The Dead Matter (2010) Reviews

• I enjoyed it somehow but not my thing

  trashgang2011-10-18

  This is Edward Douglas first attempt to direct a flick. He surely knows his stuff because he is normally an music technician for a few horror flicks. By doing so he also knew the people inside the genre. By that we see Andrew Divoff (wishmaster) as a leading role and Tom Savini in a special role. The special effects were done by Robert Kurtzman, also known in the genre. It's a weird flick to watch because we have all elements in it that you can think about, zombies, vampires, ouija boards, supernatural effects...It's even sometimes a bit funny to see, a vampire being attacked by a zombie. It's really not your average horror flick. But the effects used are really well done and that makes it watchable. Strangely, Andrew Divoff couldn't convince me. Due the names in it it wasn't really my thing nevertheless I enjoyed it on the , for me, funny parts if you know what I mean. Gore 2/5 Nudity 0/5 Story 3/5 Effects 3/5 Comedy 2/5

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• Great mix of horror and humor

  cjh6689082010-11-18

  The Dead Matter... This is the imagination of Gothic/Halloween band Midnight Syndicate founding member Ed Douglas at work. Being creative always starts with an idea and a vision. In the mid 1990s he had an idea. He had a vision. He had a dream. He had $2,000. He had...............a Super VHS camera that he borrowed. It was used to film the first version of The Dead Matter, released in 1996. You have to start somewhere. A decade later an opportunity to re-make The Dead Matter with a much larger budget was realized (about $1.5 million). The script was co-written by Ed Douglas and Tony Demci, just as it was in the original 1996 film. Shooting took place in August and September 2007 in the Mansfield, Ohio area. To make this movie, Douglas went to the well and drew on his many talents, knowledge, creativity, interest in horror films, and prior background as a filmmaker and musician/composer, not to mention a college degree in theater and filmmaking. The end result is a dream realized. An excellent independent horror film with excellent actors, an excellent musical score courtesy of Midnight Syndicate themselves, not to mention contributions from other artists in the form of rock & roll songs (Lazy Lane, Eternal Legacy, and HipNostic). This movie stars Andrew Divoff (CSI: Miami, Lost, also movies such as Wishmaster, Air Force One, The Rage, Indiana Jones 4), Jason Carter (Babylon 5, Beverly Hills 90210, Angel, Charmed, Third Rock From The Sun), special effects legend Tom Savini (From Dusk Till Dawn, Dawn Of The Dead, Lost Boys 2, Grindhouse, Friday The 13th), Sean Serino (The Rage), Tom Nagel (North Mission Road, Beast Of Bray Road), CB Spencer (Passions, Ally McBeal, the movie Ballistica) Christopher Robichaud (the original 1996 version of The Dead Matter, plus voices on Midnight Syndicate albums), Brian Van Camp (New World Disorder), Donna Williams (The Rapture), Jim O' Rear (Hell House, Vampyre Tales), Meredith Beardmore (CSI: NY, A Family Matter), Kenyatta Foster, and "Big Chuck" Schodowski (American Scary), to name just a few, along with special effects/makeup artist Alan Tuskes (Star Trek, Vanilla Sky, The Rage). The narrator is Richard "Count Gore De Vol" Dyszel (The Alien Factor, Chainsaw Sally). What is this movie about? It's about a grief-stricken young woman named Gretchen who will do anything to contact or "reconnect" with her deceased brother. She stumbles upon an ancient Egyptian occult relic that leads her into the dark world of vampires and the living dead. She gets more than she bargained for, as all hell breaks loose. Two warring vampire lords are in search of the relic, which can control the dead. A vampire hunter is trying to stop them from obtaining the relic. This movie is unique in that it mixes both zombies and vampires. If you're somebody who is a fan of the Halloween season and its darker aspects, yet also embraces the lighter side of Halloween, then this movie will entertain you, as it is both on the dark side and lighter side. This movie has horror, humor, twists and turns, and keeps you guessing. The atmosphere is dark and creepy in parts, while at other times everyday activities and locations are used, such as in houses, bars, office buildings, etc. Midnight Syndicate doesn't hesitate to embrace the lighter side of horror/Halloween once in a while, and this movie proves it. You can't go wrong. I don't want to reveal too much. Watch it and be entertained. It's destined to become a Halloween classic, one of those movies that you'll want to watch every year during the Halloween season or on Halloween night after the trick-or-treaters have gone home and the jack-o-lantern has been extinguished. While not that scary, it does have its moments that will catch you off guard. Ed Douglas and Tony Demci were inspired and influenced by horror films of yesteryear, particularly from the '30s, '60s, '70s, '80s, Creepshow, and the Hammer films, but the bottom line is that The Dead Matter is ORIGINAL. The movie takes the "old school" approach of yesteryear, and it works. I personally think it's a great movie and I think you will, too. It doesn't take a lot of money to accomplish the primary goal, which is to scare or at least entertain the audience. Think of films like Carnival Of Souls (1962), Night Of The Living Dead (1968), and Halloween (1978). These are perfect examples of independent films that make their point and get the job done by scaring and entertaining you and creating the perfect atmosphere with minimal money. The Dead Matter is 89 minutes long and is presented in widescreen format. The extras on the DVD are excellent. There are two Midnight Syndicate music videos ("Dark Legacy" and "Lost", both of which appeared on The Dead Matter: Cemetery Gates album, released in 2008), three finalists' music videos from the Midnight Syndicate 13th Anniversary video contest, gag reels, audio commentary by Ed Douglas, Robert Kurtzman, and Gary Jones, a feature called Maximum Dead Matter that allows you to watch a scene in one corner of the screen while simultaneously watching the actual filming of the scene in another window, interviews with cast and crew members, locations, and concept art. Robert Kurtzman (producer, From Dusk Till Dawn, The Rage, Wishmaster), Gary Jones (Xena, Hercules, Boogeyman 3), and Ed Douglas all co-produced this movie. Yes, there is still hope when it comes to the making of quality horror movies. Thankfully, there are still a few people out there who actually have their own ideas and imagination. This is a standout independent horror movie gem released during the Age of Horror Remakes that we're currently living in. As good as this movie is, I believe that time will elevate this movie's status even more.

