Customer Reviews

Special Dead

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I've been dying to see this movie since I first heard of it late last year. Sure, we could talk all day about just how "wrong" this movie is, but why not sit back, toss those bunched-up PC panties aside for a freaking hour and a half, and enjoy the heck out of this hilarious zombie movie already enjoying a cult following. And for what it's worth, name me one other movie that transforms the mentally challenged into heroes. That's what I thought. Anyway, Special Dead is just hilarious, not only milking numerous stereotypes for all they're worth, but kicking them once they're proverbially down. The zombies are just downright disgusting, their grey skin peeling off in bunches, their mouths filled with meat, blood, dirt, and heaven knows what else, and their blood just waiting to shoot out in mini-geysers as soon as they're attacked. I don't know what the chicken-eating zombie was actually eating, but it looked even nastier than the real thing. Low-budget horror filmmakers could learn a lot from watching this movie. Even the soundtrack, featuring the likes of Dark Reign and Eating Alice, is pretty kicking - although nothing tops Andy Allen's unique campfire song (there's even a sing-along version before the ending credits).

As the tagline says, "Sometimes heroes ride the short bus," and in this case they ride it to Camp Special Dude owned and operated by Cameron "Snuff" Stone (Larrs Jackson, who was just hilarious, especially on the topic of zombie horses), who bought the camp years ago for a song - because, we soon learn, it was infested with zombies. Snuff's second in command is his son Machiavelli "Mack" Stone (Jason Brubaker). Mack only seems to care about making time with female counselors Cassie (Amy Wade) and Harley (Haneka Haynes), but he turns out to have real skills when it comes to dispatching zombies. The "special" kids include Snuff's wheelchair-bound daughter Dale (Gia Franzia); Todd (Anthony Rutowicz), whose loud talking, hideous toboggan, and talent for making all kinds of things out of popsicle sticks do little to help him convince Dale to be his girlfriend; an uncommunicative mountain of flesh who could well be descended from Tor Johnson (David Reynolds); a shy "helmet head" (April Wade); and several others of less importance to the story. Adding greatly to the fun is Eriq (Jah Shams), a young gangster bound for boot camp who was accidentally placed on the wrong bus. All of the actors were darn near brilliant, if you ask me (especially Franzia and Rutowicz).

Don't write any of these characters off too soon, not even the most challenged among them. While guys like Mack rely mostly on obvious weapons such as shotguns, sickles, numchuks - yes, numchuks - and good, old-fashioned bare fists, the campers tend to adopt more unconventional fighting methods. Of course, not everyone can survive, so you get the additional treat of watching special campers taking on their now-zombified peers. You may want to turn your head at one point, though, as Mack demonstrates a most disgusting, non-lethal zombie-controlling method.

Now, maybe you're thinking you won't see any sex or nudity in a film like this - well, think again. You, along with some of the voyeuristic campers, will definitely see "boobies" at Camp Special Dude. You'll also hear plenty of foul language (of course, if I were fighting for my life against zombies, I would be cursing up a blue streak, too). For the most part, though, this is a genuinely original and creative film (a real rarity in the American-made horror genre). Just remember that everything you see here is all in the name of gory fun. Where else are you going to see a zombie with Tourette Syndrome? Needless to say, some people will feel deeply offended and outraged by this film (and most of them will undoubtedly condemn it without ever seeing so much as a trailer), but Special Dead wears such sobriquets as "the most offensive zombie movie ever made" with pride. I'll be enjoying this movie numerous times in the coming years.

SPECIAL dEaD - Review - Film Threat
By Eric Campos (10/25/2007)

[...]Probably the most offensive zombie movie ever made, "Special Dead" is bound to p*** off a lot of people while giving others cause to cheer.

As if they didn't have enough problems, the inhabitants of a camp for mentally handicapped kids, Camp Special Dude, find themselves having to deal with a zombie infestation. When the s*** and the popsicle stick art projects hit the fan, a small group of counselors and camp members fight their way through the living dead to safety.

