Dead at the Box Office

This movie was so much fun! Classic "B" horror movie, well done without taking itself too seriously. The plot line was clever and original, yet included some of the best parts of the zombie "formula."

Two of the actors did a great job- Casey Kirkpatrick ("Eric") and Isaiah Robinson ("Curtis"). Who would have thought that cute kid from Hook would show up in an indy zombie flick? I also liked the use of public domain film and nods to cult classics.

After watching it, one of my main thoughts was that if this movie had had a Hollywood budget, it would have been a blockbuster. I really hope this troupe makes another flick!

When I first heard of this movie I didn't expect much, but after watching it I was very impressed. Any movie with Nazi's tied in is amazing! (ex. like Hellboy and Indiana Jones) I mean this movie costars one of the lost boys in HOOK! The special effects and makeup was very convincing and the directing was bar none. Dead at the Box office definitely pays homage to the the old school Romero movies, and Casey Kirkpatrick did an excellent job paying his respects to the Legend himself. This movie wasn't dragged out either and had a very cool and funny twist in the end. When I checked the features on the DVD...being a big fan of toxic crusader...seeing the owner of Troma giving his approval...paved the way for a good zombie killing fun.

As one of the lead characters stated, "I think it's fine to line bad movies," and I couldn't agree more. Granted, there are some lacking aspects to the movie; poor sound recording and thoroughly implausible ending for example. Still, I can gladly look past the flaws to what is right about the movie. For a low budget indi, it's special effects are good, the dialog is solid, and it's a fun movie. It takes a unique plot line while giving homage to many of the genre classics. This isn't trying to sell it self as a 'serious' scary movie. It's a light-hearted B movie that brings some laughs and fun to an evening. Mix with a little alcohol, and this can be a great movie night.

I can honestly say it is the most interesting and refreshing take on zombie films i have seen in years. It takes a tried and true film genre and puts a spin on it that will leave you actually wondering where a zombie film will go. While dialog can be long at times. What zombie film doesn't suffer from this. The special effects and action will quickly grab your attention.

But more then anything the well thought out story makes this one of my favorite independent films of all time. Zombie fan or not, Dead at the Box Office will leave you remembering what a good story can actually do for a film.

It's obvious that the people who made 'Dead At The Box Office' love B-movie horror. Overt references to the genre are peppered throughout, from stock characters (the authority figure who doesn't believe the monstrous invasion is really happening) to Kevin Smith style discussions to reenacting Duane Jones' last moments from 'Night of the Living Dead' not once but twice.

Unfortunately it takes more than love to make a good movie.

The staging and shot choice are unexciting and unimaginative. While a common admonition in film school is to avoid 'Mastershot Theatre,' telling the story completely in a wide master shot, here we find the obverse as in several sequences it's hard to figure out the spatial relationships between characters as the story is told in a series of medium shots with no establishing shot to tie it together. Editing is drab and basic and at times there are unmotivated cuts. The lighting is flat and sometimes muddy, making the scenes in the darkened theatre hard to make out (was there lighting, or was this shot with available light only?). Some shots are out of focus. The dialogue is trite, and the performances, for the most part, one-note (Isaiah Robinson shows some energy and screen presence as Curtis, and the fellow playing the projectionist has some pleasantly dickish line readings; Michael Allen Williams as the theater manager and Casey Kirkpatrick as enthusiastic film geek Eric have some nice moments). The premise is silly, even for a B horror flick (Also, it's too bad Dr Eisner was unaware of Project Paperclip - he could've saved himself a lot of trouble!). The 'zombies' are non-threatening, and their makeup is unconvincing (although the chunky zombie trying to get a gumball out of the machine raised a smile). For a zombie fan film, there is very little blood or violence, although what there is, is handled pretty well. The incidental music, while stylistically uneven, is kind of nice at times, and there are some good foley effects. The 'Time Warp' parody was a fun listen, although the images going along with it were less fun to watch. Unfortunately, the looped dialogue sounds flat. Was this shot non-sync (doubtful, it looks like video through and through)? I watched the special introduction by Troma Films' Lloyd Kaufman before the main feature - although it consisted essentially of Kaufman plugging his own stuff and admitting that he hadn't seen the movie while someone mugged in a Toxie mask, its production and entertainment values were higher than 'Dead...' itself (quick aside to whoever put the DVD together - the countdown on film leader beeps only on the flash-frame 2, not on every number plus one more after). For that matter, the vampire film theatregoers are seen watching early in 'Dead...' looked a lot more entertaining than this. Recommendation to avoid, unless you know someone involved in the production or are an ardent Lloyd Kaufman completist (he plays 'Kaufman the Minion' in the film-within-a-film).

(Full disclosure: my girlfriend is an extra in this movie. I swear this did not color my review.)