Dead And Deader
Encyclopedia
Dead And Deader is a zombie horror film
directed by Patrick Dinhut and stars Dean Cain
, Guy Torry
, Peter Greene
, and Susan Ward
, with cameos from Armin Shimerman
, John Billingsley
, and Dean Haglund
.
), initially survives and radios for a medivac airlift, but soon falls unconscious.
Later, Quinn wakes up on an exam table at Ft. Preston Army Base, to find he's being prepped for postmortem. The Coroner, Dr, Flutie (Armin Shimerman
), explains that he arrived in a body-bag the previous evening and had been pronounced DOA, and that he has no vital signs and is thus clinically dead. Quinn begins to get dressed and asks after the fate of his squad, which Flutie reveals are all dead. Quinn is suddenly stricken by agonizing pain in his right arm, and grabs a scalpel to slice it open. Gushing greenish blood, the wound reveals one of the strange scorpions, which he promptly crushes. The incision rapidly heals without a trace of scarring.
Quinn and Flutie soon relate their findings to Dr. Boyce, who is determined to keep Quinn quarantined. Quinn, however, is driven to find out what happened to himself and his squad, and resists her directives. She tries to have him sedated, but the sedative has no effect, and in the course of the attempt, Quinn reveals superhuman strength to go with his rapid-healing and altered metabolism, and she finally reveals that one of the other members of his squad, Sgt. Cruz, is also in the morgue scheduled for cremation, and the other bodies were being taken elsewhere. Quinn demands to see him, and she takes him to Dr. Langdon (John Billingsley
) to find his whereabouts when he turns up missing. With Quinn's heightened senses, the trio tracks Cruz to the base's kitchen, where he is attacking the cook, Judson (Guy Torry
). In the process, both Boyce and Langdon are infected, and Quinn and Judson have to destroy them. Right after, Quinn is stricken by intense pangs of hunger that can only be dulled by ingesting raw, red meat. The two of them are then taken into custody by Major Bascom (Kirk B.R. Woller), who refuses to believe Quinn's story (though he does take notice of the unusually deep dent that Quinn made in his table after angrily slamming down his fist).
Quinn and Judson promptly escape, determined to track down the remaining squad-members before they can wreak havoc. They manage to find the truck used to transport the bodies, arrive too late, finding it wrecked and covered in blood. While following the trail, they stop at a small road-side bar, where they meet Holly, a smart U.C San Bernadino film-student who works as a bartender part-time as she studies for her degree. Unfortunately for Quinn and Judson, the local news has already aired a report about the "killings" at Fort Preston, and the Bar-patrons lock them inside the cooler. When a group of infected soldiers attacks the bar, Holly retreats to the cooler, and the trio manages to eliminate the zombified soldiers and patrons before they can get out. Having been called by the patrons, the police arrive to arrest Quinn and Judson. Quinn manages to break free of his handcuffs, and Holly nabs the police cruiser and the trio escapes yet again.
On the trail of the final body, Bill Sanderson, the trio change their clothes and general appearance in order to better disguise themselves (the African-American Judson humorously dressing in clothes similar to those worn by Micheal Jackson in Thriller), and head to L.A to intercept Sanderson if they can. However, a visit to Sanderson's home turns up nothing, and Quinn is stricken by another wave of hunger and has to raid the fridge to ease it. As he eats, a woman walks in and they mistake her for one of the family members. She reveals that she's Mrs. Wisteria from next door, and that she has been watching the house for the Sanderson's who are on vacation, and that the wake isn't until the following day. They try to satisfy her by saying they need the info for a "secret government mission" but she insists upon helping, threatening to call the cops otherwise. The trio grudgingly agrees, and Mrs. Wisteria drives them to the Everview Funeral home where Sanderson was taken, and flirts openly with Judson to his dismay. When they arrive, the Director (Dean Haglund
) tells them that Sanderson's body had already been claimed the previous evening. Frustrated, the group makes to leave, but they are intercepted when a van pulls up and the occupants stop them at gunpoint.
