Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

Have you ever ventured into the world of indie horror films? Do you want to? Do you like zombies and cheese and lots of gore? Then Dead and Breakfast is definitely for you!

Actually, I had no idea what to expect when I rented this film. I hadn’t really heard anything about it beyond the fact that it was supposed to be hilarious. It’s coming out on DVD this Tuesday, September 6th, and I don’t know about Blockbuster but I do know that Hollywood Video (where I am, um, happily employed) is carrying it. So while an indie film it is readily available. And it is so worth renting.

The film’s plot is pretty typical, it’s a satire so they play with the formulaic nature of horror movies. A group of twenty-somethings is traveling cross-country to a friend’s wedding. They get lost and are forced to hole up at this creepy bed and breakfast for the night. Then, in the middle of the night, the bed and breakfast’s cook is found violently murdered and the owner is found dead of a heart attack. The redneck sheriff won’t let the kids leave and, of course, it just gets worse from there.

There are zombies. Or well, they’re not technically zombies. They’re people possessed by an evil spirit. So yeah, zombies that can think and have maintained most of their motor skills.

But if the plot is so standard, what makes this movie so special? Well first of all, the writing is really pretty decent. There’s a lot of cheese but most of it is really entertaining. It’s all very tongue in cheek so the cheese doesn’t detract from the film. It’s hard to avoid cheese in horror films, especially low budget ones. So these guys just embraced it. And it works.

What also works is the acting. Again, there is cheese but as with the writing it all works. The film actually has a great cast. There is Jeremy Sisto, who I think deserves a lot more attention than he gets, Ever Carradine, who isn’t amazing but is really badass, Erik Palladino, who is completely hot, Oz Perkins, totally creepy, and cameos by David Carradine and Portia De Rossi. Gina Phillips, who plays the innocent Melody, is okay but not great. She’s really just kind of bland. Brent David Fraser, who plays the mysterious drifter, could have also had more presence. Other than that though, they were all great. Ever Carradine was hilarious with her facial expressions and Jeremy Sisto was amazing as always. Everyone else was solid and I particularly liked Miranda Bailey as the militant town records keeper.

And of course, part of what makes this film so special is it’s ridiculous use of blood and gore. It’s hilarious and totally gross at the same time. I loved it! The blood is excessive and the film goes all out in exploiting the humor of the situations. And dude, it’s a town full of hicks. Hicks that turn into not-zombies. Hicks that square dance. Hicks that square dance after they have turned into not-zombies. I kid you not. There is a dance sequence. And the best part is that the characters who are fighting them off call them on it. The exchange goes something like “what the heck are they doing?” “Dancing I think.”

There is also the brilliant ventriloquist gag. One of the characters is decapitated and the lead not-zombie spends the rest of the movie carrying around the head and making it talk. Yeah, I know that’s kind of gross. But I thought it was also really, really funny.

I also enjoyed the musical narration and the comic book like intertitles. I thought the opening credits were really, really well done and the continued use of the cards throughout the movie worked well. They were never over done, they helped maintain the tone and the pacing. So rather than breaking up the film they helped it flow.

What I really liked about Dead and Breakfast is that it was able to be a satire of horror films while maintaining its originality. A lot of films in the genre that try to be clever and fill themselves with references to past films end up being overly derivative and boring. Dead and Breakfast, while containing the obvious references to films like The Evil Dead and Night of the Living Dead, is still creative and always very entertaining. The creativity is in how exactly the plot played out, it’s in the writing, it’s definitely in the song writing (I did mention the musical narration, right?), it’s in the use of blood.

The film is also just very well made. It obviously had high production value, even with a low budget, and it’s incredibly solid. It really just looks good. The settings, the cinematography, everything.

To me, it feels like a lot of love and care went into this film. It also looks like it was a blast to make. I think those things come across on the screen and add to the viewing experience. The movie doesn’t take itself seriously and it’s all just a lot of fun. For the other horror fans out there, I definitely recommend renting it and I myself will probably go out and buy it. It’s really that good.


Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for Groups