Customer Reviews

Screaming Dead

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

 

 

Nothing says fun like Misty Mundae strapped to a plank of wood doing a Jesus pose all bloodied up wailing. It's all part of the modeling scene in the dungeon that goes terribly wrong. In a way this a socially relevant b-horror movie that Brett piper brings to us. Young naive girls wanting fame, at the expense of their dignity. The antagonist roger neale is the one stripping any piece of dignity from these poor young girls. Luckily we have a knight in shining armor to save these dansels in distress.

After a while you get tired of the social statements, and want the horror to begin. You want to see blood dripping, and gore oozing off the screen. Well Maybe some other movie. Brett Piper
wants the story told his way, and the characters devoloped as he sees fit. But you do get caught up in the drama. At some point you sympathize for these young darlings.

Of course the big star is misty mundae. She does hold up to her responsibilities in her role. Watching her sit nude, blindfolded being "auditioned" by Mr. neale you feel a genuine sense of the girl next door wanting fame badly, at the cost of her innocence. her nervousness as she's being grilled comes off naturally. Maybe thats why we love this girl.

Her co-stars do carry their weight performance wise.The ghoul torturing the models reminded me of Freddy kruger. He seemed like a sick sadistic Jack Nicholson.

As far as DVD bonuses, the package is decent. You get cast interviews, insight to the asylum used as location, and a Misty Mundae documentary. Nothing as Juicy as behind the music.

Can't wait to get Bite Me!

Long, boring, and drawn out to excruciating length. Very little T&A and NO softcore lesbian scenes(!) that were done so well with the Seduction Cinema titles. Plot is nonsensical and just not very interesting. Blood looks ultra-fake and the acting is subpar. I'm giving this a 1 star rating purely on the fact the great Misty Mundae is in it.
There is a card enclosed with this DVD that supposedly entitles you to an unrated version of this film. When I sent mine in I recieved a letter back stating that the card was placed in error and no unrated version of the film exists, just the R version that I had already purchased. I recieved a poster and a list of new releases and the hopes that I would buy them also. I won't be buying anymore R versions of these films.

I was expecting the typical B-movie schlock here, but was pleasantly surprised. The film is low-budget, but well done, with an interesting plot, good special effects, and decent acting.

Here is the plot in a nutshell: a sleazeball photographer (incidentally, one of the slimiest characters I've seen in a movie), his 3 bimbo models, and his "assistant" travel to an abandoned insane asylum for a photo shoot. The catch: a representative for the rental company, played by Rob Monkiewicz, must come along to "supervise". The photographer is into fetish or bondage scenes of women, and the models willingly subjugate themselves to his brutal treatment in hopes of fame. Conveniently, the asylum was once inhabited by a madman who kindly left his torture decives behind for our photographer to use as props. To everyone's surprise (except the viewer's), said madman is resurrected by the perverted goings-on and haunts the group. I thought it was quite clever how the hero manages to exorcise the ghost and save the day.

There is some nudity and pseudo-lesbian action, but not enough to qualify as soft-core porn. I would not call this an exploitation film, either. Instead, it's kind of like a Shakespeare play- you can read as much or as little as you want into it. If you choose to read a lot into it, there are a lot of interesting questions posed about exploitation, sex, gender roles, dominance, and the ethics of all of this. If not, well, just enjoy the T&A.

The DVD includes several good special features, including an interview with star Misty Mundae. Misty is one of the highlights of the film- she is very articulate and down-to-earth, and a joy to watch.

In Brett Piper's Screaming Dead, a dominating photographer has made a name for himself as an artist who "explores" the dark side of the human psyche with photos of chained and tortured women. He gives his pictures their edge by being abusive to his young unsuspecting models and by putting them in genuine fear of their lives and limbs, though he stops short (barely) of actually maiming or killing them. He and his latest crop of models encounter an entity with fewer scruples during a shoot at an abandoned mental institution -- the film was actually shot at an abandoned NJ mental institution.

I must admit to some prejudice against supernatural elements in movies, including mainstream films such as Poltergeist, Ghost, or The Sixth Sense. I can suspend my skeptical world view long enough to make them watchable, yet I think horror in particular is much more effective when the monster is credibly flesh and blood: Norman Bates is the prime example. I cut more slack when the films are overtly campy (e.g. Bride of Chucky). Piper's film is pretty campy. It is very referential to 50s/60s horror films with updated sleaze. The humor, which is understated enough to be easy to miss, comes from exploiting the conventions of these older films. The hero is a bit of a Neanderthal, but this too is common in 1950s B features.

