Customer Reviews

Already Dead

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

While the current trend in scary movies seems to be becoming the property of the Computer Generated Graphics industry, real terror comes from studying the possibilities of a human mind scarred by trauma. Such is the material that makes ALREADY DEAD a frightening film - a revenge story by Robert Lynn Archer transformed for the screen by Joe Chappelle and directed imaginatively by Joe Otting. If the theme of a citizen taking justice into his own hands is not new, it wears well enough when we consider the current state of criminal justice as portrayed in the media today.

Thomas Archer (Ron Eldard) is living a successful, happy life until a burglary associated with the death of the babysitter and his son and the beating of his wife disrupts everything. Thomas is informed that the police don't have the manpower to investigate the killings, a fact that further enrages Thomas who is unable to work or function in his grief state. He is referred to a therapist Dr. Heller (Christopher Plummer) who oddly counsels him that perhaps the only way Thomas can get on with his life is to do everything in his power to track the killer down on his own. 'Arrangements' are made with a group of men (mostly frustrated cops) who inform Thomas that for a large fee they will take him to the killer and he can act on his vengeance. Transported by cellphone instructions to a deserted warehouse, Thomas encounters a bound and gagged man (Til Schweiger) who he is told is the killer of his son. Thomas begins his torture of the man only to gradually discover that the man does not bear the arm tattoo Thomas had clearly seen on the perpetrator. Dr. Heller is called to the scene and encourages Thomas to kill the suspect, but Thomas has enough doubt that he frees the suspect and together they begin a terrifying journey out of the maze-like warehouse. The ending may not come as a complete surprise, but it is the telling of the story as basically a character study between the two men that makes the film powerful.

Both Ron Eldard and Til Schweiger are completely convincing in their not so disparate roles: they both have very strong screen presences and with minimal dialog manage to take us, the audience, along with this creepy 'game'. There is some violence to be sure, but the terror of the film emanates more from the interaction of Eldard and Schweiger, each showing the extremes the bruised psyche can display. Not a great film but a film far above the routine 'horror picture' category. Grady Harp, March 08

I can't believe that this movie wasn't released theatrically. It was one of the best thrillers I've seen in years and was full of great suspense. With so many predictable movies out there, it's nice to see something that actually surprised me with really good plot twists. Til Schweiger was just amazing - - a real "career maker" for him.

If you did nothing but look at the description of this film on the cover you'd think you were getting a rehash of DEATH WISH or DEATH SENTENCE. But you'd be wrong. This movie takes that idea of revenge on someone who has harmed or killed your family and turns it on its ear.

Ron Eldard starts as a successful architect who comes home one night with his wife to find the baby sitter dead and his son on the floor of his room. When he goes in, the killer attacks him, leaving him drifting into unconsciousness as his son dies and attacking his wife.

Scarred by the loss of their child and unable to cope with the stress it puts on both his wife and himself, he takes his frustrations out on the detective who lets him know there is little chance of finding the killer. To avoid jail time, Eldard agrees to see a counselor who handles cases like these (Christopher Plummer).

After several sessions nothing has changed. As he tells Plummer about his frustrations at not being able to move on, at his inability to do nothing more than want revenge for what happened to his family, Plummer presents him with an offer. It seems he has connections with a group that is willing to track down the killer and place him in a secluded location for Eldard to take his revenge upon for a fee. He bites at the chance and that's where we begin the film via flashbacks and flash forwards.

Alone in the room, the film takes on a HOSTEL atmosphere with dirty room and rusted out equipment with which to torture someone. Eldard begins that way, pounding on the man strapped and gagged in a chair in the center of the room. But as he looks at him, he notices that the tattoo he now recalls on the killer's forearm isn't there. Told not to deviate from the plan or suffer the consequences, he does so anyway.

He takes the gag off of the man and the two begin to talk. Plummer is called in and tells him to stick with the plan so he doesn't get himself killed. But Eldard is unconvinced this is the man and the pair take off on their own, one step ahead of the organizers who are dead set on making sure that neither one now lives to tell the tale.

The initial thought that brings this film home is one of what would you do? Would you seek out the person responsible for this tragedy? Would you then torture this person in an attempt at revenge? Would you be so blinded by rage that you didn't care to know if it really was the killer or not? Or would you make certain that it was and if not, do all you could in your power to free this victim.

The movie is a taut thriller that brings all of these ideas into the mix. The innocence of guilt of the man in question is brought up throughout. While he may be innocent of Eldard's son's murder, he may be responsible for others. Is it a release to simply kill someone or do they have to be guilty before you can do so?

The film looks great with clean images that are disturbing and yet draw you in at the same time. Eldard does a great job and proves why he is one of the most underrated actors working today. Til Schweiger also does a great job as the man Eldard is set to kill. Plummer does his usual stand up job (can the man turn in a bad performance no matter what?).

All in all this movie does a great job of keeping you in suspense until the very last moment. The result of the hunt it becomes is both satisfying and rings true. If you're looking for fast paced action then look no further than this one. Forget the fact that it never made it to a slew of chain theaters. For some reason while they local megaplex felt the need to put the hottest new release in 10 out of 20 screens, this one got overlooked. That's one of the benefits of DVD. You get the chance to see good films that otherwise might have been lost.

