Play Dead (2022) Poster

(2022)

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6/10
Implausible But Engaging
sos_poseidon20 January 2023
Even with the 100% implausible plot and situations, it actually held my attention until the very end. There are scenes that are nicely done and the suspense is through the roof. There are other scenes that you simply have to suspend all disbelief and just be entertained. The final battle between the heroine and the maniac coroner ends in a very well done makeup effect that is both gruesome and also a lesson in anatomy. Although I wasn't familiar with the lead actress, she did well in the role. Most will recognize the evil coroner, Jerry O'Connell, from television and other movies. His deadpan delivery and reserved portrayal was effective.
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6/10
Watchable
jomayevans15 July 2023
OK I had pretty much guessed the story before hand, but watched anyway to see if it would be a bad acting or a surprise, I have to say on first starting off the w young lads actually had me engaged in their car with topics and play, the acting was solid from the young guy and mortician, unfortunately half way through it does start to feel flat cheesy and nit the best aesthetic settings. They do try to end it on a high note kinda when stories over give it that apocalyptic feel dusk till dawn. The end special effect in a certain scene was laughable but I went with it because it picked bk up. Our protagonist and antagonist carried this thin film with their acting abilities. Without them it would've been a failure. But will probably be good for first time horror watchers.
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6/10
I almost turned it off, stick around for the second half!
WubbaLubbaDubDub22 January 2023
This movie starts off messy. The story, acting, characters, felt so poorly created as a horror fan I couldn't see its value. But after we get comfortable in the morgue and the chase is on it picks up. By the end it had my full attention. I really thought they messed up with the lead actress initially but now I get why she was hired. Young lady can scream and showed excellent range in the second half. Displayed great rage. Not just the damsel I thought it was setting her up for. I could see her growing as a scream queen. Hope to see her in more films. Part of why I wanted to stick things out was Jerry O' Connell and he's a great villian in this. I've seen him pop up in a few horrors before and he always entertains. I grew up with his films so I may have a bias admittedly. By the end they do an excellent job at creating a monster. I could see a sequel happen with his character. I'm not a big gore fan, it's not too excessive but body parts are involed so don't be too caught off guard. There's not a lot of bad language. Because I'd read the negative reviews I thought it was worth sharing a positive experience. First half I was going to give it a 4, enjoyed the second so much it earned two points.
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2/10
So Dumb
thalassafischer26 September 2023
Warning: Spoilers
A "second year medical student" who looks like she's an undergraduate does something incredibly stupid and dangerous to sneak into a morgue because her brother is an unstable loser.

Then, once she gets into the morgue, that child actor from the 80s who is now like 50 is caught selling organs. Okay. But here's the really implausible part - her ex who was supposedly fatally shot in the incident her brother was involved in is alive in the morgue TOO.

This movie is unbearably stupid. I have to keep typing characters to flesh out this review for an absolutely terrible movie. This film should not be a 5 on IMDB, it should be a 3 tops.
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3/10
A film in different slices
kjjames815 February 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Saw this little movie last night and came away with the fact that the first third of the film was the best and the rest of it just ruined the movie.

So for the first twenty or so minutes, until Chole finds out what the coroner is up to was really good and I wish the movie had kept this style of movie up and it would have had ratings of six or seven but alas it went down hill from there.

Then we find out what the coroner is up to, it won't come as a surprise and this is where the tension started to leave the film.

Then we have the final act, which went from bad to worse, I guessed about the cop, so no surprise there either and the final fights were just down right laughable, the coroner moved so slow to stab Chloe in the eye I thought the movie had stopped, if you have seen this film you will know what I am on about.

This film started stood but went to the usual route instead of being something special.

Three stars for the acting.
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1/10
FAILS on the ridiculous premise in first 10 minutes
Pegasus720 March 2023
Anyone with an ounce of medical knowledge knows that the first 10 minutes of this film is garbage.

She uses Propofol to induce some sort of coma state, where she is declared to be dead and ends up in the morgue.

Big problem....... Propofol wears off after about 5-10 minutes, and she injected it IM (intra muscular) which does NOT work with propofol which is an IV only medication. Not only that, she would have woken up in about 10 minutes (even if an IM injection of propofol had worked).

THEN, not only do some apparently incompetent medics declare her dead (despite her having a pulse and resp rate), and she ends up in the morgue?

What a pile of unadulterated crap, and I'm not even 10 minutes into the film.

Seriously, 5 minutes of research would have shown this premise to be totally laughable.