While this film deserves its R rating, some Misty Mundae fans, who know her from Playmate of the Apes or Bikini Girls on Dinosaur Planet, may be disappointed that this is not a softcore sex film. Although she never has done hardcore, Misty is in a similar position to Traci Lords about a decade ago. She has built up a name and fan base which provide her an opportunity but at the same time hold her back. The good news is that Screaming Dead is a better breakout film than was Not of This Earth. (I like Traci, by the way: she was wonderful in the more recent Chump Change.)

I can't quite bring myself to give this movie four stars, but it really isn't bad. If you like horror - and especially if you grew up watching the old ones - this one will probably work for you.

Screaming Dead is the first film release from Shock-O-Rama Cinema, the fresh, newly-relaunched horror-focused offshoot of ei Independent Cinema (most famous for its Seduction Cinema line of films). Anticipation and expectations were high among those of us in the know, namely the legions of Misty Mundae fans. The emphasis here is on the horror aspects of the film and not the erotic elements which have fueled ei's rise to prominence as an independent film company. One of the greatest things about this film is its potential to introduce more mainstream horror fans to the work of ei Independent Cinema; more importantly, it will introduce a new set of fans to the glory that is Misty Mundae. With her girl-next-door image, unquantifiable charm, down-to-earth radiance, and incredible talent, Misty Mundae has emerged over the last six years as the hottest, most adored B movie goddess in the business. Misty is famous, of course, for her long string of erotic films under the Surrender Cinema label, but this talented actress is now getting the chance to spread her wings and show audiences just how talented an actress she is. Devoted Misty fans should take note that you won't find Misty frolicking around in erotic scenes with her female costars this time around - there's some nudity, of course, and one scene with some definite tease quality, but don't go in thinking this is another erotic Misty Mundae film.

The film itself probably deserves four stars, largely due to a rather hokey ending, but there are a number of wonderful extras included on the DVD, and the whole film is just so darned Misty-licious that I'm giving it five stars. Screaming Dead is a ghost story with a focus on the exploitation of women; it is in some ways a throwback to the vintage horror films of the 1970s and 1980s. Renowned photographer Roger Neale (my nominee for irredeemable sadist of the year) has found the ideal location for his next photo shoot - an abandoned mental institution. Legend has it that a fellow named Rossiter tortured untold numbers of young people in a secret basement, and this thought makes the unabashed sadist in Neale feel all tingly inside. All he needs are three young female models to exploit for his own perverted needs. This guy is so famous that he doesn't even pay his models, and we see his highly unusual interview technique early on as Bridget (Misty Mundae) is forced to sit naked and blindfolded while Neale tells her what he demands from a model (which can be summed up as "I own you"). Once he gets the girls to the location, Neale enforces his increasingly dominant will on them, going well beyond merely treating them like prisoners. On hand to cramp Neal's style is Sam Rogan, the real estate company's representative, and he turns out to be the girls' only hope for escaping the week-long photo shoot alive. The place really is haunted, you see, and Neale's perverted obsessions are just the fuel needed to feed the fire of old man Rossiter's eternal sadism.

Joseph Farrell turns in an incredibly convincing performance as Roger Neale - few characters in the history of cinema have been as despicable, hateful, and sadistic; if ever a man needed to be taken behind the woodshed, it's this guy. Rob Monkiewicz is very effective in the role of Sam Rogan, and all of the young female actresses are great, as well (although Rachael Robbins' delivery sometimes feels a little forced). Naturally, Misty Mundae is superb and more than lives up to her scream queen credentials. Keeping in mind that Screaming Dead is a low-budget independent release, the special effects are actually quite good overall. A few of them look fake, and there was one editing snafu that jumped out at me, but by and large the movie boasts some pretty impressive special effects for a film of this nature.

Will Screaming Dead scare you? Probably not. It does, however, offer loads of building suspense, a decent amount of gore, and the tried and true, crowd-pleasing use of assorted torture instruments on nubile flesh. The depth of the viewer's dislike for Roger Neale serves the film in very good stead. Anyone who mistreats a character played by Misty Mundae more than gets my dander up, and this guy is frighteningly good at being bad. The ending, as I mentioned, is not built to please, but overall, Screaming Dead is really quite a good horror film.