It's a nice, simple set-up, executed with a brash display of sex, gore and disrespect for the handicapped, or anyone else for that matter...living or dead. The tone of the film is in your face rude as the camp counselors are all over-sexed meatheads with actress Amy Wade providing the most entertaining performance as one such over-sexed meathead as she lusts after fellow counselor and hero of the film - uber-tough guy and cocksman supreme Machiavelli Stone, played by Jay Brubaker. Gia Natale and Anthony Rutowicz also turn in surprisingly lovable performances as a couple of handicampers struggling to survive the zombie invasion. See? So you can have something lovable in a movie as offensive as this one and these two actors prove that by playing their characters as more than just drooling goofballs.

It's a very basic run-hide-run-scream-run-die type of flick. The danger of monotony is always an issue with these movies, but for the most part "Special Dead" avoids boring its audience by loading it up with tons of attitude, gore and dark humor. All in all, it's a fun, trashy ride not for the easily offended, and not for the squeamish, and not for the sexually timid, and...basically, if you have a stick up you're a**, "Special Dead" is not for you. If you have a good sense of humor (especially one with a helluva mean streak) and you love zombies, then heaven awaits you at Camp Special Dude.

Got this as a goof, knowing it'd be a bad movie. I wasn't dissapointed.

Found it by accident by typing "retard" in Amazon's search and this came up. Decided to check it out.

The storyline is nothing unique, and the acting is expectedly bad, but you do get to see what would happen if a group of retards were attacked by zombies. Gotta say though, some of the actors DO pull off imatating a retard, complete with drool and twitches. Haven't seen anything that good since What's Eating Gilbert Grape.

The make-up effects were okay. The zombies looked like they had oatmeal explode in their faces. But the blood splattering was pretty good.

Overall, get this movie if you know any of the actors, or if you have a demented sense of humor like me. Rent it just to say you've seen the movie. But don't expect to be scared. This one has HBO-late-night written all over it.

FILM REVIEW: 'SPECIAL DEAD' - Creature Corner
By Greg Hansen


Larrs (THE CONVENT) Jackson, Jay Brubaker, Gia (PREMONITIONS) Natale, Amy (MOTHER GHOST) Wade, David (HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES) Reynolds, Carl (DAY OF THE DEAD 2: CONTAGIUM) Storm

Directed By Thomas L. Phillips and Sean Simmons

Written by Jared Tweedie

"Sometimes Heroes Ride the Short Bus."

I know, I know. I'm going to tell you about a zombie film that takes place at a Special Ed camp. I'm going to tell you about some un-"PC" comedy. I'm going to tell you about an independent film that, at first glance, might seem like a slew of other independent zombie films. But trust me on this...

We start off with a pair of hikers who come across a screen-door in the middle of nowhere (well, a few miles from Camp Special Dude anyway). This screen-door apparently is the only barrier to a pool of spring water that apparently creates zombies (it's happened before in this area). One of the hikers has Tourette's syndrome and, yes, he becomes the world's first zombie with said affliction. Trust me folks it only gets funnier from here.

Camp Special Dude is a camp for special people. Yes. One of them wears a helmet. Yes. One of them keeps glue and Popsicle sticks in his fanny-pack for "projects". No. Most of the counselors don't want to be there. But, see, bored counselors means sex. Right? Exactly.

Luckily this particular camp is run by one "Snuff" Stone (Larrs Jackson) who's been through a zombie outbreak before. Because all Hell's about to break loose. His son nunchuk-wielding son and wheelchair-bound daughter, with the help of a very out of place hoodlum, must fight their way off the mountain and try to save the campers in the process.

"You ever ridden on a zombie horse before, son? I have. It ain't fun."

The gore and zombie effects are decent enough. We're coming to expect them to be. But the situation and dialogue are what set THE SPECIAL DEAD apart. Jared Tweedie threw caution to the wind and brought us some damn funny stuff here. There's a little song one of the counselors sings at the campfire just before the zombies arrive that is truly wrong.

It works. THE SPECIAL DEAD is the funniest horror film I've seen since SHAUN OF THE DEAD. Seriously. Just sit back, suspend your "Defense O' Meter" and enjoy the show!

