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Dance of the Dead (2008 film)
Encyclopedia
Dance of the Dead is a 2008 American independent
zombie comedy
, directed by Gregg Bishop and written by Joe Ballarini. The film featured Jared Kusnitz, Greyson Chadwick, Chandler Darby, and Carissa Capobianco. The plot revolves around the mysterious reanimation
of the dead and the efforts of several students to save their high school
prom
from attack.
The film had a limited theatrical release at Mann's Chinese 6 Theatres
in Los Angeles on 13 October 2008, one day before being released on DVD. Originally finished in 2007, the film premiered at a number of film festivals throughout 2008, including the South by Southwest Film Festival and the Atlanta Film Festival
, to mostly positive reviews.
is unexpectedly interrupted when a graveyard, next to a power plant, becomes the sudden source of resuscitated cadavers. As zombies march on the high school, a motley group of dateless teenage outcasts, among them Jimmy (Jared Kusnitz), Lindsey (Greyson Chadwick), Steven (Chandler Darby) and Kyle (Justin Welborn), take on the zombies and save the day.
Lindsey breaks up with Jimmy the day before the prom and starts going out with Mitch. On the way to the prom, Mitch takes Lindsey to the cemetery to "loosen up" and makes out with her. Mitch is drawn out of the car and killed by a zombie then turns into one himself. Meanwhile, members of the school's SciFi club, Jules, Steven, Rod and George, are investigating the cemetery when they are attacked. Rod is killed and the remaining three are rescued by a grave digger who reveals that he was aware of the occurrences but kept it quiet to keep his job. He instructs them on how to kill the zombies before running off. The three get surrounded again, but Lindsey comes to the rescue and they all escape in Mitch's car.
After making a pizza delivery and discovering that a family are now zombies, Jimmy finds a crashed truck with his enemy Kyle as the only survivor. Jimmy and Kyle run into a cheerleader named Gwen, and the three are attacked. They manage to kill all of the zombies with a bat they find and a gun Kyle carries in his truck. Unfortunately Jimmy's truck is stolen by two zombies, leaving the three without a getaway vehicle. In another neighborhood, Nash Rambler (Blair Redford
), Jensen and Dave the Drummer are in the middle of writing a new song for their band. Nash asks Jensen to leave because he's not being helpful, and they discover zombies when Jensen opens the garage door. The zombies attack, but the band members also accidentally find that the zombies like music, and they keep playing to keep the zombies at bay, but also inadvertently attracting more.
Mitch's car breaks down, and Lindsey, Jules, George and Steven take refuge in a nearby house. Jimmy calls Lindsey to find her. He, Kyle and Gwen then make their way to the house through the town sewers. On the way, they discover a substance that the power plant dumped that they believe caused the re-animation of the dead. The house in which their friends are hiding turns out to be a funeral home. Fumes from the power plant re-animate the corpses stored there. Kyle and Jimmy kill them all, but not before Kyle is bitten in the neck and turns into a zombie and the others are forced to beat him to death. Gwen manages to retrieve the funeral home's hearse and the group escapes with the intent to rescue their fellow students from the prom. On the way to the school, the hearse's tires are shot out. The teens also discover their coach is still alive, and after telling him what has happened, he helps arm them. The group heads for the prom in the coach's Hummer. On the way they find and rescue the besieged band and rescue them. The band then joins the group to stop the zombies.
At the school they find all of the town's zombies have gathered there and that they've arrived too late to save everybody. The coach decides to use his explosives to blow up the school. While the coach starts setting up around the school, the schoolkids block all the doors so the zombies can't escape. While looking through the school, the SciFi club members find a small group of survivors, including the prom queen, and start to lead them out to safety.
The coach accidentally drops the detonator into a chip bowl. Jimmy, however, is forced to go back for it, and Lindsey follows him. They sneak through the gym to get to the detonator but are noticed and attacked. Before they can be killed, the onstage band starts playing to distract the zombies. Jimmy and Lindsey dance while looking for the remote.
