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unsure of exactly what it is
trying to be. This certainly isn't a horror film, and it doesn't
have many comedic moments either... Rather it flounders and
thrashes about. A mediocre film with moments of inspired brilliance.
That is what makes this a tough film to review. IT would be
easy to gather all the poor qualities of this film and label
this as a bad movie. To do so, however, would be unfair and
not quite accurate.
Let's look at the positive factors
that balance this film's weak points. First there are the makeup
effects. Brilliantly done and very impressive for a indie film.
The cast has weak points but
the two leads (Toren Atkinson and James McBurney) are solid
in their portrayals. Certainly they are no Dante and Randal,
but for this tale, they suffice quite nicely. Another real standout
is Butch Murphy as the robber. It is funny for a bit character
like that to so stick out in my mind, but he does.
The rest of the cast? Joe Keithley
and Shira Blustein put in passable performances but Jon Mikl
Thor is too over the top. I'm sure it was meant to be humorous,
but it certainly didn't come off that way. Still, that is a
matter of direction more than anything else.
Overall, a nice entry into the
field of mediocrity, which puts it head and shoulders above
a good many Lovecraft films (coughcough-Dunwich Horror-Coughcough).
What really makes this DVD for
me, are the extras. Granted, they aren't all Good extras...but
the DVD comes loaded. Among the extras are two deleted scenes
(interesting, though I can see why they were cut as they would
do nothing for the pacing of the film), a music video for "Walking
in a Graveyard" (fun song, awful video), two other
short films (that are worth discussing below), and the obligatory
commentary tracks for all three films.
I'll start with "Film
#3". Words can't express how much I loathed this short,
essentially a monologue about the dangers of microwave ovens
and growth hormones. It's bad, zero stars, etc.
The real standout bonus feature
though? "Living with the Dead" is a short film
that I might've paid to purchase separately. It is surprisingly
witty and entertaining and left me wondering what exactly was
going on. Once again there were several amazing (if brutal)
makeup effects, but the scripting seemed tighter and had a better
flow than the main feature.
Overall, I'm not thrilled with
this DVD, but I am satisfied. It delivered what I've come to
expect as opposed to what I always hope for, a great Lovecraftian
film. Sadly, those are few and far in between. Yet, it is pretty
obvious that this wasn't meant to be a Lovecraftian film, so
you can't be too hard on them for that. So get the DVD for "Graveyard",
but stay for "Living with the Dead".
The DVD is available directly
from Fizz
Films for $10.00 (which includes shipping in Canada and
the US). I have found no UK ordering information for the film
but seeing as it is a matter of purchasing direct, I'd contact
Fizz Films.
-Bob Brinkman
Special thanks to Bob Brinkman
for allowing me to use this review.
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