I was lucky enough to catch this movie at a film festival. Unfortunately, the festival didn't display it all that well. But now I've got it on DVD and can see and hear the whole thing clearly. Take all your survival horror cliches, throw half of them into mentally handicapped people and you've got a really funny zombie movie with this one. A limited budget doesn't get in the way of a solid, entertaining great time. The humor is of the deliberately offensive sort which, I admit, I'm a total sucker for.

I was able to order the DVD off the movie's MySpace page. So check that out if you can't get it from Amazon's marketplace.

Special Dead (Thomas L. Phillips and Sean Simmons, 2006)

It's official: I'm going straight to Hell. Why? Because once I started laughing at Special Dead, which took about thirty seconds, I just couldn't stop. Yes, I know it's wrong of me, and I know it's brutally hard-hearted, and all those other wonderful things. But let's face it, political correctness aside, Special Dead is just about the funniest horror spoof I've seen since Return of the Living Dead.

Camp Special Dude is, as one might suspect from the name, a dude ranch for the mentally challenged. Due to a mixup, a prisoner, Eriq Eldorado (Jah Shams), has gotten shipped there by accident. But hey, it's better than jail, right? Only problem is, zombies are rising from the dead to attack campers and counselors alike. Eriq, head counselor Mac (Jason Brubaker), and Mac's sister Dale (Gia Franzia), one of the campers, head up a band of the living trying to survive a journey back to civilization.

Yes, this is a basement-budget, badly-made film that's about as politically incorrect as they come, but it's hysterical from front to back. I case I haven't alluded to it enough, I'll say it again: if you are easily offended, this is not the movie for you. But if you're willing to ride it out, under the surface humor there's a surprisingly tender human drama to be found here, and for all the film's offensiveness, the differently-abled are portrayed here in no different a light than folks in most other horror films of this stripe; they can deliver snappy one-liners just as well as anyone else can, and they do. The scriptwriter uses both the challenges and strengths of his challenged characters well, and they end up being just as well-drawn (if not more so) than the rest of the cast. Sure, there are a few plot holes here and there and some stupidity that exists solely for the sake of its comedic value, but as with most comedy, the important thing is that it works, and it does here.

The more I think about this movie, the more impressed I am with it. A comedy with heart, even if it never fails to rip that heart out of a chest whenever it can. *** ½

If you pay over $1 for this movie, you have paid too much. The concept is great, and the name is hilarious/brilliant, but everything else is garbage. It looks like it was shot on a cell phone that got dropped too many times. Its grainy, too dark to see anything outside, and the acting is on par with a 2nd grade christmas play. Not only that, but the person who plays the "mentally handicapped" campers isn't mentally handicapped at all, and tries to do a funny retarded voice, but its so horrible it makes your soul want to cry. I sat through the whole crapfest just to know that there was nothing redeeming about any part, to say that I watched it, and so I could break it and burn it without having any question as to whether or not it deserved it.


if there was a score lower than an F-, or lower than 0 stars, it would deserve it.

Before viewing this film, be aware that it movie was made for fans of B movies and zombies. If you don't like at least one of these 2 things, then this may not be for you. With that in mind, have yourself a blast with some of the most offensive humor brought to the screen. The acting is poor, along with the FX, but the humor is more than top notch...and the story isn't too too shotty.
Forgive me for being un-PC, but there's just something hilarious about retards turning into zombies. It's funny to me. So don't complain that you're offended because you should know what you're getting into. Kudos to these filmmakers for a job very well done.

I'm not a movie reviewer, just a zombie movie fan. I love cheesy movies, B-movies, etc... This movie is just great. The zombie make-up is not as good as say Dawn of the Dead, but it is as funny if not funnier than Shaun of the Dead (yeah I said it). I have had this movie for years now and I always like going back and watching it again and again. If you are a fan of zombedies, you have to have this one. It may offend some people as it takes place in a mentally disabled campground "Camp Speacial Dude," but most will find it an enjoyable movie...

There is absolutely nothing wright about this movie. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time and have watched it over and over again. I own over 60 zombie movies and this is in my top 3 favorites.