On the way out the others are attacked but manage to kill their attackers, while Gwen hides the fact that she was bitten. She pulls Steven, for whom she has developed feelings, into the bathroom. There she reveals the truth and the two kiss, but she turns into a zombie and bites Steven's tongue off. She kills him, which turns Steven into a zombie as well. The two zombies kiss again and then start to eat each other.
In the gym, Jimmy and Lindsey are still looking for the detonator when a zombie accidentally pulls the plug on the band's instruments, stopping the music and causing the zombies to attack again. While the two hold off the zombies, Jenson tries to replace the plug. Jimmy and Lindsey are forced to hide beneath the bleachers, where they are attacked by Mitch, now a zombie. The two escape with Lindsey killing Mitch. The band manages to plug in their instruments and begin playing, allowing Jimmy to get the detonator. As the group attempt to make their escape, Jensen is caught and killed by the horde. The surviving four make their way out of the school through a window. The zombies are unable to escape out the blocked doors, and Jimmy blows up the school, killing all of the zombies, While kissing Lindsey at the same time rekindling their relationship.
The survivors, including a group that hid at the prom, takes a bus to a pancake house for breakfast courtesy of the coach with a plan to eat and plan an attack to shut down the power plant and prevent the zombie plague from spreading. The grave digger also survives and complains about the fact he has to clean up the mess.
) and Randy McDowell (Good Intentions). According to director-producer Gregg Bishop, he and the producers "searched for months for the right kids, ones who were good at improv, and ended up casting more kids in Georgia ... They were more natural. [The] casting director would throw them curveballs and the ones who could hang and go along ended up in the movie."
and North Georgia
.
in a deal with Sam Raimi
's new partnership Ghost House Underground. The film is expected to be part of Ghost House's inaugural slate of offerings dubbed "October Horror".
Following the Cannes Film Festival
, German distributor Splendid Film bought the rights for German release.
The film was also screened at the 32nd annual Atlanta Film Festival in April 2008, and considered a "must see," and three separate showings of the film were sold out. Bleiberg Entertainment marketed the film at the 61st Cannes Film Festival in May 2008. Subsequent screenings included the International Fantastic Film Festival at Neuchâtel, Switzerland, on 3 July 2008, the Fantasy Film Fest in Germany on 15 August 2008, the ninth Film4 FrightFest
in London, UK, on 23 August 2008, and the Rome International Film Festival in North Georgia, US, on 7 September 2008.
was surprised that "character development" was possible, and thought it "fast and funny, sick and sweet, nerdy and gory. Basically, a whole lot of fun." Expecting a "cheesy zombie flick," reviewer Brian Gibson instead found a "zombie/prom weekend film that ended up being one of the best surprises of the [film] festival." Anton Bitel, who writes for UK movie magazine Little White Lies was tired of the zombie comedy genre in general yet still saw a film distinguished by "sharp writing, amusing characters, and a real affection for nerd culture."
Dance of the Dead was released on DVD
in North America on 14 October 2008. The DVD contains an audio commentary
by the film's director, Gregg Bishop, and writer Joe Ballarini, as well as deleted and extended scenes with optional audio commentary with Bishop. The DVD also contained several featurettes, including, "Making of Dance of the Dead," with extended commentary from cast and crew members. The second, "Blood, Guts and Rock 'n' Roll: Effects and Stunts of Dance of the Dead", discusses the film's technical production. Several additional features included a trailer gallery and Voodoo, a five-and-a-half minute short film by director Gregg Bishop.
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
zombie comedy
Zombie comedy
The zombie comedy, often called zom com or zomedy, is a film genre that aims to blend zombie horror motifs with slapstick comedy as well as dark comedy.-Early years:...
, directed by Gregg Bishop and written by Joe Ballarini. The film featured Jared Kusnitz, Greyson Chadwick, Chandler Darby, and Carissa Capobianco. The plot revolves around the mysterious reanimation
Reanimation
Reanimation helped the many underground hip-hop artists that it featured reach a larger audience, as well as changing the nature of the work so significantly that it could be considered an entirely new album...
of the dead and the efforts of several students to save their high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
prom
Prom
In the United States and Canada, a prom, short for promenade, is a formal dance, or gathering of high school students. It is typically held near the end of the senior year. It figures greatly in popular culture and is a major event among high school students...
from attack.