Writes of this tripe should be ashamed of themselves.
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7/10
Not possible at all but entertaining
kevinpleasant24 June 2023
The movie has so many parts of the story that make no sense and aren't plausible in any way. Having said that if you can get past that and suspend reality for an hour and a half it's entertaining. Bailee Madison does a great job as always and it keeps you on the edge of your seat. Jerry O'Connell plays the creepy Coroner really well. The twist at the end involving the police officer really isn't a twist since you can see it coming a mile away. Overall, if you have an evening to spend and are looking for a movie to watch, you can do much worse than this if you're willing to accept the unbelievable story.
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4/10
Hard to get past the ridiculous premise
ejonconrad18 September 2023
I know you usually have to suspend some disbelief in horror and sci fi movies, but there are limits, and this movie strains credibility to the limit right out of the gate.

The main character's loser brother is involved in a robbery that goes wrong, and his partner is shot and killed. He realizes there's evidence on the guy's phone that will incriminate him (these are not the brightest bulbs). His sister, who is a medical student, comes up with a "brilliant" idea: she will take propofol to fake her own death, she'll get taken to the morgue, and steal the phone.

Of course, propofol won't do that. There's a good chance it will really kill you, like it did to Michael Jackson, but otherwise you'll be quite obviously alive. Even if they thought she was dead, she was somehow confident that she would be put somewhere where she could easily find the other guy and his phone, rather than, you know, in a drawer that she couldn't get out of. Like they say in the commercial, "When you're in a horror movie, you make bad choices. It's what you do."

Without giving away any spoilers, the "twist" is pretty obvious - and completely unbelievable.

On the other hand, the acting is pretty good, and if you check your brain at the door, it's reasonably entertaining to watch.
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6/10
Solid low budget effort
zack_gideon19 January 2023
For the budget and premise this movie actually is pretty entertaining. Granted there are some pretty bad plot holes around character decisions and a few other things, but I found myself engaged( mostly from the increasing tension and acting.

The lead female does a fantastic job and is able to showcase her range here. I could see her leading a few bigger budget films soon.

The movie overall has some bad scenes (like the first scene) but don't let that put you off. Once it gets going it's pretty entertaining with some solid gore and a few minor twists. I think the production was well executed. I could see shudder or Amazon prime picking this up soon. 6.5/10.
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1/10
One of the worst horror movies I've ever watched
ahnjaehee21 January 2023
Warning: Spoilers
I was extremely excited when I heard about this movie online. But it just falls really REALLY flat. So spoilers ahead for those that still wanna watch. Girl poisons herself (calling it a fake overdose) to get into the morgue to get her brother's cell phone. Then crap hits the fan. The creepy coroner finds out she's there and starts to hunt her down. I just find the movie to be a waste of time and there to be plot holes. There's a scene where she does shoot him in the eye and he's bleeding,it looks like a bb pellet came out of the gun. Then the scene after it his eye is fine and not bloody at all. It's weird,I had to rewind it to make sure I saw it correctly. It just feels sloppy and rushed. If you're into gore just for the hell of it then yeah,this is your movie I guess. Warning about the end,the dog is seen eating a corpse.
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10/10
Definitely loved this awesome movie
zeeking11 February 2023
Warning: Spoilers
I loved this movie.. the main characters.. the acting..the buildup.. the chase and I loved how bravely the female lead fought off against the evil coroner. The coroner played his part well.. the way he played with his keys was nice.. Just finished watching this movie and I enjoyed it! The tension was fitting, I loved the practical fake gory stuff and the cast did a good job too. I highly recommend it. It is a good movie especially to those who are finding a thrilling and suspense movie. At first I thought it was just so boring but afterwards I'm starting to feel excitement and nervousness especially to that scene of hide and seek. The two face effect at the end interested me.
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6/10
Watchable and Suspenseful
martinmatthewnovak21 January 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Solid B movie. It kept me interested the whole time. Suspenseful and great thriller. Wonderful job by Jerry O' Connell. FYI it takes about 40 minutes before it gets really good. Good choice overall don't let the low budget comments fool you.

Ok, your not a blood, guts and gore type of person this is DEFINITELY not for you.

O' Connell does an amazing job at playing the uncaring and unfeeling villain in this movie. But it's very hard to dislike him for the reason he does what he does. I found myself personally understand and finding it almost acceptable at times.

The timing is also well done, not over doing it between the victims and the villain. Just when you think it can't get worse it does.
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4/10
Average... just average
Luv2Spooge24 January 2023
It started out quite well, but then quickly turned into a cliche. There's absolutely nothing surprising or noteworthy, you can pretty much figure out the whole plot and even the twists within the first few minutes of the film.

Suspensewise, it was also quite predictable so honestly my heart rate never increased. I mean, compare to suspense from A Quiet Place or Don't Breathe, this film hardly creates a jitter. It is more of a gross type of film where you see a lot of blood, the cutting up of bodies, than it is about actual psychological thriller and even jump scare.

