Directed by: Thomas L. Phillips and Sean Simmons
Starring: Jason Brubaker, Gia Natale, Anthony Rutowicz
Plot: When a zombie plague infects Camp Special Dude, a dude ranch for the mentally handicapped, a ragtag band of campers and counselors struggles to survive the night. Led by the indifferent, nun-chuck-wielding head counselor, Mac, and his wheelchair-bound sister Dale, the unlikely heroes fight their way off the mountain as, one by one, they're picked off and join the ranks of the walking dead. It's a campy stampede of blood, boobs and gore as some "very special" people show that they can kick some serious undead ass. Taken from www.imdb.com.
Dale ends up dragging an electric chainsaw with an impossibly long extension cord down the mountain during the second act of the movie. It's one of those plot points that's so off the wall you just end up accepting it.Ah, we're back to zombie movies again. Okay so "Special dEaD" is an independent bad taste zombie comedy released in 2006 but has only recently been released on DVD. (only on amazon.com and no there's not just one copy, that's just the way they're selling it) I decided to review this movie because... well watch the trailer.
So basically the land that Camp Special Dude lies on has a cave that has water in it that turns anyone who drinks it into zombies. Apparently Cameron Stone (Larrs Jackson) found the land infested with zombies when he bought the place and cleared them of it.
But a dumb pothead with a bad case of tourettes syndrome trespasses, drinks the water and all hell breaks loose.
Apparently there's supposed to be a zombie there.The acting is surprisingly good for a movie of this caliber. Larrs Jackson is like a mixture of Wilford Brimley and Edward James Almos as the cigar chomping ranch owner Cameron. His lines are particularly memorable and the character just isn't featured enough in the movie.
Gia Natale and Anthony Rutowicz are funny and endearing as two mentally handicapped campers with a bit of an on-again off-again relationship. They're not as offensive as you might think and it's more of a joke that the people who aren't mentally challenged have a harder time getting through the night than they do.
Then of course there's Machiavelli Stone, the apathetic womanizing badass who is a mixture of Bruce Campbell and Charlie Sheen. Who wears his mirrored aviators for most of the movie, uses nunchucks for a weapon primarily, and manages to turn a zombie over to his side by making out with her.
Tobias Bruckner, the early years.
The effects are both good and bad. While the zombies are quite well done with peeling skin, tangled hair, and sharp teeth and there's definitely no shortage of blood, that's about all there is. Any zombie you actually see killed on-screen is bludgeoned to death while any that are shot, stabbed, sliced, or otherwise mutilated are just shown by zooming in on the actor being sprayed with blood.
With only brief appearances by effects such as an arm caught in a door being repeatedly stabbed, a machete jabbed through a zombie, and a few squibs here and there the effects are sparse. But this can all be ignored by just not paying that much attention. You won't notice it most times unless you're looking for it.
Gia Natale and Anthony Rutowicz are funny and endearing as two mentally handicapped campers with a bit of an on-again off-again relationship. They're not as offensive as you might think and it's more of a joke that the people who aren't mentally challenged have a harder time getting through the night than they do.
Then of course there's Machiavelli Stone, the apathetic womanizing badass who is a mixture of Bruce Campbell and Charlie Sheen. Who wears his mirrored aviators for most of the movie, uses nunchucks for a weapon primarily, and manages to turn a zombie over to his side by making out with her.
Tobias Bruckner, the early years.The effects are both good and bad. While the zombies are quite well done with peeling skin, tangled hair, and sharp teeth and there's definitely no shortage of blood, that's about all there is. Any zombie you actually see killed on-screen is bludgeoned to death while any that are shot, stabbed, sliced, or otherwise mutilated are just shown by zooming in on the actor being sprayed with blood.
With only brief appearances by effects such as an arm caught in a door being repeatedly stabbed, a machete jabbed through a zombie, and a few squibs here and there the effects are sparse. But this can all be ignored by just not paying that much attention. You won't notice it most times unless you're looking for it.
Yo, she-bitch. Let's go.The storyline is perfectly hokey yet at the same time serious enough to make the movie work. The only real problems are that the story suffers a bit of a dead-zone midway through and an adequate sense of danger is never quite felt.
The comedy is well written with things like the first zombie still suffering from his tourettes and the way you can tell he's near being to hear him cursing, pretty much ever line by Mac and Cameron as well as pretty much every scene with Mac, the character Eriq who was being sent to a court-ordered boot camp but wound up at Camp Special Dude by mistake, and the character Oswald playing a song on his guitar around the campfire about all the old sitcom women he wants to have sex with ending the song with "It doesn't matter what I say, you're all retarded anyway."
The thing is, except for brief moments, it's not all that offensive or controversial. Yes there are people in the movie who are acting mentally challenged but I found more offensive material in "The Ringer" than this movie.
This picture summarizes the film nicely"Special dEaD" is a fun little indy-horror film with good writing, good acting, and a fairly well put together plot and only its special effects hold it back from a perfect score.
I give "Special dEaD" a 4 out of 5. You should see this movie as soon as possible.
I give "Special dEaD" a 4 out of 5. You should see this movie as soon as possible.
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