DEAD AND GONE is a new straight to DVD title from Lionsgate which Fear Zone has covered extensively: first we interviewed horror writer Harry Shannon, who wrote the screenplay; then we interviewed director Yassi Sasson; and, finally, we interviewed legendary film composer Harry Manfredini (FRIDAY THE 13th). And in a couple of weeks, we'll review Shannon's tie in novel!

But first, the movie.

DEAD AND GONE is an unpretentious low budget horror flick with psychological underpinnings that is in many ways a throwback to the straight to video horror movies of the 80s. Everyone made a big deal about how HATCHET was an "80s type film," but I think Sasson and company have nailed the tropes of that era better.

The first thing I noticed about DAG was the cover art: no refugees from a teen soap staring off into the distance with pensive expressions, and none of that scratchy, golden glow, slasher artwork that Liongate has perfected over the years. Nope, we get a dead woman--a zom-bie, if you will--climbing out of her grave. It's a monster movie, folks! Or is it?

The second thing I noticed was that there were no thirty-year-old glam pusses pretending to be high school or college students. This is a movie about grownups, thank God (even if the hero is childish and the heroine lacks a certain maturity). How refreshing.

The third thing I noticed was the acting, which is far better than you're likely to find in most low budget, or even medium budget, horror film these days. Stand back, because I'm about to make a bold pronouncement: two of the leads, Quentin Jones (a dead ringer for LOST's Josh Holloway) and Gillian Shure, are outstanding under Sasson's direction; the pair are always believable in their nicely shaded roles. The third lead, Kathrine Bates, is also good, but she's cast in one of those showy undead roles with near-campy dialogue that invite over the top acting. Even most of the smaller roles, such as the country cops (including screenwriter Shannon) who come in at the end are well performed.

The fourth thing that struck me about the film was its cinematography, by Cameron Duncan, which is frigging beautiful, especially some low angle, sunset shots of Jones chopping wood. DAG has a professional polish that rises above its meager budget and Duncan's time lapse cinematography imbues the film with some true atmosphere.

All of the factors I've just cited stood out to me immediately. The film itself starts out with a bang (several, in fact), then slows down for some nice character develops and builds to a climax that will appeal to a certain sector of the horror film community.

Jack Wade (Jones), the trophy husband of comatose singer Frankie (Bates), takes his wife to die (by his hands) in a cabin he won in a card game. Once settled, he has a fling with Constable Kate Edison (Shure), a good cop who happens to be susceptible to pretty boys. Jake is a little unbalanced, and before you can say, "I see dead people," the woods are alive with redneck phantoms--and Frankie, who insists on tormenting her husband from the other side.

I liked the first hour, which echoes such GASLIGHT-esque horror films as THE INNOCENTS and LET'S SCARE JESSICA TO DEATH, better than the last half hour, when the cat-and-mouse mind games between Jake and Frankie escalate to almost EVIL DEAD-like levels. The film is genuinely funny throughout, but the humor--like the gore--is over the top in the last act, at the expense of suspense. This is when the decapitated heads and sundry body parts come into play, so a lot of genre fans will likely disagree with me on this count. Shannon had originally reversed the sexes of the husband and the cop, and it's actually interesting to watch a woman pursue a man for a change.

Dan Crawley's undead make-ups are excellent, and Nick DeSomov's visual effects make everything seamless. It's hard to tell if the severed limbs and neck stumps are deliberately cheesy, but they're partially responsible for the film's 80s-style charm. Manfredini's score is as job well done: it takes full advantage of Shannon's psychological motifs without going overboard and calling attention to itself.

The DVD includes an excellent behind the scenes documentary and commentary track by Sasson and Shannon.