The film had a limited theatrical release at Mann's Chinese 6 Theatres
Grauman's Chinese Theatre
Grauman's Chinese Theatre is a movie theater at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood. It is on the historic Hollywood Walk of Fame.The Chinese Theatre was commissioned following the success of the nearby Grauman's Egyptian Theatre which opened in 1922...
in Los Angeles on 13 October 2008, one day before being released on DVD. Originally finished in 2007, the film premiered at a number of film festivals throughout 2008, including the South by Southwest Film Festival and the Atlanta Film Festival
Atlanta Film Festival
The Atlanta Film Festival is an Academy Award qualifying, international film festival held in Atlanta, Georgia. Started in 1976 and occurring every April, the festival shows a diverse range of independent films, including genre films such as horror and sci-fi...
, to mostly positive reviews.
Plot
A high school prom in GeorgiaGeorgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
is unexpectedly interrupted when a graveyard, next to a power plant, becomes the sudden source of resuscitated cadavers. As zombies march on the high school, a motley group of dateless teenage outcasts, among them Jimmy (Jared Kusnitz), Lindsey (Greyson Chadwick), Steven (Chandler Darby) and Kyle (Justin Welborn), take on the zombies and save the day.
Lindsey breaks up with Jimmy the day before the prom and starts going out with Mitch. On the way to the prom, Mitch takes Lindsey to the cemetery to "loosen up" and makes out with her. Mitch is drawn out of the car and killed by a zombie then turns into one himself. Meanwhile, members of the school's SciFi club, Jules, Steven, Rod and George, are investigating the cemetery when they are attacked. Rod is killed and the remaining three are rescued by a grave digger who reveals that he was aware of the occurrences but kept it quiet to keep his job. He instructs them on how to kill the zombies before running off. The three get surrounded again, but Lindsey comes to the rescue and they all escape in Mitch's car.
After making a pizza delivery and discovering that a family are now zombies, Jimmy finds a crashed truck with his enemy Kyle as the only survivor. Jimmy and Kyle run into a cheerleader named Gwen, and the three are attacked. They manage to kill all of the zombies with a bat they find and a gun Kyle carries in his truck. Unfortunately Jimmy's truck is stolen by two zombies, leaving the three without a getaway vehicle. In another neighborhood, Nash Rambler (Blair Redford
Blair Redford
David Blair Redford is an American actor.- Personal life :Redford grew up in the suburb of Canton, Georgia and attended Sequoyah High School. He is of Irish, French, German, and Native American descent...
), Jensen and Dave the Drummer are in the middle of writing a new song for their band. Nash asks Jensen to leave because he's not being helpful, and they discover zombies when Jensen opens the garage door. The zombies attack, but the band members also accidentally find that the zombies like music, and they keep playing to keep the zombies at bay, but also inadvertently attracting more.
Mitch's car breaks down, and Lindsey, Jules, George and Steven take refuge in a nearby house. Jimmy calls Lindsey to find her. He, Kyle and Gwen then make their way to the house through the town sewers. On the way, they discover a substance that the power plant dumped that they believe caused the re-animation of the dead. The house in which their friends are hiding turns out to be a funeral home. Fumes from the power plant re-animate the corpses stored there. Kyle and Jimmy kill them all, but not before Kyle is bitten in the neck and turns into a zombie and the others are forced to beat him to death. Gwen manages to retrieve the funeral home's hearse and the group escapes with the intent to rescue their fellow students from the prom. On the way to the school, the hearse's tires are shot out. The teens also discover their coach is still alive, and after telling him what has happened, he helps arm them. The group heads for the prom in the coach's Hummer. On the way they find and rescue the besieged band and rescue them. The band then joins the group to stop the zombies.
