Dead and Deader

Did You Know?

• The film had a theatrical release in the UK in 2008 via Fluid Entertainment.
• In Australia, it was released via Starz Home Entertainment in 2007.

Plot

After communications to a small medical outpost in Cambodia are cut off, a Special Forces squad is sent to investigate. They are attacked by zombies, and Lieutenant Bobby Quinn survives with heavy injuries. He radios for a medivac airlift and falls unconscious. Quinn wakes up on an exam table at Fort Preston army base.

The coroner explains he arrived in a body-bag and was pronounced DOA. Feeling pain in his right arm, Quinn cuts it open with a scalpel. Green blood and a strange scorpion gush out, which he crushes. The incision rapidly heals, and Quinn gains superhuman strength.

He experiences intense hunger dulled only by raw red meat and teams up with military chef Judson. They fight out of the base to find Quinn's squad-members. At a roadside bar, they meet Holly, a part-time bartender. News reports label Quinn and Judson as suspects in the Fort Preston killings.

Bar patrons lock them in a cooler, but zombies attack. Holly frees them, and they escape. Quinn learns Dr. Scott plans to use scorpion venom to revive dead tissues for profit. They follow Dr. Scott to Fort Preston, where zombies kill him.

After destroying the scorpion and all zombies, Quinn, Judson, and Holly escape. They lure zombies to the armory and blow it up, then walk away together.

Production

Originally titled House of the Dead 3, a continuation of the movie series based on the video game franchise, this title was dropped seemingly due to licensing issues. Dead and Deader was director Patrick Dinhut's first feature film. It is a lighthearted zombie movie with a strong comedic bent, filled with pop culture references including Star Wars and Dawn of the Dead. For example, Judson hints about Dean Cain's role as Superman on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, suggesting Quinn use heat vision to escape a cooler. Character names contain pop culture references: Armin Shimerman plays a character named Flutie, referencing his role on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. A debate between Pvt. Connery and Pvt. Lazenby about James Bond actors mirrors dialogue by Kevin Smith.

Reception

Travis Estvold of Boise Weekly wrote that the film would have done better as a 45-minute episode of The Outer Limits. Jon Condit of Dread Central rated it 2/5 stars, calling it like a rejected mid-80s TV pilot. Bloody Disgusting rated it 3.5/5 stars, noting it has its moments for a low-budget Sci-Fi Channel feature. Scott Weinberg of DVD Talk rated it 2.5/5 stars, describing it as a low-budget, tongue-in-cheek mixture of Blade, 48 HRS., 28 Days Later, and an angry commando action flick, but also kinda fun. Academic Peter Dendle wrote in The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia, Volume 2 that the promising opening deteriorates into buffoonery and yawny punch-lines.