The Mental Dead (2003)
Review by Mitch Emerson
I am usually pretty hard on low budget horror films even though I admire the courage it takes to pick up a camera, get out there, and shoot a movie. Due to a recent discussion with Fatally-Yours.com’s own Dr. Royce Clemens, I learned that production values should not be the focus of a review of a film of this type. Unfortunately The Mental Dead lacks the other attributes as well, namely a plot and acting. So I will “discuss” all three aspects.
The film opens with four college kids in a car, one injured, in front of a high school overrun with zombies. Our heroes, Crash and Tyler, show up, convince the kids to go into the school where a lame game of cat and mouse begins. Will they survive? Who cares…
First – When a German actor has one of the most fake sounding German accents of all time it cannot be a good thing. Konrad Brattke’s death could not come soon enough, and I mean that literally. When we first meet him, he has already had his throat cut or bitten, which is spurting blood and yet it took him ten minutes to die. Our hero Tyler, played by Tim Moschini, has a penchant for standing around watching his friends be attacked for about 30 seconds before taking action. I would have forgiven this if it were a single instance, but it happens repeatedly. Our heroine Debra “Crash” Winger (I smell a lawsuit somewhere), is portrayed by the best of the bunch, Brie Bouslaugh. That isn’t saying much.
Continuity errors run rampant along with lack of story development, character development or any other kind of development for that matter. No reason or explanation is given as to where the zombies come from and while I understand that it would be difficult to show in a film with a running time of 60minutes, you could at least give the explanation in the opening voiceover. And, if you are going to make a “true story” film with “just released footage,” shouldn’t you at least acknowledge that there was a camera there? Now that may be a tad harsh with Cloverfield still in theaters, but even the Blair Witch Project, while overrated, did it better. I mean, zombies should not retain enough comprehension to flip the bird at somebody, am I right? And Halloween masks, scarves, and blankets do not make zombies.
Now I don’t want to have this be a completely bad review so let me say that the director Adam Deyoe has shown a hint of what could be called cinematic style. The use of different camera angles was creative as well as providing the only eerie atmosphere to be found. If Mr. Deyoe keeps developing his style, he may rise to the level of direct to video release and if he tries really hard, a Sci-Fi Channel original. But in all reality, I am probably being too kind.
This film seems more like a group of kids getting together on the weekends just messing around with a video camera and really should not have been released. Call it a practice film and show it to friends and family, but that’s about it. I watch ‘em so you don’t have to, but sometimes I wonder why. The best thing about The Mental Dead was the end credits. Seriously, with a credit for “stapling his hand to a desk,” you get my meaning.
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