The only point that is noteworthy is the great performance by Jerry O'connell. The moment he came on the screen, you can feel his command of the movie. However, the most impressive of his performance was when he spoke; strong, articulate, and cerebral.

Overall a bore of a movie that you might share with some friends while eating pizza and stuff.

4/10.
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5/10
B-horror
SnoopyStyle8 June 2023
Medical student Chloe Albright (Bailee Madison) has money troubles. Unbeknownst to her, her brother and her boyfriend try to rob a dispensary. It goes badly and the boyfriend gets killed. Chloe has to play dead to sneak into the morgue and retrieve his phone which would lead back to her and her brother. Jerry O'Connell plays the creepy coroner.

On its surface, the premise seems like fine horror fare, but it really doesn't hold water. The attempted robbery would result in an investigation. It's an open case which needs to exonerate the shooter. They would need a much bigger conspiracy to hide a body from a case like this. He's not some forgotten homeless John Doe. The basic premise is problematic. The other problem is the lack the visual ingenuity or horror inventiveness. The filmmaking is weak. Bailee and Jerry do some fine work, but there is nothing much more that. It's a B-horror with problems.
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3/10
Ugh...Rolled My Eyes 98% of the movie
ryleilove30 July 2023
Warning: Spoilers
I really hate when writers write the characters to do dumb things that interfere with them saving themselves and I am truly sick of it.

Take this one for example, you get the keys. Good girl. However, you then go and get your ex off the table, walk him to the door, do everything to open the doors and clearly see he can't walk, you tell him to run when you open the doors but you STILL have to go back and get the phone. When you realize you're caught and being watched, you take your sweet time trying to get the ex up again clearly he can't walk. Obviously for the movies sake, you can't just leave because it really has nothing to do with your moral meter. From that point, I have no sympathy for the character, them getting caught becomes satisfying and I could care less if they live or die.

Had she instead, got the keys....went to get the phone....got the ex....escaped but then coroner blocks them from leaving or something in that nature resembling an inch of intelligence, then I can root for the lead. "Omgeeeee noooo she really tried...oh please let her live." In this case, sadly, I did not feel this way and I felt absolutely 0 ounce of remorse for the lead, Chloe (Madison).

Also, I have not seen Bailee Madison in anything since she was a young child and I loved her then. For example, her role in "Just Go with It". She was so cute and I said "She is a star". I haven't seen PLL reboot nor do I plan to but she really overacted in this one during her "scare" scenes. Her faces annoyed me so badly. I read some reviews saying they felt suspense watching this and I wonder if we watched the same film. This was really predictable, fell flat for me from middle to end, and idk just felt like a mess. Also, idk if we saved each others lives, you got the kidney so you're going to pay me regular price...100k. I didn't go through all of this tonight for the bear minimum of 25k. That's just enough for tuition and maybe something on the house. So now what are they gonna do?

This movie was an annoying joke. I'm sick of it. * Major eyeroll*. It was watchable. I'm glad it's a free Tubi original. I still love Tubi however. It has literally become my fave streaming app though I pay for others. I'm a sucker for their Z-list movies though I will rate this one a B-list due to the cast.
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1/10
Absolute garbage, stay away at all cost.
psxexperten26 January 2023
Starts Off Bad, But Wait, it Gets Worse... Another worst film!

Bad directing. Bad cinematography. Really bad acting. Boring plot with excessive dialog. That about sums it up.

Whoever makes this garbage should stop and focus on something else. Wedding videos maybe? Or possibly just a new career in general because this is fraud.

This film is bad.

But man oh man this is just amateur hour. I've seen better films on the dollar rental shelf back in the 90s.

If the writer/director got funding for this, it is a good example of someone completely wasting time AND MONEY on boring, uninspired trash like this.
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7/10
This gave me anxiety!
jasmineayouby2 February 2023
Warning: Spoilers
This movie is really INTENSE! Bailee Madison is AMAZING in this, for those who said otherwise I am surprised! I was impressed by her ability to make this SO believable that I felt her fear, my heart was racing and it had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. From the moment I saw the creepy coroner, I knew something was wrong and he is a great villain-very believable. Had I been in Chloe's shoes, I would've died! Definitely a good thriller, parts had me gasping and giving me anxiety lol

I didn't like the gorey scenes, very disturbing subject matter, but very good thriller! I recommend if you mind the gore and I'll probably have PTSD over these scenes lol.
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5/10
An alright watch
drowzgamer4 February 2023
The movie was rather well done, if slow at times.

Obviously, much of what happens in this movie wouldn't be possible in real life, but that's the point of movies is it not?

The acting is good, and there is more than enough suspense to keep you watching. At times it was slow, but it is still worth watching I think.

If you like movies like "Hush" or "Dont Breathe" then this is along the lines of something you may enjoy.

