Before I say anything that gives you a bad impression about this movie, let me first say this, Intermedio (or Dead & Dying as it's known in the UK, which is how I shall refer to it from now on) is pretty good as straight to video horror movies go. It's probably about the third or fourth best one I've seen. That said, it was also disappointing, probably due to the promise of it's idea being squandered by mediocre execution. Dead & Dying could have been a cool terror ride, but as it is it just slides in with all the other STV 'teens in peril' horror movies.
Although it is a bit generic, what stops it from sinking into the depths never to be seen again is its fantastic cast. With the exception of the main character Jen's boyfriend, everyone in this film is giving it 110%. Key duo Edward Furlong and Cerina Vincent (watch this girl, she is totally wicked) both hand in warm, sympathetic performances that make you really want them to make it out alive, and Amber Benson gives a good go of it as comic relief too.
The acting alone elevates it from the sludge, but unfortunately there isn't a lot else to it. The ghost effects are cool, and for a while very creepy, providing some refreshingly genuine scares, but once it's revealed that they aren't the true villains their ability to terrify dwindles, plus they all but vanish from the movie for the second half anyway. The horror element of this movie feels really tacked on, like they had a thriller written but they needed a horror so they augmented it with some ghosts and a bit of gore. The gore is a nice bonus, but it's pretty straightforward in comparison with films like Shredder or Curse of the Forty-Niner's gleefully complex overkill. This movie doesn't do anything you haven't seen forty or fifty times before.
It's a shame, as this is a genuinely enjoyable movie, but it's tarnished with the feeling it could of been a lot better, like they rushed to get it out. Add to this a soundmix that is so unbalanced I wound up turning the TV set up and down about ten or eleven times, and you can see why I say it just fails to excite as much as it might. All in all, you could do much much worse than Dead & Dying, and it's worth a rent purely for Cerina Vincent and Ed Furlong, but you could do a lot better too. Give it a shot, don't expect miracles.
Although it is a bit generic, what stops it from sinking into the depths never to be seen again is its fantastic cast. With the exception of the main character Jen's boyfriend, everyone in this film is giving it 110%. Key duo Edward Furlong and Cerina Vincent (watch this girl, she is totally wicked) both hand in warm, sympathetic performances that make you really want them to make it out alive, and Amber Benson gives a good go of it as comic relief too.
The acting alone elevates it from the sludge, but unfortunately there isn't a lot else to it. The ghost effects are cool, and for a while very creepy, providing some refreshingly genuine scares, but once it's revealed that they aren't the true villains their ability to terrify dwindles, plus they all but vanish from the movie for the second half anyway. The horror element of this movie feels really tacked on, like they had a thriller written but they needed a horror so they augmented it with some ghosts and a bit of gore. The gore is a nice bonus, but it's pretty straightforward in comparison with films like Shredder or Curse of the Forty-Niner's gleefully complex overkill. This movie doesn't do anything you haven't seen forty or fifty times before.
It's a shame, as this is a genuinely enjoyable movie, but it's tarnished with the feeling it could of been a lot better, like they rushed to get it out. Add to this a soundmix that is so unbalanced I wound up turning the TV set up and down about ten or eleven times, and you can see why I say it just fails to excite as much as it might. All in all, you could do much much worse than Dead & Dying, and it's worth a rent purely for Cerina Vincent and Ed Furlong, but you could do a lot better too. Give it a shot, don't expect miracles.