The Dead Matter

It's sad when the only good ratings a movie can get are from the filmmaker's family and friends. Well, here's the dead matter in a nutshell: The vampire (Andrew Divoff) wears a blonde lady's wig that looks like it's on backwards. The storyline is… oh wait, there is no story. The overweight zombies look worse than what you'd expect to see at a local haunted house run by high school kids. The music just drones on, but maybe it's better than nothing. The movie is described as a campy horror comedy, but there's nothing humorous at all about this film, except maybe the terrible acting. No boobs, very little blood and no interesting death scenes, nothing you haven't seen a million times already, and no hot chicks, just a few frumpy fat dudes. The actress that plays Gretchen is cute, but not in a "hot" way. And like I said, no boobs.

I can't even recommend this train wreck for a beer and B-movie night. It's just a huge waste of time.

Tom Savini is the most noteworthy name in The Dead Matter, a new film promoted as 'From the producers of From Dusk Till Dawn'.

The Dead Matter that throws vampires, zombies, horror, comedy and the Gothic occult at its audience in hopes that enough sticks to warrant a cult-status following.

The Dead Matter throws vampires, zombies, horror, comedy and Gothic fantasy at its audience in a film that is promoted as being 'from the producers of From Dusk Till Dawn'. Tom Savini is the most noteworthy name in a film about a young woman named Gretchen (Sean Serino) who is desperate to connect with her dead brother and discovers an ancient amulet that has the power to control the dead.

The amulet is of particular interest to Vellich (Andrew Divoff of Wishmaster fame) – an ancient vampire who has yet to read fashion magazines informing him that 1980's hair is long out of style – and Sebed (Tom Savini of From Dusk Till Dawn) who are at odds in a feud that has spanned for eons.

Complicating matters for Vellich and Sebed is a vampire hunter named McCallister (Jason Carter) who will eventually team up with Gretchen and her three friends Mike, Jill and Frank in an attempt to keep the impending evil at bay. A confrontation of both parties will be the climax of the film's final chapters and will house a few surprises and some slightly above average make-up and special effects to keep The Dead Matter with the enjoyable range of the entertainment meter.

The Dead Matter reminded us a lot of the old 1980 second tier horror films such as Warlock and Wishmaster. Its production values are good enough to keep us involved and the film knows well enough not to take itself too seriously which only adds to the enjoyment factor.

Our particular liking was the storyline that dealt with a zombie that appears in Gretchen's bedroom and is controlled by commands by the beholder of the amulet. The zombie's attempts at drinking beer or eating snacks at the dinner table drive the humor at just the moment that The Dead Matter required an infusion of fresh air (zombie's are referred to as "Post-Mortem Americans" in the film's most noteworthy bit of humor).

Directed and edited by Edward Douglas, The Dead Matter also features a musical score by Midnight Syndicate (which Ed Douglas founded in 1996) and the music is definitely notable and predominates throughout the film's 89-minute running time. It often adds to the mood and accompanying CD of tracks is well worth the additional purchase.

Far from perfect, but far from an independent throw-away, The Dead Matter was a pleasant surprise – like a movie your eyes catch on a sleepless night and you can't turn away from.

www.killerreviews.com

What we have in this film is a seance, a book of grimoires, an ancient amulet, zombies, vampires and a vampire hunter that creates a really fun independent film that is sometimes humorous and other times creepy. Let's not forget that Tom Savini is in this film AND the movie has some of the very best Gothic music on film you will ever hear by Midnight Syndicate. If you don't take the film seriously, and just lighten up to kick back to an hour and a half of fun entertainment then you might really enjoy this movie. I really don't believe the film deserves this low of a rating it's getting.

I obtained this film in DVD format and it came with Midnight Syndicate's soundtrack for this movie plus it has their Halloween Collection CD! I would highly recommend the The Dead Matter: 3-Disc Deluxe Edition if you are wanting this film in your personal collection.

6/10

A group of teenagers perform a séance in the woods only to unleash a less than benevolent spirit into the world, or was it a dream? People like to have dreams in this movie. Anyway, the man bad guy, a vampire, wants to get an amulet that controls the dead from a member of said aforementioned teens who wants to make her dead brother return to life.

I found this movie to be very boring and a tad reminiscent of the overall better "Warlock" Unsurprisingly the seemingly always typecast Andrew Divoff does nothing to dissuade those notions. Having seen it on Instant Redbox, and not going out of my way to view this movie, I still felt ripped off.

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!