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THE DEAD HATE THE LIVING
Written, Directed, and Edited by Dave Parker
Produced by Kirk Edward Hansen and Charles Band
Director of Photography – Tom CallawayDave Poe – Eric Clawson
Topaz – Jamie DonahuI can honestly say I never thought I would give a good review to any Full Moon release ever again, but this one wasn’t half-bad. It’s much better than anything Charles Band has released over the past few years. Sure it has the tried and true “kids in the castle” plot that has been the formula for almost every Full Moon release in the past 3 years, but the film is smart enough to never take itself too seriously.
First time feature director Dave Parker crafts a film that ultimately becomes a zombie version of Federico Fellini’s masterpiece 8 ½. The premise is a group of low-budget filmmakers are trying to make a low-budget zombie movie. This gives way to some sly (and not so sly) commentaries, in-jokes, and self-reflexivity on the goriest of horror sub-genres.
The film opens with a (far too) young female doctor performing an autopsy on a mutilated cadaver. As dictated in the horror film rule-book, the (far too) young female doctor turns away from the corpse to pick something up, only when she turns back the around she is face to face with the walking dead guy. He slits her throat, throws her up on a gurney, and starts to mount the woman. Seconds later she too reanimates and decides to enjoy the moment. Ahh, zombie love.
It turns out this is a scene being shot for a zombie movie being made by Parker’s filmic alter ego, Dave Poe played by Eric Clawson. Poe spends much of his time whining, mostly about how many movies he could make if only he had the cappuccino budget from Titanic or how he needs to emulate all zombie filmmakers from the past. He’s pretty much like every film student I’ve ever come across, even myself.
Poe decides that his film needs some real atmosphere, so he takes his guerrilla crew and breaks into an abandoned hospital. It’s not long before the group stumble upon an actual corpse. Like any filmmaker, Poe wants to use the body for his movie realizing it will give his film something none of the other living dead films ever had, authenticity.
With the help of what appears to be a giant cosmic coffin, the body reanimates in the middle of the scene killing the lead. From here on out the movie becomes a cat and mouse game. As is standard with the “kids in the castle” plot the crew find they can’t leave the building. It seems the hospital has been transported to zombie-limbo with the help of the cosmic coffin. If the group tries to leave the building they quickly become dead boy snacky cakes.
Dave Parker had $150,000 and 10 days to knock this movie out (funny thing is Tim Ritter could have made the next 5000 installments in the Dirty Cop series with that much cash). His product is surprisingly sleek and professional. I’ll give Director of Photography Tom Callaway credit; this film looks great, very moody and atmospheric. There’s a music video quality that works well with the break-neck pace of the film’s second half.
The actors seem to be the typical Full Moon stock, young and attractive. And that’s my one real gripe. The zombie movies that are the most enduring are the ones where the audience can identify with the leads. Normal people thrown into extraordinary circumstances. Just look at any Romero or Fulci zombie-epic and you will see my point. With The Dead Hate the Living, the viewers almost find themselves wanting these GQ and Maxim wanna-bes to buy it. There is no tangibility, which means no scares. While the move has aspirations, it just can’t come close to its predecessors. Unless Charles Band decides to turn this film into a franchise, it won’t be remembered. Which is sad because it’s the best Full Moon in years, enjoyable and fun.
Order from the Fullmoon website.