Their captors are soon revealed to be mercenaries under the hire of a Dr. Scott (Peter Greene
), and his partner Dr. Adams (Ellie Cornell
). who have Sanderson chained up in their hidden lab. Scott states that the Cambodians call the scorpion-like creature a "Jindu", and that its sting revives dead tissue. It had been a legend until some relief worked stumbled upon the species some years back. It was Scott who sent the mercenaries that killed the workers at the relief-station, and who had themselves finished up dead. He goes on to say that the sting of the creature represents everlasting-life if properly utilized, and that it would be of great benefit to the people of the world "for the right price". When Quinn counters that the infection must be stopped before it can spread, Scott angrily confesses that he's dying of cancer and thus seeks the secret for his own benefit first. He demands a sample of Quinn's blood, and when Quinn refuses, he brings in Mrs. Wisteria and threatens to feed her to Sanderson. Quinn relents, but Scott gives Wisteria to Sanderson anyway, and they watch as she is bitten, does, and transforms into one of the infected Zombies, and Scott confirms that the second-generation zombies are always mindless killers: only those stung by the Jindu have the potential to retain their personalities, so long as the creature doesn't travel straight to their heart. The female Merc destroys Wisteria with a shot to the head. Despite being weakened by hunger, a furious Quinn destroys Sanderson as well, before being knocked out cold.
When Sanderson awakens, Scott and Adams are preparing to leave for Fort Preston. They take him back to the holding cell, and chain him to Holly while taking Judson with them as a hostage and as a guide. Holly manages to evade the ravenous Quinn until he leaps at her and misses, shattering the two-way mirror that leads into Adam's lab. Inside, he stumbles over the mini-fridge where they kept the raw meat for Sanderson, and he quickly devours it, and comes back to his senses. Scott and his group reach Fort Preston, which is now overrun with Zombies, thanks to the body of one of the mercs that had been brought back from Cambodia. Scott is on the hunt for that particular Zombie, since he will be the only one with the Jindu inside. The group proceeds within, destroying attacking zombies as they go, but don't realize that Quinn and Holly are hot on their trail. Scott has Judson open the security door where one of the officers had managed to trap most of the infected, and then Scott takes Judson's keycard and leaves him trapped outside the security doors, where a horde of zombies descend upon him.
Inside, the group eventually finds the morgue containing the original zombie, and shut themselves inside with a mass of undead hammering away from outside. Dr. Scott manages to restrain the zombie, and cuts into his chest cavity. Quinn and Holly reach the security doors, which Quinn breaks down with a flying kick. As Scott extracts the Jindu, the zombies begin to break inside, wounding the female Merc who accidentally shoots Dr. Adams, before being shot by her partner. The Zombies stream in, attacking the remaining Merc, Scott drops the Jindu as Quinn and Holly burst inside. Quinn crushes the Jindu and begins to destroy the Zombies within, while Dr. Scott is attacked and literally "disarmed" by a pair of zombie soldiers before Quinn and Holly can shoot them down. Quinn approaches the bleeding Dr. Adams and asks after Judson, and she claims he was killed. As the pair leave the room, Holly shoots Adams before she can turn into one of the infected.
Leaving, they then find Judson's crucifix
necklace and fear he has been killed, but spy a trash chute and open it to reveal Judson cowering inside. Happy to see him alive, they help him out, and make plans to finish off the infected for good. Quinn takes some C4 from the base's armory, and wires it up to explode beneath the ammo-dump so it'll take out the entire base. As he moves to find a vehicle for the group to escape with, he has Judson and Holly bait the zombies as close to the ammo-dump as possible. Quinn struggles to find a vehicle that isn't damaged, as Judson and Holly narrowly escape a group of hungry undead they have drawn towards the ammo-dump, and activate the 2-minute timer. Barely escaping, the base goes up in flames, and afterward, the trio scour the wreckage to make sure all the zombies are truly out of commission. With the undead finished, Quinn, Holly, and Judson walk away to plan their futures, with Holly saying "this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
and even Dawn of the Dead) and joking asides, from hints about Dean Cain's role as Superman on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
(At one point Judson suggests that Quinn use "heat vision" as a means of escape from a cooler), to characters with pop culture names (Armin Shimerman
plays a character named Flutie, which is a clear reference to his role on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, where he played Principal Snyder
, the successor to a principal named Flutie), and a debate on the merits of various versions of James Bond
by the soldiers Pvt. Connery and Pvt. Lazenby that mirrors dialogue by director/writer Kevin Smith
.
