Dead & Rotting

Some low budget movies hit, some miss.  Unfortunately Dead & Rotting misses for the most part.  Luckily, where it hits, is where most fans of the z-grade horror films want it to.  Filled with lots of blood and gore and one gorgeous witch... well 50% of the time gorgeous, the film delivers.  But when it comes to acting, production value and story, it really misses.

Three prankster buddies release the wrath of an aged witch, Abigail, when they unwittingly become accomplices to the murder of her son.  Scheming in anger, the witch transforms herself into a nubile young woman and seduces the three friends. The trysts bear seed to the men's own destruction as Abi uses their ill-born spawn to create avenging ghouls. Death and rot are left in Abi's wake...

Dead and Rotting is presented to us in anamorphic widescreen at an aspect ratio of 1.85:1.  This shot on digital video film has been "film looked" and I have to assume that it is from this process, that most of the problems stem forth.  Because it was a digital to digital transfer, the video should look as intended.  But if this is how the makers of the film intended it to look, then I think they need to see a doctor.  The image is grainy, full of video noise and artifacting.  I personally found it a little difficult to watch.  The colours were very good and the black levels nicely detailed.  But if it weren't for the fact that I think this is how the film is supposed to look, I would have given it a rating of 2 maximum.  I'm guessing they tried to make the film muddier to hide it's imperfections.  What I think they managed to do was make a low budget film look even cheaper then had they just left it as a clean transfer.  Live and learn guys.

One never knows what to expect from a 5.1 track from a low budget film but this one was pretty pleasing to my ears.  The surround efforts found during the film were actually well used for the most part.  The score is nicely recreated even if I didn't care much for it.  Dialogue was generally clean, crisp and clear but at times, it was a bit overwhelmed by the surrounds and almost drowned out. 

If you're as into special features as I am, then this DVD is sure to please.  Tempe Entertainment has released a DVD that is worthy of the moniker special edition.  First up is a full length commentary with actor Tom Hoover, "ghoul" David Greathouse as well as writer/director David P. Barton.  There is quite a bit of interesting information supplied during this commentary and had the movie been a tad better I probably would have enjoyed the commentary a bit more.  The next extra is 28 minutes worth of behind-the-scenes footage! That's a pretty long piece as far as behind-the-scenes featurettes go.  There's a 14 minute interview with David P. Barton.  Again, you learn some interesting things here from Mr. Barton's past. "Makeup FX behind the scenes" is even more behind-the-scenes footage.  This time it concentrates on the makeup and physical effects. This is then followed by "Early Makeup FX Footage" by  a 20 something year old David Barton so if you're into behind-the-scenes type features, then this DVD is possibly one of the better ones. "Howard Street Blues" is an 11 minute early film by David P. Barton.  I'm guessing he was in high school or something when he made it.  Amateur and pretty horrible but an interesting extra similar to the early films on M. Night DVDs.  There's a Makeup FX Still Gallery and a Production Still Gallery which together total over 60 images.  Last are some trailers for Ozone, Eddie Presley, Hell Asylum, Bloodletting, Townies, Skinned Alive, Witchouse 3: Demon Fire and of course Dead & Rotting.
 

Dead & Rotting, though brought to us by two of the best low budget companies in Tempe and Full Moon, really does miss the mark.  The look of the film on the DVD is rather poor, the audio is a little too aggressive and the story suffers.  The acting, directing etc. are bad and that's somewhat expected from these types of films but this one is beyond just bad, it's Dead & Rotting.  Fans of Tempe and Full Moon films probably already own this DVD but for those fans who haven't seen it yet, I suggest a rental before purchase.  If you're not very knowledgeable when it comes to Tempe or Full Moon films, then I wouldn't bother with this film until you've managed a few of the better releases from either company.  Try Witchouse 3 or Ozone from Tempe or the Puppetmaster and Subspecies series' from Full Moon.  Then, if you're still interested, you should be knowledgeable enough to make it through Dead & Rotting without turning it off 10 minutes in.