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• One of the better independent horror movies I have seen

  nkuttam0822011-10-30

  If your tired of Hollywood horror that do not deliver then this is a movie for you. It has blood, guts, zombies, vampires, glowing amulet, spells and so much more. If you love old school horror from the 80's then you need to buy this movie. A guilt -ridden young women desperate to contact her deceased brother discovers a powerful ancient relic that controls the dead. Her dark obsession drags her into the tangled world of two warring vampire lords each with his own sinister plans for the artifact, and a vampire hunter who will stop at nothing to destroy it. This Gothic dark-fantasy co-produced by Robert Kurtzman features a haunting score by Halloween horror music composers Midnight Syndicate. A mix of classic horror themes with modern twists that will keep you on the edge of your seat!

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• An Enjoyable Horror Film To Watch

  michaelbr882011-04-15

  McCallister and Mark, a vampire/zombie fighting duo are after Vellich, the ancient vampire leader, who has a scarab artifact in his control that allows him to have power over the undead and the forces of darkness. McCallister and Mark temporarily take possession of the amulet and are on their way to a mystical place in the Ohio woods where the unholy relic can only be destroyed. However, Vellich will try to get there first to prevent this and take back the amulet. While both parties fight it out at the magical location, they lose the scarab. Enter Gretchen and her friends the following evening, who decide to hold a séance in the woods at the same mystical place, to help her communicate with her dead brother. The group finds the artifact at the magical site and Gretchen takes it home with her. She soon befriends a zombie that comes to her apartment and she feels that her new found amulet and walking dead friend can help bring her deceased brother back. However, McCallister and Vellich both want to reclaim the relic and Gretchen's friends are concerned that she has set them all on the road to utter doom. The Dead Matter is a well executed movie with good directing and editing. Special attention is placed on the film's technical areas for smooth viewing throughout. The story is also quite involved, so the viewer will have to really pay attention to take in the different characters and sub plots that are going on to understand their connections. Midnight Syndicate, known for their Halloween and haunting, horror music CD's provides the soundtrack for The Dead Matter. The movie had some good eerie music in it, particularly the main title and end credits theme. Edward Douglas, the president and co-composer of Midnight Syndicate, steps into the film director's chair for The Dead Matter. He does a nice job using the camera to tell his story visually with good choices for shots. British actor Jason Carter delivers some fine acting and is well cast as a Van Helsing type vampire hunter named McCallister, who is after the scarab and tries to save Gretchen and her friends from the forces of evil. He is very intense in the role and his sharp features, European accent and old style clothing really embellish his performance as McCallister. Our main indication that McCallister really lives in the present day world is that he carries a cell phone with him. Horror genre favorite Tom Savini, the special make-up effects artist behind such scare classics as Friday The 13th, Dawn Of The Dead and Creepshow, has a small role in the film as Sebed, a modernized rival vampire leader to Vellich, and his old style blood sucking ways. Savini fans will enjoy seeing him acting in the movie. And fellow special make-up effects man Robert Kurtzman (formerly of KNB EFX Group) is one of the producers of the movie. Robert Kurtzman's Creature Crew provides the special make-up and visual effects for The Dead Matter. There are some creepy looking night exterior shots of the walking dead coming up the road and through the fields. In a few scenes, there is also homage to classic horror movies like Night Of The Living Dead, A Nightmare On Elm Street and others that fans of the genre should pick up on. An interesting scene that was chilling takes place when Gretchen and her boyfriend Mike try to get the zombie to help her communicate with her dead brother in the cemetery. Aligned with a jolting music cue, the zombie suddenly starts repeating in a strange sounding voice, "Death is the answer...death is the answer…death is the answer…death is the answer!" One particular humorous scene in the film occurs when friend Jill arrives at Gretchen's apartment and wants to speak with her but the zombie then walks over them. Jill eyes the zombie and turns to Gretchen, "We need to talk…alone." Gretchen looks at the zombie and then smiles at Jill and says, "Okay." They both then step away farther into the room. Frank (Christopher Robichaud), one of the friends in the group, is a scientist and IT specialist at Trilec Labs, which specializes in diet pill formulas. He is fascinated with the zombie and wants to study it and run scientific tests on it, despite his friend's objections. Frank's character provides most of the film's comic relief and black humor. The feature film was made in Ohio and hats off to the filmmakers for shooting the movie on Super 16mm motion picture film, a great format for low budget filmmaking and horror in particular. The Dead Matter is a fun movie to watch with a new storytelling take on the traditional vampire and zombie films.