Very good movie, great acting, intelligent thriller. Very entertaining and I would recommanded it to anyone. Watch it, you won't regret.

I really live or die by Amazon reviews. 99% of the time, they are spot on. I felt like I was burned a bit by the reviews on this one.

I should have been a bit suspicious when a movie that never even made it to the box office (mainstream, independent, or otherwise) was holding down a 5 star rating on Amazon. Some of the sites that I normally rely on for movie ratings didn't even cover this movie since it didn't get a lot of press and didn't get any reviews by national or regional critics.

The majority of reviews that I read seemed held back on information so as not to give the "plot turns" away. Let me lay it out for you, there are no real plot turns so don't hold your breath waiting for any. Once you get past the opening scenes and understand the premise of the film, it quickly degrades into a typical Hollywood action / adventure type flick. That said, this is no worse than a lot of the trash that Hollywood releases to fill the theaters during the peak summer movie months. In some cases (pick most any action film on installment 3 or greater), it's actually better.

"Already Dead" is a 2-3 star movie that might be worth the low price you pay for the rental at Unboxed or your local retail outlet. Don't go in expecting too much though. There's a reason this didn't get picked up for mainstream distribution.

I love when I find a movie that should have been a big office smash but now is more like my secret favorite movie. One thing I hate is when you know what is going to happen in a movie...that is not the case. I was on the edge of my couch trying to figure out what happened next. I'm happy I found this one.

No doubt with this excellent cast that includes Ron Eldard in a performance better than his in Black Hawke Down, Til Schweiger, the best young talent to come from Germany, and the always incredible Christopher Plummer that ALREADY DEAD would be nothing less than entertaining and worth watching. It is a story that's been done before, you'll recognize it as it's played out...or will you? Not to spoil it, here is a brief description. Thomas Archer (Ron Eldard) has the American dream only to have it shattered by an intruder. (Think Fugitive) The police are failing and if there's to be justice (and revenge) Eldard is forced to face the option of taking matters into his own hands. [Like many other movies right?] No surprises, there is a twist, you'll see it clearly. But what makes this movie are the performances and the the presentation of the story. There is a feel that you are watching the prequel to the SAW movies and like SAW you will squirm. There are no cliff hangers, you'll figure it out early; but because of Eldard, and Schweiger's performances you'll watch it until the end (you will need to...hint) and completely enjoy it. Watch it or buy it, you will enjoy ALREADY DEAD.

Already Dead (Joe Otting, 2007)

Joe Chapelle got his start in Hollywood directing crappy sequels to existing franchises (Hellraiser: Bloodline, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers) before finding his way in television, where he has been successful, and effective, behind the camera on shows like Fringe and The Wire. The one place he never really seemed to get a foothold in the industry was in screenwriting. He wrote the first film he directed, Thieves Quartet, back in 1993, and then nothing until 2007, when he turned up with a screenplay for a film called Already Dead, adapted from a story by Robert Archer Lynn and David Alford (of whom you've never heard before; they usually helm their own stuff, with Lynn directing and Alford starring). Oddly, Chapelle didn't direct, instead handing it over to a promising shorts director, Joe Otting; this would be his first feature. And while it's not a great film by any means, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised wen it turned out to be not at all what I expected.

Thomas Archer (ER's Ron Eldard) is a successful businessman, or was. The same night he was lauded for a big business breakthrough, his family was attacked, resulting in the death of his son and a seemingly irreparable chasm between Thomas and his wife Sarah (Super Troopers' Marisa Coughlan). Thomas has been going to counseling with Dr. Heller (Christopher Plummer), who recommends a rather extreme course of treatment: he can arrange for the man who attacked his family to be brought to a specific location and restrained, on one condition: after Archer is through getting his revenge, the perpetrator must be dead. Archer agrees, and is brought to a room in a long-abandoned warehouse where he meets the man who destroyed his life (Inglorious Basterds' Til Schwieger). And thus, Thomas Archer picks up a mallet...

...and you think you're about to watch yet another torture porn flick, and given the last few torture porn flicks I watched, had it continued down that path, I guarantee you you wouldn't be reading a two-and-a-half-star review right now. But the script hits us with a twist (which you can probably guess by now, though I tried to keep it under wraps) and the movie becomes a standard, but fun, action thriller. From there, you know exactly what's going to happen, but that's the nature of this sort of action thriller; there are never any surprises in Arnold Schwarzenegger movies, but that doesn't make Predator any less fun every time I see it. ** ½

Already Dead" is a gritty film, about a successful architect, Thomas Archer (Ron Eldard) whose young son is murdered and the police are unable to find the murderer. He is doubly angered that his wife was brutalized at the scene of the crime. His marriage is in tatters as he is consumed with vengeful angst. A mysterious vigilante group promises justices, but when Archer faces the killer he must decide what justice is. There are constant flashbacks of happy moments between his son, Tyler, and his beautiful wife enjoying life. It is gut wrenching to feel his loss and know his anger at how the murder changed his family forever. He is determined to get revenge.

The film drags most of the first half, but if you are looking for an action film the second half makes up for it. The primary theme is an action film, but there are some interesting twists and turns near the end.

It was a great movie, it came fast & was in great shape. L Juvingo