I will say that it is rather predictable, but if you're alright with that sort of thing don't pass up 'Play Dead'.

Quick Summary: Predictable and slow at times, but still worth watching.
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6/10
A fun thriller.
SolaceSolitude22 January 2023
Warning: Spoilers
If you could get past the plot holes similar to a Swiss cheese, how a girl of her tiny size with no training at all except being a first or second year medical student in a field could defeat a grown serial killer and a trained huge cop who happens to be incompetent with a sadistic mind while saving her brother from an organ trafficking ring, a German shepherd dog and finally the awful movies that have been on for the past decade then it's a fairly okay thriller.

Bailee Madison does a good job, a bit believable but looks way too innocent and fragile to be believable but she passes and does her best in keeping the the movie going.
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2/10
Lost my interest the less believable it got
catarinasuicide2 August 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Spoilers alert!

I'm not one to be like "oh that's inconsistent with reality" in movies because, well, it's a movie lol but the scene where he puts her in restrains that are clip ons and that she can clearly reach and unclip herself, and eventually does, was way too ridiculous lol loose rope, fabric, anything would've been better than that toys r us cuffs lol Ok that was my breaking point but now that we got that out of the way, I should also mention Chloe and the Coroner (main characters) don't ever sync up their acting, the movie fails as a suspense and it's few dramatic scenes usually had a soundtrack on the background to make it obvious.

At least it didn't have fake looking organs and CGI and I like Jerry O'Connel for that type of role so that was nice.
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10/10
It's so good
altroydatu9 February 2023
So good i think this underrrated movie deserves more recognition because it is super super good like fr fr not kidding you guys should try this its enjoyable and ofcourse a lot of interesting and with an great ending satisfying twist you guys should try this out,, so good. Your year is not complete if you dont watch these you should check it out the acting and plot with an great story line is such an 10/10 not jokes the maincharacter here is so satisfying such an wonderful movie and such an great characters the ending is also 10/10 so this movie is such an perfection great move of the year!!!!
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7/10
Pleasantly surprised
sallywino8 September 2023
I've just watched this and I really wasn't sure what it was going to be like. I really liked the two main characters in other programmes as seen Chloe in pretty little iars original sin and her brother Tj from love Victor.

It started off slow and wasn't sure as there isn't loads of characters in it so wasn't sure but saw reviews saying give it time. They were so right the second part of this film I really enjoyed and had lots of twists and turns and kept me entertained right until the end.

I really enjoyed it and do recommend it to people just give it a while to get going then you will be surprised. Really enjoyed it.
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5/10
You'll shoot your eye out
nogodnomasters23 December 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Chloe Albright (Bailee Madison) is left a house by her deceased father who had zero insurance. She is a student with debts the bank demands and threatens to take the house. Her brother TJ (Anthony Turpel) and her former boyfriend Ross (Chris Lee) have a plan. They are going to rob a house owned by a man who believes in the Second Amendment. Ross is shot at the scene and pronounced dead while TJ gets away. TJ makes it back home, but they figure out Ross has a cell phone that they used to plan the crime. They must get it back. In order to get it back, Chloe takes some drugs to simulate death so she can have access to the morgue. Turns out Ross isn't dead yet, and that is bad news for Chloe as the Coroner (Jerry O'Connell) has his own retirement plan.

You suspected where this was going from the plot title and picture. Watchable, mildly entertaining.

Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity.
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3/10
Not the best lead actress
sarisled-0591821 January 2023
Thats why it gets a 3 and because some dialogue was so bad it made me cringe.

Overall I was entertained and the movie held my attention for long. I even got nervous a couple of times which means the director did a good job. At first glance you will think this is a bad ridiculous movie but let it roll and watch it when you actually have time and when you are in a mental state where you can focus to be able to enjoy it. Try to follow whats going on cause many times I forward or do something else in movies with bad beginnings and end up missing scenes which leads to me not understanding whats actually going on Later. Dont do that!

I wouldn't recommend paying to see this movie, its not that good. But give it a shot. Its not that bad either.
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5/10
Another solid B movie
Boristhemoggy21 January 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Bailee Madison isn't my jam at all, but I gave this film a chance and it wasn't too shabby.

The plot is ridiculous. The girl poisons herself to appear dead so she can get taken to the morgue in order to steal some evidence on a corpse that incriminates her brother.

Phew...what! I hear you say? Yeah bizarre story, however while Madison will never be an A lister she puts in an OK performance as do most of the others.

Plot lines and scenes are sometimes laughable but the whole thing takes place inside the morgue, at a pretty decent pace and I admit to feeling some tension now and again due to decent directing.

There is a lot of gore and some nasty scenes, but if you want a reasonably tense gore shocker one night this could fit the bill for you.
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