The Dead Matter (2010)
Directed by: Edward Douglas
Starring:
Andrew Divoff - Vellich
Jason Carter - McCallister
Tom Savini - Sebed
Sean Serino - Gretchen
Tom Nagel - Mike
C.B. Spencer - Jill
Christopher Robichaud - Frank
Brian Van Camp - Mark Pym
Rating:
NUTSHELL:
A practicing witch named Gretchen discovers an ancient amulet with strange powers when she brings her friends to the woods in order hold a séance. The true power of the amulet is revealed when she summons the dead – only to find she has beckoned a zombie that follows her commands. Gretchen wants to use the amulet to contact her dead brother, and each of her friends see the amulet as a blessing or a curse – but none of them know of the battle raging by those who seek it. Two warring vampires: Velich and Sebed, are searching for the relic for their own evil schemes. Meanwhile, the vampire hunter McCallister wants the amulet in order to wipe out the blood-suckers for good. Who will take sole possession of the relic – and what will they do with it once they have it?
60 SECOND REVIEW:
As a fan of the musical duo Midnight Syndicate, I was thrilled to learn that Edward Douglas was working on a feature film entitled ‘The Dead Matter.’ I have followed the musical exploits of this group for over a decade and I looked forward to how their audio work would translate to the medium of film - with the chilling music they created it just seemed like a natural progression for them. Was it worth the wait? Most definitely – but there is a catch. First off it helps to have a healthy dose of Hammer Studios and Universal Monsters blood in your veins. If you grew up watching b-movies starring the likes of Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Bela Lugosi, and Boris Karloff in late-night creature features, then you’ll totally ‘get’ this movie’s vibe. If, however, you aren’t cursed with a wickedly warped sense of humor (and fun), then ‘The Dead Matter’ might come across as just another off-beat vamp flick. For me, I totally jived to the old school approach to horror that screenwriters Ed Douglas and Tony Demci offered up. You can see how they were influenced by their horror forefathers, but they also give the film a groovy twist by injecting a bit of George A. Romero into the picture’s undead veins. I’ve tried to think of another movie that incorporated vampires AND zombies into the same film and came up empty. Nice! Throw in the fact that the film is capably directed by Douglas, has a healthy sense of humor (you’ll dig the classroom dream!), sports a likable ensemble cast including genre legend Tom Savini, not to mention some killer make-up effects, Midnight Syndicate’s gothic, Hammer-esque score, some genuine scares (I was all about the creepy cemetery ‘death is the answer!’ scene) and you’ll understand why this movie satisfies an old-school fan-boy like me.
There were, however, a few minor points that I felt kept ‘The Dead Matter’ from becoming a classic film. For one, there were a lot of characters to keep track of – none of whom are fleshed out to their fullest potential. A little more backstory on the main characters of McCallister and his vampire adversaries would have been nice, as well as more history on Gretchen and her group of friends (not to mention the amulet). Likewise, some of the acting was hit or miss. I can’t help but feel that some scenes might have been a bit rushed, resulting in fewer takes, so the actors weren’t able to achieve the best performances they were capable of (Also – here’s my idea: Douglas should have worked Vellich’s horrible wig into the story somehow. Since he seems like such a vain vampire, seeing him put the wig on over nasty, patchy hair would have been a hoot. There was no way to hide the fact that he was wearing a wig, so they should have played it up rather than try to sell it as his real hair). One last point is the effects. While the make-up designs were amazing, some of the CGI was not entirely convincing. I also thought some more locations were needed and the ending was a bit too vague for my taste – but these gripes have more to do with budget constraints than anything and are minor issues that don’t dramatically decrease the quality of the film as a whole.
When
the final bloodsucker is staked, I thought Edward Douglas’s ‘The Dead
Matter’ was a fun-filled horror-fest that mostly satisfied and
definitely entertained – which is what Douglas set out to do – so in
that regard, the film is a smashing success. The clever plot, the gnarly
make-up, the perfect score (that had many nods to Midnight Syndicate’s
past), and a healthy mix of b-movie charisma make this film a refreshing
change from the usual horror schlock that
NAUGHTY BITS:
There isn’t a lot of the red stuff to be found here, but we do get the occasional ripped off head (and fingernails…ouch!), gunshot wounds, the amulet imbedding itself into someone’s skin, blood-sucker stakings (including a unique ‘deep throat’ staking that I’ve never seen before) and your standard vampire bitey-bites. ‘The Dead Matter’ scores low on the gore factor – but it’s not really about that anyway. Besides, when the plasma flows it’s with great effects, so you’ll appreciate it even more.
ACTING:
As I mentioned above, the acting is a hit or miss affair in ‘The Dead Matter.’ Some of the actors came across as rather over-the-top (Divoff as Vellich needed to be de-fanged), many were somewhat wooden in their delivery (Sean Serino as Gretchen was pretty and definitely talented, but I just couldn’t connect with her performance), and some, like Jason Carter as McCallister and Brian Van Camp as Mark were as solid as you can hope for. I can’t come down too harshly on the cast as I feel like they were doing the best they could within the constraints of the script. Crafting more subtle, nuanced, and natural performances is something director Douglas will perfect as he grows as a director.
DIRECTOR’S CHAIR:
For
his first full-length feature film, I thought Edward Douglas did an
admirable job. With the amount of money invested in this picture it
would have been easy to buckle under the pressure, but
SOUNDTRACK:
It’s Edward Douglas from Midnight Syndicate so you know the score is going to be superb (not to mention there’s a few of Midnight Syndicate’s past gems thrown in for good measure to please us fanboys). The only problem I had with the music was in the mix – it seemed too loud in parts, making the dialogue a bit muddy – but overall I was delighted with the gothic vibe of the soundtrack; and I even dug the ‘rock’ numbers that were thrown in as well – which is unusual as those are typically throw-away songs that don’t make an impression on me in most horror movies. This could also be due to the fact that I listened to the soundtrack for a few months before actually seeing the movie – so I was familiar with all the songs…
TIDBITS:
‘The Dead Matter’ DVD was released exclusively through the retail chain Hot Topic. (I thought it deserved a theatrical release. Alas, no one asked me.)
‘The
Dead Matter’ is actually a remake of Edward Douglas’s first, low-budget
film of the same name, made in 1996 with a budget of $2,000. It would
have been fun to see
The
film wash shot mostly in the state of
I’ve heard tell that the budget for the 2010 version of ‘The Dead Matter’ was north of $1.5 million.
Look for a cameo from Gavin Gozka, the other half of Midnight Syndicate, as a patron in the library.