Dread

Dread (2008)

This independent movie jumped right out at me when I saw that the legendary Bill Hinzman (Night of the Living Dead’s cemetery zombie) was one of the stars. Now I always get a bit wary of such things, because I know as fans we have all been suckered into watching movies that “star” some of our genre favorites, only to end up with short cameos. The good news is that Hinzman has a fairly big part and gets to play a hero of sorts in the movie. That was pretty cool. The bad news is the rest of the movie just didn’t thrill me.

First we should talk about the plot of the movie. Unless I missed something you really don’t find out until the last few minutes of the movie as to what exactly is going on. You spend the first hour plus of the movie watching these cool looking blue/green demon looking creatures attacking people, seemingly at random. And while Bill Hinzman’s character of the priest is sort of the hero of the movie he isn’t the main character. Basically you have 3 guys living in a house that drink beer and ride 4 wheelers all day. The guy that owns the house and is the de facto leader of this group is named Russ. Right from the start his is the biggest creep that you would ever want to meet. He is mean to his sister, a terrible neighbor, and an even worse friend (especially to the guy he drags under the car on a beer run). These demon creatures show up and start to kill off everyone that is hanging out with Russ, as well as molesting the local priest and nun! Russ eventually figures out that they are after him as well as his pals. The rest of the movie is Russ and an ever shrinking group of allies trying to stop the demons before they finish them all off.

Anyone who follows the site knows that I love independent movies. But just because your budget is small I still have some expectations. The plot of Dread really had some potential. The whole idea of these demons stalking after Russ and his pals is a great idea. The problem for me is that the movie takes way too long letting us know what is happening and why. So when we finally get to the end it does make some sense, but by then I’ve spent an hour and a half scratching my head at what seems to be a series of random killings. Because of this I never really got into the flow of the story and honestly sitting thru Dread became a real chore. From a storytelling standpoint I sort of wish they had at least hinted at what was going on earlier in the movie. Hell having Russ not only running away from the demons, but also trying to figure out who sent them would have been so much more interesting. Also as a matter of personal preference when I sit down to watch a movie I want to at least have someone to root for. The Russ character is such an asshole thru the whole movie that I was hoping the damn demons would tear him up as quickly as possible. This also added to me just not getting into the movie. Now when the priest is on screen doing his thing the movie worked much better. But unfortunately that wasn’t the story they were trying to tell.

I have a couple more observations that I have to share. I don’t care what kind of budget you have, that is no excuse for bad editing. The movie is almost 2 hours long and doesn’t need to be. Scene after scene goes on longer than it needs to, which doesn’t help to pick up the pace of the movie. In addition to scenes that go on too long there is a particular one in a bowling alley that was just killing me. The creatures chase Russ and his friends into the place, which is crowded. They then proceed to kill of them in front of the crowd and no one runs screaming for the hills! Now if the deal is that no one but the intended victim can see the creatures then fine, edit out the people gawking at you shooting a movie. Or at least be aware of that in your viewfinder and shoot at angles that won’t show them. If that isn’t the deal then what were you thinking? I can forgive a lot in a low budget flick, but you have to at least make the effort.

What can I say about the cast? Bill Hinzman is pretty good in his role. Other than that I suppose that I can tell you about the neat drinking game I created while watching Dread. Every time the actor playing Russ lights a cigarette and tries to look like a cool badass take a drink. You will be wasted after the first hour! Not trying to be mean, but Dread commits the cardinal sin of independent filmmaking, casting non-actors in your movie. Nothing will drag your movie down quicker than “actors” that can’t get thru there lines or are wooden. Both happen here far too often.

Now lets talk some positive things. I have no idea who shot the movie, but all the daytime shots and most of the indoor shots are really well done. In fact other than some of the night shots being a bit hard to see this is a surprisingly well-made movie. There is one scene in particular where they do some creative lighting with the headlights of the ATVs that impressed me. Additionally the sound is solid with all the dialogue coming thru loud and clear. Again this is something else that I don’t take for granted when watching an independent movie. Though I do wish the filmmakers hadn’t decided to include the same sort of generic Death Metal soundtrack that seems to plague most low and no budget horror movies I watch. The makeup used to create the demon creatures, referred to as Dread X and Dread Y, is very simple but works. There are times where keeping thing easy is the best way to go. The other effects and kills from the movie are all okay, but nothing spectacular. In the end though if you create a couple of memorable villains/creatures you can’t be doing that bad.

You know I find it difficult to be too harsh on someone that has actually gone out and made their movie. Not only is that a lot of work, but it takes guts too. But I’m a movie reviewer and I have to be honest. The story is a confusing mess, the acting is less than stellar, and I think the movie is way too long. I can’t really recommend Dread. If you are interested in checking it out for yourself head over to their MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/inlieuofflowersprods for information on how you can get yourself a copy.

1 out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer