MovieChat Forums > Dead Mary (2007) Discussion > finally an intersting,well acted horror ...

finally an intersting,well acted horror movie!


I have been watching horror movies since I was 7 years old. I am now 38 and I can say that there aren't very many "original" horror ideas out there anymore and the horror freak inside me never gets fed. However, I really thought this movie was great! I was blown away by some of the actors ( especially dax) the idea of the movie and even the pace. New horror movies (if they aren't stupid re-makes) are mostly made for people with no attention span. If the gore doesn't get going right away, the audience tends to turn it off. I thought this movie had a very believable pace. How many times have we been out at the cottage and just sat there staring at each other? When I first started watching the movie and the beginning went on and on, I found myself getting caught up in the "no attention span" thoughts of "Oh my god, when is this movie going to really start?" But the more I thought about it I realizes that the pace was very realistic. I have been stuck on the roadside and let me tell you I am not doing much of anything. Anyways, I really think that horror fans should take a look at this creative horror movie even though the title is weak.

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Man I totally agree. The beginning of the movie had the appeal of Jeepers Creepers and the rest of the movie felt like Cabin Fever.

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i second that.. good horror flick


there can be only one... two... or even 3 joints per hour...lolz

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Come on, guy. You watch horror movies expecting realistic portrayals of real-life situations? So this movie played out like that one time you were at a cabin with some friends and you all started becoming possessed by demonic entities? "Oh my god, it is just like when we had to burn Justin and Kathy that time when they were possessed by Golgoltha! Wow, it's like they've filmed my life!" Ummm... no. If I wanted to watch a movie that realistically re-enacted what it's like spending a weekend with friends, I'd watch... oh, wait, I don't know the titles of any movies like that BECAUSE I DON'T WATCH THEM. I. Watch. Horror. Which means that yes, Virginia, the gore needs to get going right away. Or, in the case of this movie, the gore needed to get going, ever, at any point. That would've been good, since, you know, it is a horror movie and all. Hell, even The Descent, it started out all Dr. Phil with the chicks and their relationships - but when the shytt hit the fan, it did so with a vengeance. There was not one frightening or disturbing moment in this flick. Or even any gore. And it was supposed to be 'unrated'. This flick could've easily nailed a pg-13 with wiggle room to spare. Hell, I might give this dvd to my grandma for her birthday. Lame. I just realized what this movie is like. It's like a remake of "Evil Dead" filmed by a director on Xanax and edited by Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell for broadcast on PAX.

Vae Victis

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Wow pandinusimperator-1 angry much? I was under the impression that these forums were for people DIFFERING opinions. Obviously you use it to go off on strangers. Therapy?.....I highly recomend it for you!

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"It's like a remake of "Evil Dead" filmed by a director on Xanax and edited by Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell for broadcast on PAX. "

They should've totally used that as the blurb on the DVD! You summed up the movie perfectly and even made it sound a bit better than it actually was!

Dr Bong Videos http://youtube.com/worldofbong

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[deleted]

No, dude you do not. You do not watch HORROR movies.

You seem to watch SLASHER FLICKS, which is cause itself to doubt the credibility of your comments, coming as they are from a deranged and possibly sociopathic head.

"Unrated" as a guidance rating is just another Hollywood trick to fool nuggets like you into thinking that it has some kind of "super-adult" gore in it that didn't make it past the Censors, when in fact they're just exploiting a loophole in BluRay re-issuing whereby the film re-issue doesn't need to go by the censors again if it's the same cut that's been released previously - this way, whilst not being honest (surprise surprise) about what the category actually means, they can push re-sales to re-tards upon (basically) false advertising.. How naive of you.

Whilst i do agree this movie could be a contender for the most massively misnomered film ever - the very fact that only 5 minutes of the film are based around it's title is a welcome break from tired, often-trodden American suburban folkloric clichés. Your Canadians (maybe it's a polar thing?) like the Norwegians, make Horror movies for grown-ups. They have remembered what Hollywood seems to have left behind for good - the benefits obtained from the psychological effect of NOT seeing something; The Tease......subtlety.

Most formula movies these days (going back into the 90s - but the older u get the more and more remakes you've already seen) have totally forgotten that exposition in a film is an ART FORM, a skill with film making that isn't an absolute in monochrome, it's a rainbow of possibilities. The sheer power of the human mind to invent things by which to be horrified is far more imaginative than anything that could ever be put to film, Clever film-makers throw you into this void of unknown and unsure, to get you questioning the very reality you experience, and this film does that in *beep*

The very fact that you're drawn into the movie on a promise of a ghost story is a deceit - and that's the core of the movie - deceit. It runs through all their relationships as well as their circumstances, it rules all of their lives. The 'creature' that slowly attacks them, which is more along the lines of a possessive fungal infection with megalomaniacal tendencies is, to me, both some kind of invading creature, taking over hosts, and at the same time a manifestation of the group's psyche as it dissolves into anarchy, distrust and malice.

It's at this point it most closely resembles the aforementioned "The Thing" and "Evil Dead" and maybe even "Bodysnatchers" - the plot swaps from "teenagers go to a cabin" to "alien/monster apocalypse" - quite a masterstroke i think.

Whilst, yes, the pace is slow, reflecting the initial laid-back circumstances of the gathering/reunion, the tension that is built up in the realism of the events as they unfurl - it's not about a splatterfest, or a roll-call of ticked off innovative ways to separate teenagers from their body parts in reverse order of how much they have sinned - and what a relief from that dirge. It's way more psychological in approach, the way "The Shining" is classified as horror (not meaning there's any correlation but as an example), having your friends or family change and try to kill you - that's no PG13 subject matter, neither is the thought processes involved in the return - can you kill your friends to survive?

And the guy who never shows up? Of course he doesn't show up, donut : Look a bit further into the film rather than carry on fishing round at the bottom of your default 'barrel' of godawful garbage.

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I cannot but agree!
I'm not at all a horror movie fan, admittedly. But had to watch this film for professional reasons. I have to say that I was really blown away by the realistic acting, the very intelligent dialogues and the fantastic camera work. I'm not into horror movies, as I've already said, so I'm not going to comment on those scenes. Even though I think that they are quite effecively done (especially on the sound level).
The actors did a brilliant job, especially those playing Baker, Dash, Kim and Amber, I would say.
I thought the scene where the guys are discussing their relationships in the beginning was hilarious ("penultimate worst")! Interesting plot, great pictures, thrilling moments and even something to think about.
I'm looking forward to seeing more from this director. Congratulations, Mr. Wilson!

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I watched this movie last night and liked it. The gore could have come faster, and what happened to Ted might have been explained at some point but the acting and psych elements were above many of the horror movies I've seen lately.

More movies like this with a few more twists thrown in would help the horror genre. That being said I also think a second Satan's Little Helper should also roll out so I could see the little kid from the first one get spliced.

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ok, i was thinking about buying this movie, i just need to check you're not all being sarcastic. you DO think it's good yes?

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[deleted]

I am a huge horror fan and I loved it..people seem to miss the whole point of the movie...I forget that for most people everything has to be spelled out for them to undertsand it,,the movie isnt about Dead Mary,it is about people turning into zombies.The Dead Mary game was just part of the movie,but not the plot itself,this movie had great acting and a very good plot.It is eluded to several times that everyone is turning into zombies,hence the ending.Ted obviously was already gone,that is why he didnt show up and cutie pie in the shed explained it,it being the end of life as we know it,etc.
I was impressed and that rarely happens with horror for me these days and for the last person to post,if you are looking forward to another horror remake,then that speaks volumes about your idea of good horror,I bet you loved the Black Xmas joke remake too didnt you? LOL...Prom Night remake?,what a joke.

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[deleted]

I didn't expect this movie to be a movie with people turning into zombies.


Good, because NOBODY TURNED INTO A ZOMBIE IN THIS MOVIE.

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[deleted]

the movie isnt about Dead Mary,it is about people turning into zombies.The Dead Mary game was just part of the movie,but not the plot itself,this movie had great acting and a very good plot.It is eluded to several times that everyone is turning into zombies


No it wasn't. This is NOT a freakin' Zombie movie. There are NO zombies in this film.

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i have seen my share of horror movies, and this one is a load of crap IMO. I can barely think of any upsides of this movie, except the suspense in the bathroom scene in the beginning. So yeah, i think this movie sucks and everything about it has been done and done again so many times. In a way, this movie is just a mesh of cliches.

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Yeah, I kinda chuckle too when someone dogs this movie and actually likes the Black Christmas remake.

