Dead and Gone (2008) Reviews

• Different, but not necessarily in a good way...

  medusa-412008-06-30

  Watched it on DVD without knowing anything about it, there was no plot synopsis, no rating, nor any comments on IMDb as I inserted this disc on its release date. Early on it is clear that it is very low budget, I later learned that it was approx. $500,000. The video is of sharp quality but without Hollywoodesque professional lighting. That part might actually please some viewers. An interesting shamble of actors show up for this one, several B celebrities from various professions who may or may not be known to you. I particularly liked the female law enforcer, mainly because of her looks; but also because of something else in her character. The acting in this film, while unimpressive, is not the problem. The main story is thin and its background story alike, but this isn't the problem either. Many aspects of this movie are found lacking, such as the dialogue, but not lacking enough to make me dislike the film. No, the problems I perceived were about pacing, logic and the lack of ever coming close to being scary. Because that is how I like my horror movies - scary. This one isn't. I cannot recommend it to anyone in particular, but horror fans like myself will watch this regardless of warnings. So I wish you pleasant viewing. :)

• Just not scary, gory or in anyway original.

  StudioLAX2008-07-11

  Perhaps I shouldn't be writing a review as I had to turn off after about forty minutes due to the total lack of originality, terrible pacing, and the incredibly poor attempts to copy Japanese horror shock tactics. In addition the acting was largely terrible with the exception of the female lead who was interesting and likable both in appearance and acting style. I couldn't decide what was more wooden, the cabin or the leading man who I was surprised to find was an experienced UK TV actor (although I'd never seen him in anything) and not a friend of the director who had never acted before. Ironically the character he played was an artist who had a shot at Hollywood stardom and blew it because he "sucked" at acting, I suspect real life will mirror art. CGI was quite good for such a low budget film however prosthetic effects looked like body parts from shop dummies. Despite all the negatives the visual style and lighting were particularly good as in places was the editing although the use of Matrix style speed ramping was completely out of place given the nature of the story. As is becoming the practice with such films I suspect the other rave reviews are from people connected with the production (when will I learn not to believe them). Maybe this is why I'm being so harsh, you people have to stop doing this I simply can't believe anyone with any knowledge of modern horror could give this film a positive review.

• A Clever Offering

  66butch2008-06-28

  I just finished watching this and I must comment on how well this film worked. I walked into it with no expectations, and walked away feeling like, finally, there's some hope for the horror genre yet. Even with a relatively low budget, the movie had good story, decent acting, gore, and none of the generic cliché moments that plague today's teeny horror films. With a nod or two, some purists will see the links with films such as Amityville Horror, The Shining, Poltergeist, Evil Dead 2 & even the Troma classic Mother's Day. If you are a fan of the brilliant style of horror from the mid 80's, you will not be disappointed in the styling, story, and cinematography of this film.

• My Review

  joemamaohio2008-09-30

  Forty years after a man kills his wife, children, and himself, Jack Wade (Quentin Jones) brings his ailing wife to the secluded cabin to kill her, because she's a famous actress and he doesn't have any money. As he spends more time there alone, he starts slipping into insanity, and soon his well thought out plan becomes his living nightmare. Boring! Nothing new, nothing exciting, nothing original, nothing worth remembering. It's a movie you'll forget you saw 20 minutes after watching it. The only cool thing was the addition of Felissa Rose as Jack's attorney (and wannabe love interest), since she's a staple in horror movie history (see "Sleepaway Camp" and you'll know what I mean).

• Oddball horror thriller.

  poolandrews2010-02-13

  Dead and Gone is set in Desert Wells, Nevada where failed actor Jack Wade (Quentin Jones) takes his comatose wife Frankie (Kathrine Bates) to the run down cabin he won in a poker game after all of their money ran out, Jake has to care for Frankie himself after Frankie's family have cut them out of her estate leaving him penniless. There are a few other locals including pretty Ranger Kate Edison (Gillian Shure) whom he starts to have an affair with, however despite warnings that bad things happen at the cabin Jake stays & starts to experience disturbing visions of his wife Frankie up & walking around taunting him. Jake finally snaps & kills Frankie but she doesn't want to stay dead & to protect his secret he has to kill again as the visions increase & become more bizarre, then Kate finds out the truth about Jake & the pieces begin to fit the puzzle... Directed by Yossi Sasson this is an odd little horror thriller, I got the feeling while watching Dead and Gone that the makers weren't quite sure what it wanted to be & I still feel that way. Is it a horror film? Is it a psychological thriller? Is it a dark comedy? I don't know really, I suspect it's an uncomfortable mix of all three none of which are done particular justice. The plot never really comes together, it's never really explained if what happens is down to the supernatural, to Jake cracking up under pressure, whether it's because of all the drugs Jake takes or if it was all planned & things just went awry a little. In fact it could be a mixture of all those reasons or something else entirely, who know's. There are affairs, murders, fraud, ghost's & attempted rape all taking place in or around an old cabin in the woods. I just didn't think the various subplots & narrative came together that well, it leaves you asking just as many questions as are answered by the time the end credits roll (by the way keep watching once the end credits start as they get interrupted to show Penny turn up at the cabin &, well... find out for yourself). At just over 80 minutes in length it moves along at a reasonable pace & it's something a bit different but that doesn't automatically mean it's any good. It's never explained why Jake sees a vision of his wife Frankie before he kills her yet only sees visions of the other's after he kills them & the ending is open for interpretation as it's unclear whether Kate is now under the influence of the house or not or why she deliberately killed Jake. The film looks alright but the isolated backwoods cabin is an often used location & nothing here is particularly distinguished. The gore is lacking, there's a cut off arm, a severed hand, a decapitated head & a bit of blood but nothing else. Dead and Gone also perpetuates the horror film cliché that all rednecks have bad teeth & will have sex with anything that moves even if it's the same gender. There's one brief sex scene but there's no proper nudity on show. With a supposed budget of about $500,000 this was low budget & for that money it looks good & has decent production values & effects. Apparently filmed in Hollywood in Los Angeles. The acting is alright, it's nothing special but it will suffice. Dead and Gone is an odd little film that doesn't really know what it wants to be or who to appeal to, while not the worst film out there it's not brilliant by any stretch of the imagination & it just doesn't quite manage to satisfy on any level.