[Dead Mary]
Plot:For Kim (Dominique Swain) it was supposed to be the perfect reunion and weekend getaway. She and her best friends drive to a remote lakeside cabin to reminisce about their college days. When the group decides to play the ghoulish game "Dead Mary" they mistakenly unleash a vengeful spirit that possesses them one by one. As the demon forces them to turn on one another, each is faced with a choice. Would you hack your best friend to pieces to ensure your own survival? Well...would you?

Cast: Marie-Josee Colburn, Jefferson Brown, Maggie Castle, Steve McCarthy, Reagan Pasternak, Dominique Swain.

My Thoughts:Great movie!

Review:"Dead Mary" is one of those rare films that takes an old premise, and an old scenario and makes something refreshing and new out of it. Most importantly though, something enjoyable. The picture plays out in the beginning like a "Friday the 13th" sequel. A group of kids head up to a cabin in the woods to smoke pot, and screw around. The usual behaviors of teenagers or young adults in a horror film. Writers Peter Sheldrick and Christopher Warre Smets make sure to lay out the inner issues and flesh out the characters before we get to the gory stuff though. This works to the movies advantage, as when things do finally get good...and paranoia and mistrust run rampant, it makes alot more sense and plays out in a much more intense fashion thanks to the foundation and the base it has to build upon. These people all are friends, but have very serious issues with one another Kim (Dominque Swain) and her boyfriend Matt Jefferson Brown have just broken up, which Matt's friends give him grief over seeing as how they think breaking up at this point in time will put a damper on the groups fun and games. Meanwhile infidelity issues plague the rest of the group. Infidelity issues which also tie into Kim and Matt's relationship as well. So as you can see, it's a pretty shaky truce these people have with one another. But as I said it works well within the movie (more on that later). One thing about "Dead Mary" though is it's certainly unoriginal in just as many ways as it is original. It steals alot from "Friday the 13th" with the woodsy setting, and he constant camera shots suggesting someone or something is watching everyone go about their business early on. It also steals from "Candyman" and the infamous Bloody Mary legend. In this movie though, she's referred to as "Dead Mary". Being that these kids are drunk and stoned out of their minds their first night at the cabin, of course they cannot resist playing the game when one member of the group suggests saying "Dead Mary" name 5 times to the mirror in the bathrom as an attempt to make the night more interesting. It isn't long before this genius idea leads to trouble, but the scenes in which it takes place suggest that the trouble has already begun. As some people take longer to exit the bathroom than others, hinting at the possibility of some of the group possibly being instantly posessed. The shaky relationship between the group of friends I referred to earlier comes into play nicely with the sotry once the first victim turns up dead in the woods after leaving his bed late at night to investigate a strange noise outside the cabin. It isn't long after his death, and a pretty awesome scene where the dead character comes back to life as one of the undead to reveal a few secrets...before everyone starts to accuse one another of the murder. Also the fact that he came back to life begins to strengthen the paranoia within the group, who after figuring out that the dead mary game they played the previous night was apparently more than just a legend...start wondering if their fellow cabinmates are too posessed. This eventually leads to one female character being locked inside a closet for most of the movie by her own friends. The interesting thing about "Dead Mary" is we never learn anything about the entity terrorizing and posessing these kids. It's just implemented into the film as a vengeful spirit, but at the same time certainly not one you'd want near you or inside you at all. As usual with this genre though, the film does show a few flaws with it's antagonist. The spirit can be passed on through a bite or mouth to mouth contact, and the posessed person cannot die unless by fire. The usual rules of evil spirits, that we've seen layed out in countless other horror films. Dominique Swain as Kim gives a strong performance as a girl who goes through alot of different emotions within the film. Emotions brought about by revelations from friends, and of course the death and chaos happening all around her. She does have her badass moments (particularly one at the very end of the film)...but at the same time the writers are very careful not to overdo it with her character, keeping her tough yet vulnerable throughout the film. In the end, "Dead Mary" wraps up nicely which came as a surprise to me because looking at the material, it left alot of opportunities for a twist ending, or some kind of cheesy open ending. But kudos to the two man writing team for ending the film on a clear and resolute note.

Positives:Solid story, good performances (particularly by Dominique Swain), and a pretty convicing antagonist.

Negatives:Theres a tad bit too much dialogue in the first 20 minutes or so of the picture. It might bore some viewers.

Overall:A very surprising direct to dvd supernatural horror film, that was much better than I had expected.





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