"Ever since I met you, my life's turned into a Thriller vide
H. Bala | Carson - hey, we have an IKEA store! - CA USA | 02/04/2007
(3 out of 5 stars)
"To put it bluntly, DEAD AND DEADER manages to barely rise above that prevailing cinematic sludge of tired, played-out, low budgeted zombie flicks. A 2006 Sci-Fi Channel original movie (something this film shouldn't really take pride in), this one offers nothing new but still isn't all that bad as far as horror features go. It's certainly gory enough as limbs and other body parts are torn pretty indiscriminately and frequently. Dean Cain, far removed from his LOIS & CLARK glory days and, it seems, also far removed from a 24 Hour Fitness gym, rises above his acting resume and provides a dazzlingly mediocre turn as the show's undead hero. It's a good thing he brought funnyman Guy Torry with him, who provides wingman duties and those traditional sidekick jokes. Incidentally, Star Trek actors are in deeper financial straits than I thought if they've sunk to popping up in low budget servings such as this (John Billingsley and Armin Shimerman).
Not to make a lame zombie pun, but here come the SPOILERS. When a Special Forces combat unit does a recon at a Cambodian site which has lost contact with headquarters, the soldiers shockingly encounter ravenous, flesh-eating creatures. They engage the ghouls only to be rapidly overwhelmed. The only survivor is Lieutenant Bobby Quinn (Dean Cain), whose body is recovered and is pronounced DOA. However, Quinn revives just before he's buzzsawed into for autopsy, to the medic's casual disbelief. After Quinn uses a scalpel to carve a scorpion out of his forearm and after the forearm subsequently heals itself, Quinn and the medical officers begin to smell something funny (and, no, it's not the forearm).
Suffice to say, Quinn very rapidly realizes he's become part zombie and is now endowed with superstrength and a healing factor. And, as long as he chomps down on some raw, red meat every now and then, he's copacetic. Of course, he does still sport that pasty complexion and still has a tendency to spew green blood. The rest of the negligible plot involves Quinn, a wisecracking military mess cook (Guy Torry), and a feisty bartender honey (Susan Ward) battling the undead as they strive to curtail the spreading zombie infection.
There isn't one original note here, not one. When the movie doesn't have its military characters reduced to spouting trite phrases such as "Stay frosty," it indulges in uninspired B-movie cliches. The special effects and stunts are universally cheesy, the dialogue corny, the acting performances pretty ho-hum (although Susan Ward is very, very nice to ogle at). But, having said all that, DEAD AND DEADER isn't all bad. Lower your expectations - or, realizing that it's a Dean Cain feature, maintain your normal level of expectations - and you'll be fine. Just stay frosty. Viewers will either enjoy Torry's one liners or be irked by them. To me, though, the film's funniest line isn't from Torry. It occurs when Quinn almost gobbles down his cute bartender friend and he apologizes by saying, "You know what they say, the fastest way to a man's heart is thru his stomach." I give this one two and half rotting and infectious stars.
"
Not Bad for the Sci Fi Channel.
Creature Fan | USA | 08/03/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"If you're a Dean Cain fan or you enjoy the Sci Fi Saturday night movies you'll probably like this. What do zombies and scorpions have to do with one another find out for the first time here. The movie doesn't seem to take itself to serious and has a fun tone. If you only like Romero zombies or Fulci zombies or even today's fast moving living dead this movie will not be your thing. If you like to mix it up and not have high expectations Dead and Deader will probably surprise you in some spots."