As Film Apocalypse is dedicated to independent films, I find myself watching many movies that are nowhere close to what people consider good. Because of this, the reviews on the site tend to be pointed towards true indie and no-budget film fans. Although I do my best to not have my expectations too high, I do at times get disappointed because of bad editing, terrible audio, and the absence of good direction. Admittedly, there are some films that I look forward to like The Dead Don’t Scream. Based on the cover alone I was intrigued albeit cautiously optimistic about the quality of the DVD. Additionally, I saw that it was 90 minutes long and for most indie films, that is a bit on the longer side. Contrary to my expectations, it far exceeded them. The filming is of a lot higher quality than most indies and the gore, my god, some of the best I’ve ever witnessed was in this film.
This film is about a group of college students who go to the lake to have some fun in the sun but end up being tortured and murdered by car thieves. The Dead Don’t Scream is a gripping tale full of action and is definitely not for the light-hearted.
Tons of action, blood, and gore are present. While there is a singular bare scene in the beginning of the movie, there are plenty of gorgeous bikini wearing girls throughout most of the movie.
With a budget of $66,000, this film surpassed many movies featured at Film Apocalypse. However, this amount is a drop in the bucket compared to what movie theaters and cable networks invest in their productions. The Dead Don’t Scream cleverly utilized their budget which, like many television movies of the week or films on the Sci-Fi Channel, delivered a quality production. The camera and audio mix throughout the film was professional grade and the editing was outstanding as well. The plot was captivating and entertaining for the entire 90-minute duration of the film. Chadwell made an exceptional impact with her performance as one of the lead victims of the film, easily categorized as the overall lead actress. Noting her performance it would not surprise if she starred in more films later on. The depiction of characters was beautifully portrayed in the movie by a few of the other impressive cast members, Trey Caldwell and Jeremy Schwab. While the rap domineered the soundtrack which was not ideal for me, the overall mix of the audio was great.
Not that I enjoy rap, but I believe the music in this movie was professionally done. FX Make up credits go to Mitch Rogers and Michael Brower; The two of them did an extremely excellent work with slit throats, gunshot wounds, and shotgun blast gore.
This was pulled together by a man from Texas Actor Studio and 3 Red Peppers Production Company called Richard Perrin. He happens to be an acting coach who created the film The Dead Don’t Scream so that his students would have an opportunity to work in a real movie. Well, if this is how this group of actors intends to come out, then they were sure in the right class. What better way to start acting than landing a role in a good movie you directed with your acting coach and classmates? I hope this is not the last film with 3 Red Peppers that I will have the chance to review for Film Apocalypse. I would love to see more films from this cast and crew!
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