Dead Mary

The attempt of the director to make a horror movie lies flat on the ground.The ghost or horror element appears only for 2 very short instant,in fact the poster is more horrifying than the movie.

The central premise is so vague and ill-defined that it ends up making less sense as time goes on.In the movie it constantly needs to fade to black in order to jump from one character to another. For a film that supposedly takes place over the course of a night, this is not only unnecessary but serves to deflate the dramatic tension.

"Dead Mary" is a below mediocre movie. The urban legend of Bloody Mary that was brilliantly explored in "Candyman" in the 90's, now is used in a rip-off of "Evil Dead". There are many movies with "a group of friends that goes to a cabin in the woods and faces evil", like for example "Cabin Fever", which works. But "Dead Mary" is awful, with a boring beginning, a messy story where "Dead Mary" never shows up, and a ridiculous conclusion.

This movie was a disappointment on several different levels. As we first start in it's obviously going to be yet another horror movie about beastly and possibly a couple of decent young people heading out to do stupid things in the woods and on that note it played through.

This is no classic, but it's a perfectly entertaining way to spend 103 minutes. It's definitely the best Canadian horror flick I've ever seen (actually, it might be the only one).

Seriously though, while the acting might not be Oscar caliber, it ranges from not offensively bad (Eve) to actually pretty good (Baker). And while a lot of movies in this sub-genre are full of characters you can't wait to see die (I'm looking at you, "The Breed"), I found myself rooting for the survival of a few in this one.

Sure, the premise of a group of young people stuck in a remote area battling evil has been done a million times, but that's because it's a fun horror sub-genre, and this is a decent entry. I really don't understand the confusion over the plot that many reviewers have mentioned--this is not a thinking man's movie and requires only a very basic level of consciousness to get it.

One last thing... I liked the ending! As I said before, if you're looking for a cinematic masterpiece, you'll be disappointed in "Dead Mary," but what are you doing in the horror section in the first place? If you're looking for a bit of mindless entertainment, "Dead Mary" will do the job.

A group of old mates from school spend the weekend at a cabin in the woods (original huh?!), and kills time by yapping on and on about relationships and who's screwing who. After a few drinks one of them remembers an old game - Dead Mary - and the suspense begins.

This could have been a rather entertaining horror flick, but leaves you disappointed. The characters were okay and the story line had potential, but: no blood to talk about, no really scary scenes, no sitting on the edge of your seat and especially no Dead Mary! Trying hard to stay awake for an ending that could possibly have saved the movie from sucking totally turned out to have been in vain, 'cause the ending was the biggest disappointment of them all. Not only are you clueless of what it means, but also frustrated to bits 'cause you've wasted almost one and a half hours on this crap! Considering myself to be quite a genre knower I believe this is one of the worst, or should I say BORING, horror flicks I've seen. It didn't even make me laugh...

DEAD MARY is a movie that is full of clichés, but at the same time tries to be something different.

The plot is about a group of teenagers that decide to spend a weekend in an isolated cabin in the woods. The weekend is to be for fun, but it ends being a terrible massacre… where did you see it before? It's really a cliché, right?! Though, this film mixes some different kind of horror types, from the supernatural (zombies, witches' stories, etc) to the slasher type, not being specifically any of those.

The plot ends in a very open way, what almost makes you think there's a DEAD MARY 2 coming right there! I use to appreciate open stories, but in this particular case I guess I would prefer a more closed ending, because I think it would fit better in the story.

As I said before DEAD MARY is not a zombie's movie, is not a slasher, is not a witching story… it's just a bit of everything and nothing special at the same time! However, the acting was not bad.

I'll score it 5/10.

Kim (Dominique Swain) and her boyfriend Matt (Jefferson Brown) have just broken up, but they travel together to a cottage nearby a lake to spend the weekend with their friends Eve (Marie-Josée Colburn), Dash (Michael Majeski) and his wife Amber (Reagan Pasternak) and Baker (Steve McCarthy) and his new girlfriend Lily (Maggie Castle). The atmosphere becomes heavy with the situation between Kim and Matt, and one of them suggests them to play "Dead Mary". Matt, Eve and Dash summon the evil witch repeating her name three times in front of a mirror with a candle. Along the night, Matt hears weird noises, is killed and returns to life, while part of the group is possessed by the fiend. Without knowing who is possessed, the rest of the group fights to survive.

"Dead Mary" is a mediocre movie. The urban legend of Bloody Mary that was brilliantly explored in "Candyman" in the 90's, now is used in a rip-off of "Evil Dead". There are many movies with "a group of friends that goes to a cabin in the woods and faces evil", like for example "Cabin Fever", which works. But "Dead Mary" is awful, with a boring beginning, a messy story where "Dead Mary" never shows up, and a ridiculous conclusion. My vote is three.

Title (Brazil): "Dead Mary – A Possessão" ("Dead Mary – The Possession")