The Dead Matter

When I found out about this movie, my interest was peaked and I was thrilled to find out about what Midnight Syndicate would muster to put into this movie.

And now having seen it, it is with a heavy heart that I must say that in my opinion, then Midnight Syndicate should stick to what they do so well, and that is making music - not movies! This movie was bad, plagued by a shallow storyline, unenthusiastic acting performances and generally a lack of appeal. I am sure that Midnight Syndicate meant well and tried their best, but the end result was just not that impressive.

And more so, it was just downright tacky the way they were self-promoting themselves throughout the movie; such as the ring-tone on a phone was a classic Midnight Syndicate tune, and the mentioning of the band when someone was looking at vinyl albums. It was just too sleazy the way they were subtly trying to promote themselves through the means of the storyline.

The story was mediocre at best, though it was heavy with stereotypical things, and it didn't really work out all that great. If they had stuck to just one type of classic horror creatures instead of two, it would have worked out much better. Either go with zombies or vampires, both of them together just doesn't really work out all that great.

And what was up with the horrible fake wig plastered to Andrew Divoff's head? It looked God-awful, and I was laughing most of the time when he was on the screen because of it. So it was hard to take this movie seriously. And it was far from anywhere near the usual performances that Andrew Divoff delivers in movies. It was cool to see Tom Savini in the movie, though, and that much credit is due to the movie.

"The Dead Matter" is a shallow movie experience that is thick with self-promoting from Midnight Syndicate. And for a horror movie, then it turned out to be as far as it could be from being a horror movie. It sort of resembled a parody of horror at best.

The one thing, and the best thing, that the movie had working for it, was - without any surprise - the music score / soundtrack. As always with Midnight Syndicate, you get some really great atmospheric and ambient music that emphasizes on the horror and occult aspect.

Tom Savini is the most noteworthy name in The Dead Matter, a new film promoted as 'From the producers of From Dusk Till Dawn'.

The Dead Matter that throws vampires, zombies, horror, comedy and the Gothic occult at its audience in hopes that enough sticks to warrant a cult-status following.

The Dead Matter throws vampires, zombies, horror, comedy and Gothic fantasy at its audience in a film that is promoted as being 'from the producers of From Dusk Till Dawn'. Tom Savini is the most noteworthy name in a film about a young woman named Gretchen (Sean Serino) who is desperate to connect with her dead brother and discovers an ancient amulet that has the power to control the dead.

The amulet is of particular interest to Vellich (Andrew Divoff of Wishmaster fame) – an ancient vampire who has yet to read fashion magazines informing him that 1980's hair is long out of style – and Sebed (Tom Savini of From Dusk Till Dawn) who are at odds in a feud that has spanned for eons.

Complicating matters for Vellich and Sebed is a vampire hunter named McCallister (Jason Carter) who will eventually team up with Gretchen and her three friends Mike, Jill and Frank in an attempt to keep the impending evil at bay. A confrontation of both parties will be the climax of the film's final chapters and will house a few surprises and some slightly above average make-up and special effects to keep The Dead Matter with the enjoyable range of the entertainment meter.

The Dead Matter reminded us a lot of the old 1980 second tier horror films such as Warlock and Wishmaster. Its production values are good enough to keep us involved and the film knows well enough not to take itself too seriously which only adds to the enjoyment factor.

Our particular liking was the storyline that dealt with a zombie that appears in Gretchen's bedroom and is controlled by commands by the beholder of the amulet. The zombie's attempts at drinking beer or eating snacks at the dinner table drive the humor at just the moment that The Dead Matter required an infusion of fresh air (zombie's are referred to as "Post-Mortem Americans" in the film's most noteworthy bit of humor).

Directed and edited by Edward Douglas, The Dead Matter also features a musical score by Midnight Syndicate (which Ed Douglas founded in 1996) and the music is definitely notable and predominates throughout the film's 89-minute running time. It often adds to the mood and accompanying CD of tracks is well worth the additional purchase.

Far from perfect, but far from an independent throw-away, The Dead Matter was a pleasant surprise – like a movie your eyes catch on a sleepless night and you can't turn away from.

www.killerreviews.com

Looked interesting and even had some potential talent on the listing. It should have been good but the script was completely awful. The directing and many of the scene setups weren't much better. Another movie bites the dust because the writer and director can't take the time to make it right. I'm not talking about spending money, just time and preparation, which often if not always do not require actors or other costs.

But this doesn't make sense. It has a ton of 10 star and 8 star ratings??? ... and yet a ton of 1 and 2 star. Hmm something is not right here. Look at that , so many of the high ratings were given by reviewers that only reviewed a single movie: this one! Nice to have a big family and circle of friends. And I hate bogus ratings.

What we have in this film is a seance, a book of grimoires, an ancient amulet, zombies, vampires and a vampire hunter that creates a really fun independent film that is sometimes humorous and other times creepy. Let's not forget that Tom Savini is in this film AND the movie has some of the very best Gothic music on film you will ever hear by Midnight Syndicate. If you don't take the film seriously, and just lighten up to kick back to an hour and a half of fun entertainment then you might really enjoy this movie. I really don't believe the film deserves this low of a rating it's getting.

I obtained this film in DVD format and it came with Midnight Syndicate's soundtrack for this movie plus it has their Halloween Collection CD! I would highly recommend the The Dead Matter: 3-Disc Deluxe Edition if you are wanting this film in your personal collection.

6/10

This is Edward Douglas first attempt to direct a flick. He surely knows his stuff because he is normally an music technician for a few horror flicks. By doing so he also knew the people inside the genre. By that we see Andrew Divoff (wishmaster) as a leading role and Tom Savini in a special role. The special effects were done by Robert Kurtzman, also known in the genre.

It's a weird flick to watch because we have all elements in it that you can think about, zombies, vampires, ouija boards, supernatural effects...It's even sometimes a bit funny to see, a vampire being attacked by a zombie. It's really not your average horror flick. But the effects used are really well done and that makes it watchable. Strangely, Andrew Divoff couldn't convince me. Due the names in it it wasn't really my thing nevertheless I enjoyed it on the , for me, funny parts if you know what I mean.

Gore 2/5 Nudity 0/5 Story 3/5 Effects 3/5 Comedy 2/5