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• Check it out if you dig your Gothic horror with a sense of humor

  lovecraft2312011-09-10

  It's a bit weird to me when a movie that's less than a year or at least a year old passes me by, or that I've heard of it but haven't seen it. Case in point: last year's "The Dead Matter." Directed by Midnight Syndicate main man Edward Douglas, and a remake of sorts of his earlier film of the same name that was shot on camcorder, I had heard good things about this movie, with Fangoria, Arrow in the Head and FEARnet singing its praises. So, does it live up to the hype? For the large part, yes. The plot goes a little something like this: Gretchen (Sean Serino) is morning the loss of her brother, so she and her buddies-Mike (Tom Nagel), Jill (C.B. Spencer) and Frank (Christopher Robichaud) hold a séance to bring him back. Well, what do ya know, Gretchen finds an ancient relic that can bring back and control the dead. Thing is, two warring vampire lords-Vellich (Andrew Divoff) and Sebed (Tom Savini) want possession of the relic, and vampire hunter McCallister (Jason Carter) wants to destroy it. If there's anything that harms the movie, its the fact that the actors playing our heroes don't do a good job. Serino tries her hardest, but she's just not that convincing as our lead protagonist, no matter how hard the movie tries to make us care about her plight. Meanwhile, Robichaud is hit and miss as the science loving Frank-sometimes admirably goofy, but other times kind of flat, while Nagel and Spencer feel like they're just kinda there. Apart from that, "The Dead Matter" is a lot of campy fun, and one of those movies I find myself disappointed that I didn't see it sooner. A fun mix of Gothic atmosphere and tongue-in-cheek black humor, the plot and events usually play like Hammer meets a horror-comedy from the 80's ala "Night of the Creeps" with vampires and zombies. Speaking of which, the dead here are interesting-the zombified Mark (Brian Van Camp) is amusing with his drinking beer and other goofy antics that thankfully don't suck, but most of the dead here of of the more haunting, specter like variety ala "Carnival of Souls." I find it refreshing to see someone who thinks outside of the box instead of constantly feeding us the typical zombies eating yards of intestines type of movie. Also, while our heroes are bland, everyone else does a fine job. Divoff is a hoot to watch (bad fright wig and all), while Savini makes the most of his time as his vampire rival, and Carter is a lot of fun as the vampire hunter out to stop them. Oh, and while not a gore-fest, you still get some nice scenes here and there (including an awesome bit with a jaw being torn off), though I must say the director must also be commended for not going overboard with splatter. So, will "The Dead Matter" win any awards for originality? Probably not. It is however, a refreshing little sleeper that shows what plenty of gumption and can-do spirit can accomplish, and for that, I applaud it. Check it out if you dig your Gothic horror with a sense of humor.

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