As for those extras on the DVD, you get a featurette on the making of the film, a documentary on the true history of the Marlboro State Psychiatric Hospital in New Jersey (where the film was shot), interviews with director Brett Piper and several cast members (including Misty), footage of the premiere showing of Screaming Dead at Fangoria's 2004 "Weekend of Horror" in New York City, a photo gallery of shots from the film, a nice little collectible booklet about the film, and trailers for the promising upcoming releases from Shock-a-Rama Cinema (all but one of which feature Misty). Best of all, though, you get From Skin to Scream, a documentary on the meteoric rise to stardom of Misty Mundae. Folks, it's all about Misty - that's the bottom line here.

On a final note, let me address one issue surrounding the DVD release. The first 4440 copies of the DVD mistakenly contained an insert telling fans how they could get the unrated version of Screaming Dead (they should have contained a postcard offering the buyer a free poster). There is no unrated version of the film; those who happen to get such a postcard with their DVD certainly need to be aware of this fact.

SCREAMING DEAD is another creeper from Writer / Director, Brett Piper. I love Piper's stop-motion and practical fx. Not as much of either here. However, the story of a crazed photogragher and his subjects / victims is interesting nonetheless. Misty Mundae is her usual, fabulous self, and the ghoul at the end is suitably cracked! Filmed in an abandoned asylum, SCREAMING DEAD has plenty of atmosphere as well as a groovy torture chamber in a hidden room! Oh yeah!...

I usually depend on the reviews to descide whether to purchase a movie but some of my favorites let me down.I have established a formula for rating the Misty movies and this does not meet any of the the criteria.."Dark Genious" where was your head, giving 5 stars(!!)for this drivil. First Misty is on screen very little and is killed off quickly. I thought that Rachael Robbins might take up the slack but she is a prude who should be doing things on the Disney Network.

Without Misty this is a third rate Bret Piper nonsensical scary trip that would appeal only to the kids who used to laugh hilariously at the awful Saturday morning cartoons. Naturally there will be feeble minded simpletons who find this stuff enjoyable but you will not find one here. Misty has a soft spot in her heart for Bret Piper so she aids him in his nonsensical night trips, but I have not found one worth buying yet.

Why Misty we would associate herself with such a pathetic effort may answer the question as to why she has never broken out of the crap B rated movies. It's a shame as she deserves much more than she has gotten.

Screaming Dead is the first EI Cinema film to make it's first Shock-O-Rama cinema label. Misty Mundae/Erin Brown is great in it. Brett Piper may only be EI cinema's best directors around. Screaming Dead is actually the only ei cinema film that is a horror film. I recommend this to any of the Misty Mundae Fans.

I usually have a lot of patience when it comes to Misty Mundae films, simply because I'm such a huge fan. Even when the sex scenes run on too long, I'm there, watching every second, never to hit the fast forward button. This is not to say Misty makes bad films, some of them just aren't as entertaining as they at first seem to be. This was not the case with Screaming Dead, a film I purchased months ago just because it featured Misty, yet put away for quite awhile in fear it'll be one of those very boring horror film. Then, just recently, I was ready, so I watched it. All it took was the opening scene and I was hooked, then came the introduction of another mysterious character, whose motives aren't quite clear through a lot of the film, creating some very interesting suspense. The film does have that B movie feel, cause it is a B movie, but it never tries to hide that, but at the same time, it contains a plot interesting enough to hold a viewer (that's not just looking for the usual buckets of nudity) throughout the entire runtime of the film without getting bored. Never since SpiderBabe has a Misty film impressed me so much.

I'm sorry but this flick is dismal at best. The story is inane. The actors are second rate, and the lines....oh who came up with these lines? A schmuck photogragher likes to take disgusting photographs of women and is considered a genious. He abuses his models and video tapes their every move.

This slow moving story with an anticlimatic ending is a yawnfest at best. Yes Misty has a nude scene or two. Freaks may even be excited to know how she is interviewed for the photoshoot. She's naked, blindfolded, and tied to a chair. It sounds much more exciting than it actually is. The bozo who plays the 'hero' gives a completely amateurish effort. His lines are so fake and wooden, you'd swear he was reading everything.

The photographer's busty blonde assistant was by far the hottest and sexiest girl of the movie. Too bad they couldn't get her to shed her clothes.

If you are Misty Mundae fan you'll buy this no matter what anyone says. But I give you fair warning. You'll watch SPiderBabe a hundred times before you watch Screaming Dead twice.