At the school they find all of the town's zombies have gathered there and that they've arrived too late to save everybody. The coach decides to use his explosives to blow up the school. While the coach starts setting up around the school, the schoolkids block all the doors so the zombies can't escape. While looking through the school, the SciFi club members find a small group of survivors, including the prom queen, and start to lead them out to safety.
The coach accidentally drops the detonator into a chip bowl. Jimmy, however, is forced to go back for it, and Lindsey follows him. They sneak through the gym to get to the detonator but are noticed and attacked. Before they can be killed, the onstage band starts playing to distract the zombies. Jimmy and Lindsey dance while looking for the remote.
On the way out the others are attacked but manage to kill their attackers, while Gwen hides the fact that she was bitten. She pulls Steven, for whom she has developed feelings, into the bathroom. There she reveals the truth and the two kiss, but she turns into a zombie and bites Steven's tongue off. She kills him, which turns Steven into a zombie as well. The two zombies kiss again and then start to eat each other.
In the gym, Jimmy and Lindsey are still looking for the detonator when a zombie accidentally pulls the plug on the band's instruments, stopping the music and causing the zombies to attack again. While the two hold off the zombies, Jenson tries to replace the plug. Jimmy and Lindsey are forced to hide beneath the bleachers, where they are attacked by Mitch, now a zombie. The two escape with Lindsey killing Mitch. The band manages to plug in their instruments and begin playing, allowing Jimmy to get the detonator. As the group attempt to make their escape, Jensen is caught and killed by the horde. The surviving four make their way out of the school through a window. The zombies are unable to escape out the blocked doors, and Jimmy blows up the school, killing all of the zombies, While kissing Lindsey at the same time rekindling their relationship.
The survivors, including a group that hid at the prom, takes a bus to a pancake house for breakfast courtesy of the coach with a plan to eat and plan an attack to shut down the power plant and prevent the zombie plague from spreading. The grave digger also survives and complains about the fact he has to clean up the mess.
Casting
The cast of Dance of the Dead marked the debut of relatively unknown Georgian natives—including Greyson Chadwick, Chandler Darby, and Carissa Capobianco—and the return of sophomore actors Jared Kusnitz (Doll GraveyardDoll Graveyard
Doll Graveyard is a 2005 film by Full Moon Features. It was directed by Charles Band.-Plot:In 1905, an abusive father forces his daughter to bury her four handmade dolls in their backyard, despite her pleas. After the girl accidentally falls in and breaks her neck, the stepfather buries her with...
) and Randy McDowell (Good Intentions). According to director-producer Gregg Bishop, he and the producers "searched for months for the right kids, ones who were good at improv, and ended up casting more kids in Georgia ... They were more natural. [The] casting director would throw them curveballs and the ones who could hang and go along ended up in the movie."
- Jared Kusnitz, as Jimmy, a pizza deliverer.
- Greyson Chadwick, as Lindsey, Jimmy's lovely girlfriend and vice-president of the student council.
- Chandler DarbyChandler DarbyChandler Darby is an American film actor. Best known for his role in Dance of the Dead distributed by Lions Gate Entertainment. He also is the lead actor in Six Degrees of Desperation which is due to be released early 2010...
, as Steven, the class nerd who harbors a secret crush on Gwen. - Carissa Capobianco, as Gwen, a popular cheerleader.
- Randy McDowellRandy McDowellRandy McDowell is an American film and television actor, best known for playing Gene Smith in the CBS miniseries Elvis....
, as Jules, president of the Sci-Fi Club. - Blair RedfordBlair RedfordDavid Blair Redford is an American actor.- Personal life :Redford grew up in the suburb of Canton, Georgia and attended Sequoyah High School. He is of Irish, French, German, and Native American descent...
, as Nash Rambler, leader of a band of drug-addled teenagers. - Mark OliverMark OliverMark Oliver is a voice actor who works for Ocean Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He has played several roles in anime, most notably Rau Le Creuset in Gundam SEED...
, as Coach Keel, the school coach with some kind of military background. - Justin WelbornJustin WelbornJustin Welborn is an actor and singer best known for his roles in the films The Signal, Dance of the Dead, and The Final Destination.- Filmography :- Television :- Video :*2008 - MGS: Acquiescence - Stunt...