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[deleted]

I thought it was pretty good. There's quite a bit of character development. Too much some might say! LOL! There's a lot of things that aren't really resolved but the answers might be in there if you look harder than I did. Some premises are set up and then not really fleshed out. The 'Dead Mary' never is really seen in the flick and I'm not honestly sure she's in there at all. It had more of a sci-fi twist to it for me than a horror. I think this is an idea that would've worked better as a weekly television series than a movie to be honest.

It's not your typical slash 'em all up film and it DOES take some patience, but it's actually pretty good. Like the first person said, you might want to rent it first just to make sure it's worth the buying price for you. It's different, but it gets an okayed thumbs up from me.

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[deleted]

i thought dead mary was fantastic,fantastic,fantastic.i also liked satans little helper and would love to see a sequel

If you love Jesus Christ and are 100% proud of it copy this and make your signature!




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Deleted.

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I thought the acting was really great in this. It was some of the best I've ever seen from a straight-to-video horror flick.

The first 30 minutes were a little slow, but the dialogue was realistic, and I don't think I was ever bored.

Then, from about the 30 minute mark to the 45 minute mark, I was creeped out. Not many movies do that to me, and this one was successful. That bathroom scene was scary.

After the halfway point, though, the movie began to fall apart for me. I just can't recommend it. The ending was really weak.

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Anyone who enjoyed this piece of crap is clinically retarded.

Arthur
http://wewerethecoolkids.blogspot.com/

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"Anyone who enjoyed this piece of crap is clinically retarded."

Well wipe my drool and change my Depends then, because I thought this movie rocked! I watched it last night and was instantly a fan. I agree that there are some plotholes throughout the movie, and the scenes fade to black for no apparent reason, but the acting was believable, the horror was intense at times and the blood shed was decent for a low budget flick. I think if the movie was polished a bit more, this could have had potential for a theatrical release and actually made some money.

I'll definately be adding this to my dvd collection.

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This film was absolute rubbish !!!!!!!!!!!!


The first half hour... it was nothing new.. Wolf Creek, Hills Have eyes, Turistas, Haute Tension, etc etc..
These are amongst many new horror films that spend a lot more time with the characters.. introducing them.. before killing them... and they were all great films...


It seems to me that when Scream reinvented Horror for the big screen in the 90's.. The idea was to have a death at the start.. get peoples attention...

That seems to be shifting now towards the character introductions instead.. Get you to like the people so that you care more when the horror begins.. Get the audience to forget the horror is coming...

I like character introduction.. i am all for it...
But unfortunately in this movie... The characters were not interesting... The acting was not natural... The dialogue was boring and seem forced.. cliched aswell.. Smoking joints and drinking margheritas... it was like a cheesy version of the big chill... when suddenly the Dead Mary plot is thrown in...

The Dead Mary plot.. awful close to candyman... wait wait.. gotta say candyman 5 times... my mistake... truly unique...

The lack of trust plot.. when they try to figure out how to test whos a truth zombie.. i was waiting for little petri dishes.. blood samples.. and a heated wire.. wait.. wrong film... easy mistake to make...

The Dead Mary backstory... there was none... just say er name 3 times... she pops up... turns people into truth telling zombies that can regenerate themselves... unless burnt... wow...

The fade to blacks... no explanation.. left huge gaps in plot.. just became lost unexplained time.. while you are watching it through the first time you may be intrigued.. wats going on... will this be explained.. is it doing this for a reason... NO IT'S NOT... u just get what appears to be the skilled editing of a Stoned Chimp with this flik... Large chunks missing... Gaps of time loosely filled in with a line of dialogue...

The truth telling regenerating victims of Dead Mary... WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT ABOUT.. She posesses a random mirror talking victim... then uses that victim to bite n mame other people.. so that the other people can then regenerate and heal all there own bites and mames.. so they then can cruise around and tell there friends the bitter truth...

Wow.. Scary Stuff..


I give it 1 1/2 outta 5 because...

Its not "Hills Have Eyes 2" crap... not "Piranha 2" crap...

But it ain't a tasty beverage !!!!!!!!!!!




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I watched this movie based solely on your review.

I wanted to hit stop and throw another movie in and call it a night. I kept saying to my wife, and myself, that "we are committed. Sit and suffer, damnit".

It went from boring to on the edge of your seat in the blink of an eye.

This movie surprised me; first time I had been spooked in a long time.

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this is a terrible film. just terrible.

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