The Dead Half

Not horrible for a student film, but it kind of immediately pulled me out of it when I saw the girl who the large, pain killer gobbling, neck beard guy was supposedly dating. I'll believe in anything a movie has ever tried to sell me before I'll believe that he landed her. The film itself is as if you were actually behind the scenes just watching a couple of people with cameras while they were trying to cobble together a low rent movie. I was kind of hoping for "so bad it's good", but no such luck. Having a character say something is scary in the film doesn't make it scary, no matter how many times you do it. Having 15 straight minutes of psychic exposition isn't a great way to fill in blanks. But can't really even dump on it that much, it's unknown people out there brave enough to take a chance. And that's where some of the very best stuff comes from. This is just not it.

A locally made movie, not quite ready to make it on Fangoria. It's also a movie that wasn't a total flop either, unlike the 2013 big name and big budget Gravity. Aspiring directors can take the idea and run with it. Just remember kids; drugs and energy drinks are not a good combination.

When I decided to watch this on Prime, I'd just left yet another straight-to-stream "horror" film halfway through because it was just so stupid--that was three in a row. Prime suggested this one, so I went ahead.

Yes, it is clearly a very amateur film (a student film?). Yes, much of it feels improvised; there are questions left unanswered (what happened to the woman who was supposed to unlock the door? What is the plot of the movie they're supposed to be making, anyway?); and the characters are underdeveloped. (Much has been made of the hot girl/director relationship, which does indeed feel unbelievable, but could have been salvaged easily if the director character had a bit more depth--like if we discovered he was quite wealthy, or had Hollywood connections, or something. Perhaps if he was making this film to show a big producer what he could do, which would give his girlfriend more reason to be so possessive and add more urgency to the whole project.)

But I will say, this movie held my interest, and while some of the scares are a bit hit-or-miss, the underlying ghost story is pretty solid. In a world of "horror" movies that seem to think jump scares, gore, and special effects are all that's necessary to make a spooky movie, this one actually takes some time to tell a real story about what happened in the house. Sure, there are some inconsistencies with it, but so what? At least an effort was made to give the viewer a real payoff, and that's more than can be said for a lot of these tiny-budget horror films. I personally feel that if they'd had a bigger budget and a bit more time to work on the script, this could have been a very good little film.

Graded against great ghost movies like The Changeling or The Others, yes, this falls far short. Graded against other microbudget, straight-to-stream ghost movies (or even some bigger budget ones like Dear David), it's better than many I've seen (or quit watching halfway). Hollywood seems to have forgotten how to tell a good ghost story; this film at least knows what one requires, and tries to fulfill those elements, even if it doesn't do it perfectly.

Interesting for film students. The writing is actually not bad and could be used for a more well funded movie. A bigger budget ( at least more than the cost of a good used car ) would go more to the cast, and likely the director, than anything else.

Only four people had speaking roles; the two women did well ( although one scene should have been done over ), one of the two males was passable, while the other was quite poor through the entire movie. The worst actor did have his moment to shine towards the end and he almost rose to the task.

The most important thing to take away from a watch of this movie, is that you should always wear safety shoes when mucking about in haunted buildings that have been abandonned for a decade or so. You will see why if you spend some time with this movie. There is just enough there to make you say "Well, that was almost not bad" as the credits roll.

Casting was right on the money! The Super Sized lead actor was the epitome of a Film Major who lives in his Mom's basement, works at a video rental store and desperately dreams of being a movie director. Every video store had one back in the day. They were huge, girlfriendless and couldn't open a soda bottle without help, but they could list the entire cast of a 1923 movie, this guy LIVES that role. BUT he is a horrible actor!

The storyline is stereotypical right down to them leaving their cell phones in a drawer BEFORE they explore the haunted house! Talk about a classic trope overused in EVERY horror movie!!!

The scares are not scary, the dialogue is forced and unnatural and the characters are too overplayed: 1 the obsessed film buff, 2. The bitchy girlfriend who is suspicious of every other woman and distrustful of every man, 3 the goofy unserious male side kick and finally 4 the innocent ingénue who turns out to have a psychic connection!

It is all so predictable and sooooooo lame!!!!