Post by Mr.HoRrOr on Feb 14, 2005 21:20:32 GMT -5
Plot:6 Friends stop at a bed and breakfast in the small little town of Lovelock. When the Inn owner and chef are both found brutally murdered the next morning, the 6 friends find themselves under investigation by the local sheriff. Things get even worse when 1 of them accidentally opens a box which contains an evil spirit. Now the towns residents are becoming possessed 1 by 1, leaving the 6 friends holed up in the B&B, and caught in a fight for survival against the slew of undead.
Cast:
Ever Carradine
Brent David Fraser
David Carradine
Bianca Lawson
Jeffrey Dean Morgan
Erik Palladino
Oz Perkins
Gina Philips
Jeremy Sisto
Diedrich Bader
Portia de Rossi
Vincent Ventresca
Mark Kelly
Miranda Bailey
My thoughts:I didn't know what to expect with this movie. I hadn't really heard much about it, except that it was along the lines of "Evil Dead 2". Now that I've seen it, I think this is one awesome horror comedy.
Review:After an intro of bloody drawings and sketches of a massacre, the film opens with six friends who are driving to a wedding. David, is the guy whos sister is getting married. Ironically enough, hes also the first victim the evil spirit claims. They get weary of the road trip, so they pull into a B&B (Bed and breakfast) in a small town called Lovelock. It's here where the pervervial shit hits the fan. It's here that we are introduced to a singing cowboy (the films comedy relief), and a creepy drifter (obvious red herring who plays a vital role as the film progresses). "Dead and Breakfast" boasts a unique and nice young teaming of young C list hollywood, with 1 A lister thrown in. We get Gina Phillips (Jeepers Creepers-Whos character knows sign language and french), Ever Carradine (Jay&Sil Bob Strike Back), Jeremy Sisto (Wrong Turn), Bianca Lawson (Bones-she plays the bridesmaid of Davids sister), Erik Pallidino (Legally Blonde), and soon after they enter the B&B, we are introduced to the one and only David Carradine, who plays Mr Wise, the B&B owner. The B&B chef Henri, is played by Diedrich Bader who was also in (Jay and Sil Bob strike back). This movie boasts it's offbeat attitude by having Baders character being a frenchman, who in reality, would be an out of place person in a small redneck town. Sara (Ever Carradine) stumbles upon Mr Wise watching over a mysterious box. This box is a key element in the story. The jist of the box is basically this. The spirit of Wises son which died as a fetus, is imprisoned in the box. Apparently Wise figured he'd atleast be able to keep his sons spirit with him always. But we later learn that this spirit named the Kumanthong, can wreak havoc if not nurtured properly. Wise and Henri turn up dead the following morning, and before the kids can say *Lets get the fuck outta dodge*, they're suspects in a murder investigation. The film then follows the usual horror movie cliche, when the drifter (whos carrying a mysterious book) seen earlier in the film, winds up getting busted for the murders. This film takes a different route from other horror comedies. It gives us the comedy first, and then the horror mixed with the comedy. It also works on that level, since the comedic scenes are actually that, comedic. I found myself laughing and snickering at alot of them early on. One really funny one comes when Gina Phillips all of a sudden knows sign language, and is able to communicate with the B&B's mute gardener. They use all the typical redneck humor and every small town folk cliche in the book such as jokes about foreigners, people with horrid looking teeth, etc in this movie, which work perfectly since the dialogue is surprisingly sharp and well delivered. Since they're stuck in the town thanks to the murders, the gang decides to look around a bit. At this point, we are introduced to a few of the towns quirky residents. (Props to the actors who played all of the townspeople for their eerily identical portrayal of redneck small town folk). One of the towns residents who we meet when Sara and Christian visit the town hall of records, and stumble upon some interesting info about Mr Wise, is quite a funny character named Lisa Belmont, who works at the towns Hall of Records. The zombie action doesn't begin until David accidentally knocks over the mysterious box of Mr Wise, while sneaking through a bedroom window. Thus he is the first to become possessed by the Kumanthong spirit. The film kicks into high gear from this point on, and gets really gory and bloody as newly possessed David goes on a killing spree all the way up until a hoe down going on on the other side of town where one of the films bloodiest and funniest scenes take place. Despite the horror element kicking in, the comedy element still remains strong, and the two mix very well as the film progresses. Another thing about this mysterious box of Mr Wises, is that any limb such as an ear, blood, or hair of a person placed inside it, will turn that person into one of the possessed. Soon whats left of the gang, and the local sheriff find themselves holed up inside the lovelock B&B. The film gets even more entertaining, as where most films would drop off a bit and start to lag, the films comedy and horror aspects both kick into high gear for the long haul.This is also where Ever Carradines character kicks all kinds of ass, while shes saving the asses of most of her friends. She even shows flashes of Bob Vila when she builds a prehistoricish shotgun like device to help take out the zombies. Our mysterious drifter friend shows back up thanks to the local sheriff. He spills the whole story about the box, and how to defeat the possessed once and for all. The final 20+ minutes or so of "Dead and Breakfast" takes from "Demon Knight", with the survivors holed up in the B&B trying to keep the demons out, and killing the ones who make it in or come close to making it in, with the mechanics of Mr Wises box making things interesting for those trapped inside the B&B, our Hall of Records friend making one last just-in-the-nick-of-timeish appearance , and Ever Carradines character kicking more demon ass right up until the very end.
Pros:This movie works on a whole new level as a horror comedy. I think it sets a whole new standard. It used tired old redneck cliches, but because of the way the dialogue was delivered, and the way the jokes were set up, I found them more funny, than stale and boring.
The film also delivered some new twists as far as the comedical scenes went. All of the intentionally funny characters played their parts well. Nice gore and blood, and surprisingly good acting by everyone involved. I also liked the mythos behind the box, and how if part of anyone was placed inside, it could possess them. Quite a unique plot device, compared to most horror films were demonic possession occurs from a bite, kiss, or the persons death at the hands of the possessed. The films 3 main females were good looking, and Portia De Rossi makes a cameo in what is a very funny scene. One of the films biggest pros, no gratuitous sex or love making scenes tossed in for the sake of just having them in there. This film had no sex or nudity beyond some innuendo, but I for one am glad they didn't just throw any in there at inappropriate or abrupt moments, just so they can say *We have sex scenes in our movie*.Also look out for a very funny scene when the zombies do a dance number right in the middle of trying to get to the kids inside the B&B, and one guy going nuts with 2 hammers to keep the demons away from a pool of blood of his. The singing cowboy also becomes a cowboy/rapper once hes posessed. You've gotta see it to believe it.
Cons:Hard to find any bad things about this movie. One minor adjustment they could've made was not killing Bianca Lawsons character. She kind of grew on me near the end.
Overall:An excellent and brilliant horror comedy with a great cast of young actors who all play their parts very well. I'm shocked this film hasn't found a distributor yet, among all the crap like "Boogeyman" and "Alone in the Dark", thats getting released these days. If released into theatres, and given the right ad campaign, I can see it making a pretty nice profit. Not massive, but a moderately large or pretty significant bank. If this film gets picked up, and released into theatres, I recommend you check it out. It's a real treat.