, as Kyle Grubin. - James Jarrett, as gravedigger.
- Lucas TillLucas TillLucas Daniel Till is an American actor. He began acting in the early 2000s, and has since appeared in a number of films and television parts, including his roles on House, Hannah Montana: The Movie and X-Men: First Class...
, as Jensen, another member of the band.
Production
The Film itself was based on a script written in the late 1990s. It was filmed in Rome, GeorgiaRome, Georgia
Located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, Rome is the largest city and the county seat of Floyd County, Georgia, United States. It is the principal city of the Rome, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Floyd County...
and North Georgia
North Georgia
North Georgia is the hilly to mountainous northern region of the U.S. state of Georgia. At the time of the arrival of settlers from Europe, it was inhabited largely by the Cherokee. The counties of North Georgia were often scenes of important events in the history of Georgia...
.
Distribution
Dance of the Dead was distributed on October 14, 2008 on DVD by Lions Gate EntertainmentLions Gate Entertainment
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation is a North American entertainment company. The company was formed in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1997, and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California...
in a deal with Sam Raimi
Sam Raimi
Samuel Marshall "Sam" Raimi is an American film director, producer, actor and writer. He is best known for directing cult horror films like the Evil Dead series, Darkman and Drag Me to Hell, as well as the blockbuster Spider-Man films and the producer of the successful TV series Hercules: The...
's new partnership Ghost House Underground. The film is expected to be part of Ghost House's inaugural slate of offerings dubbed "October Horror".
Following the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
, German distributor Splendid Film bought the rights for German release.
Film festivals
Dance of the Dead premiered at the 15th South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival in Austin, Texas, March 7-15 2008 alongside a lineup of 113 feature films, including sixty-four world premieres, high school-themed features and rock documentaries. It was a 'Round Midnight selection.The film was also screened at the 32nd annual Atlanta Film Festival in April 2008, and considered a "must see," and three separate showings of the film were sold out. Bleiberg Entertainment marketed the film at the 61st Cannes Film Festival in May 2008. Subsequent screenings included the International Fantastic Film Festival at Neuchâtel, Switzerland, on 3 July 2008, the Fantasy Film Fest in Germany on 15 August 2008, the ninth Film4 FrightFest
London FrightFest Film Festival
FrightFest is an annual film festival held in central London over the August Bank Holiday weekend. The first event was held in the year 2000....
in London, UK, on 23 August 2008, and the Rome International Film Festival in North Georgia, US, on 7 September 2008.
Critic response
Jason Whyte of eFilmCritic.com called it a "triumph in nearly every way; not only is an independent film that takes its small budget and runs with it, it is everything you want out of a horror comedy and more." Scott Weinberg of FEARnetFEARnet
Fearnet is a cable channel, website and Video on Demand television service owned by Horror Entertainment LLC, a joint venture between Comcast, Lions Gate Entertainment, and Sony Pictures Entertainment...
was surprised that "character development" was possible, and thought it "fast and funny, sick and sweet, nerdy and gory. Basically, a whole lot of fun." Expecting a "cheesy zombie flick," reviewer Brian Gibson instead found a "zombie/prom weekend film that ended up being one of the best surprises of the [film] festival." Anton Bitel, who writes for UK movie magazine Little White Lies was tired of the zombie comedy genre in general yet still saw a film distinguished by "sharp writing, amusing characters, and a real affection for nerd culture."
DVD release
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
in North America on 14 October 2008. The DVD contains an audio commentary
Audio commentary
On disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video...
by the film's director, Gregg Bishop, and writer Joe Ballarini, as well as deleted and extended scenes with optional audio commentary with Bishop. The DVD also contained several featurettes, including, "Making of Dance of the Dead," with extended commentary from cast and crew members. The second, "Blood, Guts and Rock 'n' Roll: Effects and Stunts of Dance of the Dead", discusses the film's technical production. Several additional features included a trailer gallery and Voodoo, a five-and-a-half minute short film by director Gregg Bishop.