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
directed by Patrick Dinhut and stars Dean Cain
Dean Cain
Dean Cain is an American actor. He is most widely known for his role as Clark Kent/Superman in the popular American television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.-Early life:...
, Guy Torry
Guy Torry
-Early life:Guy Torry was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, along with his brother, actor and comedian Joe Torry. He attended Southeast Missouri State University where fellow comedian and St. Louisan Cedric the Entertainer attended. While attending college, Torry developed his talent for comedy...
, Peter Greene
Peter Greene
Peter Greene is an American character actor.A native of Montclair, New Jersey, Greene did not pursue a career in acting until his mid 20s...
, and Susan Ward
Susan Ward
Susan Ward is an American actress and model.-Early life and career:Ward was born in Monroe, Louisiana. She attended a private, Christian elementary school , in Monroe, LA. She briefly attended Northeast Louisiana University...
, with cameos from Armin Shimerman
Armin Shimerman
Armin Shimerman is an American actor. Shimerman is best known for playing the Ferengi bartender Quark in the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Principal Snyder in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Kramer's caddy Stan on Seinfeld, voicing Dr. Nefarious in the Ratchet & Clank series, and Andrew...
, John Billingsley
John Billingsley
John Billingsley is an American actor, known for his role as Doctor Phlox on the television series Star Trek: Enterprise.-Career:...
, and Dean Haglund
Dean Haglund
Dean Haglund is a Canadian actor known for the role of Richard "Ringo" Langly, one of the Lone Gunmen on The X-Files. Haglund is also a stand-up comedian, specializing in improvisational comedy In addition to The X-Files, he played the voice of Sid in Tom Sawyer, Haglund also portrayed Langly in...
.
Plot
A small U.S. special-forces squad travels to Cambodia to follow up on the case of a small medical outpost that has ceased communications, and why the first group sent to the outpost didn't report back. The squad soon finds itself confronted by flesh-eating Zombies seemingly created by a strange species of Scorpion. The squad clears away the Zombies, but is then attacked by an infected researcher who attempts to commit suicide with a grenade. Second-in-command Lieutenant Bobby Quinn (Dean CainDean Cain
Dean Cain is an American actor. He is most widely known for his role as Clark Kent/Superman in the popular American television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.-Early life:...
), initially survives and radios for a medivac airlift, but soon falls unconscious.
Later, Quinn wakes up on an exam table at Ft. Preston Army Base, to find he's being prepped for postmortem. The Coroner, Dr, Flutie (Armin Shimerman
Armin Shimerman
Armin Shimerman is an American actor. Shimerman is best known for playing the Ferengi bartender Quark in the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Principal Snyder in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Kramer's caddy Stan on Seinfeld, voicing Dr. Nefarious in the Ratchet & Clank series, and Andrew...
), explains that he arrived in a body-bag the previous evening and had been pronounced DOA, and that he has no vital signs and is thus clinically dead. Quinn begins to get dressed and asks after the fate of his squad, which Flutie reveals are all dead. Quinn is suddenly stricken by agonizing pain in his right arm, and grabs a scalpel to slice it open. Gushing greenish blood, the wound reveals one of the strange scorpions, which he promptly crushes. The incision rapidly heals without a trace of scarring.
