ was the clear decision, so away we go!
At first glance, this looks great when compared to other FM titles. It is evident they actually used professional-grade equipment from video to audio and that goes a long way in making one of these movies a lot more enjoyable. The movie opens with some folks browsing around through an abandoned casino and .. w00t .. they both get waxed within the first five minutes. Due to the fact of no actual visual on the killer, it’s obvious we?re dealing with a ghost movie.. okay. Also, I need to note that the gore was TERRIBLE. And by terrible I mean.. TERRIBLE. Bright red, liquidy blood. Lame.
We are then introduced to our hero and his group of hapless pals who head to the casino after homedude inherits it from his deceased uncle. Unfortunately, it seems as though his uncle wasn’t the most upstanding man. The casino was the site site of a quintuple homicide before it’s eminent closure in the 60′s and has long since been regarded as being haunted.
This is where things slow down.. way down. Way, way, way, way down. Pointless, stupid dialog and absolutely no action to be found. The one bright (ie – funny) spot is the wanna-be rockstar and his smokin hot girlfriend who has to fake having sex to keep up appearances due to the fact that the guy can’t ‘get it up’. Good stuff, there.
Finally, we’re introduced to the ‘ghosts’, reported mobsters (of whom is Sid Haig from ‘House of 1,000 Corpses/Devil’s Rejects’ and Michael Berryman from The Hills Have Eyes and Devil’s Rejects) and associated casino employees who were killed there in the 60′s and business starts to pick up. They force our lead guy and his friends to participate in various casino games that determine important stuff like whether or not they lose an arm, their penis or their life. When the ghosts become ?possessed? they turn into decidedly ‘Band’ – looking characters before unleashing their wrath.
I won’t spoil the ending but to say it was lame as fuck is the understatement of the century. While the 21st century is young, I think the finale of ‘Dead Man’s’ will hold it’s spot as quite possible the lamest, most sudden ending in a movie for many years to come.
All in all, this was pretty disappointing. It looks great, but the lack of action, horribly done gore and general stupidity made this a regrettable expenditure of 3.95$. My girl was happy with it, overall (sans the ending) but I was, again, disappointed.
If you’re extremely bored on a lazy Sunday afternoon and have at least 6 beers at your disposal, give it a go on PPV or wait until it hits the rental shops. Definitely not one to add to your permanent collection, though.
* and 1/2 out of 5.