Quinn and Flutie soon relate their findings to Dr. Boyce, who is determined to keep Quinn quarantined. Quinn, however, is driven to find out what happened to himself and his squad, and resists her directives. She tries to have him sedated, but the sedative has no effect, and in the course of the attempt, Quinn reveals superhuman strength to go with his rapid-healing and altered metabolism, and she finally reveals that one of the other members of his squad, Sgt. Cruz, is also in the morgue scheduled for cremation, and the other bodies were being taken elsewhere. Quinn demands to see him, and she takes him to Dr. Langdon (John Billingsley
John Billingsley
John Billingsley is an American actor, known for his role as Doctor Phlox on the television series Star Trek: Enterprise.-Career:...
) to find his whereabouts when he turns up missing. With Quinn's heightened senses, the trio tracks Cruz to the base's kitchen, where he is attacking the cook, Judson (Guy Torry
Guy Torry
-Early life:Guy Torry was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, along with his brother, actor and comedian Joe Torry. He attended Southeast Missouri State University where fellow comedian and St. Louisan Cedric the Entertainer attended. While attending college, Torry developed his talent for comedy...
). In the process, both Boyce and Langdon are infected, and Quinn and Judson have to destroy them. Right after, Quinn is stricken by intense pangs of hunger that can only be dulled by ingesting raw, red meat. The two of them are then taken into custody by Major Bascom (Kirk B.R. Woller), who refuses to believe Quinn's story (though he does take notice of the unusually deep dent that Quinn made in his table after angrily slamming down his fist).
Quinn and Judson promptly escape, determined to track down the remaining squad-members before they can wreak havoc. They manage to find the truck used to transport the bodies, arrive too late, finding it wrecked and covered in blood. While following the trail, they stop at a small road-side bar, where they meet Holly, a smart U.C San Bernadino film-student who works as a bartender part-time as she studies for her degree. Unfortunately for Quinn and Judson, the local news has already aired a report about the "killings" at Fort Preston, and the Bar-patrons lock them inside the cooler. When a group of infected soldiers attacks the bar, Holly retreats to the cooler, and the trio manages to eliminate the zombified soldiers and patrons before they can get out. Having been called by the patrons, the police arrive to arrest Quinn and Judson. Quinn manages to break free of his handcuffs, and Holly nabs the police cruiser and the trio escapes yet again.
On the trail of the final body, Bill Sanderson, the trio change their clothes and general appearance in order to better disguise themselves (the African-American Judson humorously dressing in clothes similar to those worn by Micheal Jackson in Thriller), and head to L.A to intercept Sanderson if they can. However, a visit to Sanderson's home turns up nothing, and Quinn is stricken by another wave of hunger and has to raid the fridge to ease it. As he eats, a woman walks in and they mistake her for one of the family members. She reveals that she's Mrs. Wisteria from next door, and that she has been watching the house for the Sanderson's who are on vacation, and that the wake isn't until the following day. They try to satisfy her by saying they need the info for a "secret government mission" but she insists upon helping, threatening to call the cops otherwise. The trio grudgingly agrees, and Mrs. Wisteria drives them to the Everview Funeral home where Sanderson was taken, and flirts openly with Judson to his dismay. When they arrive, the Director (Dean Haglund
Dean Haglund
Dean Haglund is a Canadian actor known for the role of Richard "Ringo" Langly, one of the Lone Gunmen on The X-Files. Haglund is also a stand-up comedian, specializing in improvisational comedy In addition to The X-Files, he played the voice of Sid in Tom Sawyer, Haglund also portrayed Langly in...
) tells them that Sanderson's body had already been claimed the previous evening. Frustrated, the group makes to leave, but they are intercepted when a van pulls up and the occupants stop them at gunpoint.
Their captors are soon revealed to be mercenaries under the hire of a Dr. Scott (Peter Greene
Peter Greene
Peter Greene is an American character actor.A native of Montclair, New Jersey, Greene did not pursue a career in acting until his mid 20s...
), and his partner Dr. Adams (Ellie Cornell
Ellie Cornell
Ellie Cornell is an American actress and movie producer, known primarily for her roles in horror films. After her marriage to producer Mark Gottwald, she is sometimes credited as Ellie Gottwald.-Career:...
). who have Sanderson chained up in their hidden lab. Scott states that the Cambodians call the scorpion-like creature a "Jindu", and that its sting revives dead tissue. It had been a legend until some relief worked stumbled upon the species some years back. It was Scott who sent the mercenaries that killed the workers at the relief-station, and who had themselves finished up dead. He goes on to say that the sting of the creature represents everlasting-life if properly utilized, and that it would be of great benefit to the people of the world "for the right price". When Quinn counters that the infection must be stopped before it can spread, Scott angrily confesses that he's dying of cancer and thus seeks the secret for his own benefit first. He demands a sample of Quinn's blood, and when Quinn refuses, he brings in Mrs. Wisteria and threatens to feed her to Sanderson. Quinn relents, but Scott gives Wisteria to Sanderson anyway, and they watch as she is bitten, does, and transforms into one of the infected Zombies, and Scott confirms that the second-generation zombies are always mindless killers: only those stung by the Jindu have the potential to retain their personalities, so long as the creature doesn't travel straight to their heart. The female Merc destroys Wisteria with a shot to the head. Despite being weakened by hunger, a furious Quinn destroys Sanderson as well, before being knocked out cold.
When Sanderson awakens, Scott and Adams are preparing to leave for Fort Preston. They take him back to the holding cell, and chain him to Holly while taking Judson with them as a hostage and as a guide. Holly manages to evade the ravenous Quinn until he leaps at her and misses, shattering the two-way mirror that leads into Adam's lab. Inside, he stumbles over the mini-fridge where they kept the raw meat for Sanderson, and he quickly devours it, and comes back to his senses. Scott and his group reach Fort Preston, which is now overrun with Zombies, thanks to the body of one of the mercs that had been brought back from Cambodia. Scott is on the hunt for that particular Zombie, since he will be the only one with the Jindu inside. The group proceeds within, destroying attacking zombies as they go, but don't realize that Quinn and Holly are hot on their trail. Scott has Judson open the security door where one of the officers had managed to trap most of the infected, and then Scott takes Judson's keycard and leaves him trapped outside the security doors, where a horde of zombies descend upon him.
Inside, the group eventually finds the morgue containing the original zombie, and shut themselves inside with a mass of undead hammering away from outside. Dr. Scott manages to restrain the zombie, and cuts into his chest cavity. Quinn and Holly reach the security doors, which Quinn breaks down with a flying kick. As Scott extracts the Jindu, the zombies begin to break inside, wounding the female Merc who accidentally shoots Dr. Adams, before being shot by her partner. The Zombies stream in, attacking the remaining Merc, Scott drops the Jindu as Quinn and Holly burst inside. Quinn crushes the Jindu and begins to destroy the Zombies within, while Dr. Scott is attacked and literally "disarmed" by a pair of zombie soldiers before Quinn and Holly can shoot them down. Quinn approaches the bleeding Dr. Adams and asks after Judson, and she claims he was killed. As the pair leave the room, Holly shoots Adams before she can turn into one of the infected.
Leaving, they then find Judson's crucifix
Crucifix
A crucifix is an independent image of Jesus on the cross with a representation of Jesus' body, referred to in English as the corpus , as distinct from a cross with no body....
necklace and fear he has been killed, but spy a trash chute and open it to reveal Judson cowering inside. Happy to see him alive, they help him out, and make plans to finish off the infected for good. Quinn takes some C4 from the base's armory, and wires it up to explode beneath the ammo-dump so it'll take out the entire base. As he moves to find a vehicle for the group to escape with, he has Judson and Holly bait the zombies as close to the ammo-dump as possible. Quinn struggles to find a vehicle that isn't damaged, as Judson and Holly narrowly escape a group of hungry undead they have drawn towards the ammo-dump, and activate the 2-minute timer. Barely escaping, the base goes up in flames, and afterward, the trio scour the wreckage to make sure all the zombies are truly out of commission. With the undead finished, Quinn, Holly, and Judson walk away to plan their futures, with Holly saying "this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
Cast
- Dean CainDean CainDean Cain is an American actor. He is most widely known for his role as Clark Kent/Superman in the popular American television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.-Early life:...
as Lt. Robert "Bobby" Quinn - Guy TorryGuy Torry-Early life:Guy Torry was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, along with his brother, actor and comedian Joe Torry. He attended Southeast Missouri State University where fellow comedian and St. Louisan Cedric the Entertainer attended. While attending college, Torry developed his talent for comedy...
as Judson - Susan WardSusan WardSusan Ward is an American actress and model.-Early life and career:Ward was born in Monroe, Louisiana. She attended a private, Christian elementary school , in Monroe, LA. She briefly attended Northeast Louisiana University...
as Holly - Peter GreenePeter GreenePeter Greene is an American character actor.A native of Montclair, New Jersey, Greene did not pursue a career in acting until his mid 20s...
as Dr. Scott - Ellie CornellEllie CornellEllie Cornell is an American actress and movie producer, known primarily for her roles in horror films. After her marriage to producer Mark Gottwald, she is sometimes credited as Ellie Gottwald.-Career:...
as Dr. Adams - Kirk B.R. Woller as Major Bascom
- Colleen CampColleen CampColleen Celeste Camp is an American actress and film producer, known for her performances in two installments of the Police Academy series and as Yvette the Maid in the 1985 black comedy Clue. She was also the first actress to play Kristin Shepard in U.S. prime time soap opera Dallas in 1979.Camp...
as Mrs. Wisteria - Armin ShimermanArmin ShimermanArmin Shimerman is an American actor. Shimerman is best known for playing the Ferengi bartender Quark in the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Principal Snyder in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Kramer's caddy Stan on Seinfeld, voicing Dr. Nefarious in the Ratchet & Clank series, and Andrew...
as Coroner Flutie - John BillingsleyJohn BillingsleyJohn Billingsley is an American actor, known for his role as Doctor Phlox on the television series Star Trek: Enterprise.-Career:...
as Langdon - Dean HaglundDean HaglundDean Haglund is a Canadian actor known for the role of Richard "Ringo" Langly, one of the Lone Gunmen on The X-Files. Haglund is also a stand-up comedian, specializing in improvisational comedy In addition to The X-Files, he played the voice of Sid in Tom Sawyer, Haglund also portrayed Langly in...
as "Funeral Home Director" - Ho-Sung Pak as "Superstar Merc"
Production
Patrick Dinhut's first feature is a rather light-hearted Zombie film, with a strong comedic bent. The film is filled with lots of pop-culture references (To Star WarsStar Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
and even Dawn of the Dead) and joking asides, from hints about Dean Cain's role as Superman on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman was a live-action American television series based on the Superman comic books...
(At one point Judson suggests that Quinn use "heat vision" as a means of escape from a cooler), to characters with pop culture names (Armin Shimerman
Armin Shimerman
Armin Shimerman is an American actor. Shimerman is best known for playing the Ferengi bartender Quark in the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Principal Snyder in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Kramer's caddy Stan on Seinfeld, voicing Dr. Nefarious in the Ratchet & Clank series, and Andrew...
plays a character named Flutie, which is a clear reference to his role on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, where he played Principal Snyder
Principal Snyder
Principal R. Snyder is a fictional character in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, played by Armin Shimerman. Shimerman originally auditioned for the role of Flutie, but lost that role to Ken Lerner...
, the successor to a principal named Flutie), and a debate on the merits of various versions of James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
by the soldiers Pvt. Connery and Pvt. Lazenby that mirrors dialogue by director/writer Kevin Smith
Kevin Smith
Kevin Patrick Smith is an American screenwriter, actor, film producer, and director, as well as a popular comic book writer, author, comedian/raconteur, and internet radio personality best recognized by viewers as Silent Bob...
.