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Released by: Wild Eye Releasing
Released on: September 13th, 2016.
Director: Torey Hass
Cast: Marie Barker, Greg Garrison, D. Dylan Schettina, Nathan Drussy, Josie Levy, John Reed
Year: 2015
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The Movie:
The Neon Dead (which was at one point called Invasion Of The Undead) introduces us to a ridiculously attractive young woman named Allison (Marie Barker) who has recently moved into a big old house in the middle of nowhere. She's unemployed and a little bit broke so when she gets a call to come in for a job interview, she's understandably excited - until she heads into the bathroom to prep for the deal and she comes face to face with… something. It seems her new digs have a ghost problem and she isn't quite sure what to do about it.
Luckily for her, a girl scout rings the doorbell - it's fundraising time! When the ghost comes up, the young girl recommends local paranormal investigators Desmond (Greg Garrison) and Jake (Dylan Schettina). While these guys may spend their days working on the local supermarket, Desmond behind the counter of the video rental joint playing 8-bit video games and mouthing off to customers, they just might know a thing or two about ghost, spirits and the undead. Allison calls them up, and sometime later, after getting someone to cover their shifts, they arrive.
A few minutes later and that ghost is gone, a quick attack with some salt takes care of the problem. However, Desmond realizes that something bigger is happening here - these aren't just run of the mill zombies, these are the servants of an ancient demonic entity that hasn't been worshipped in thousands of years! It's going to take more than some salt to get rid of this problem - and those girl scouts had better be careful out in the woods near where all of this is going down!
This movie has some padding. There are pacing issues in the first half that might be a bit of a chore for some to get through and it takes a little bit of time to get going. Some of the humor is more than a little predictable and there are some logic gaps. Having said that, despite these flaws this movie not only works, but it proves to be genuinely entertaining and there are a few reasons for that. First up is the cast. Greg Garrison as the obnoxious girl-chasing Desmond is amusing in that stereotypical slacker character sort of way and Dylan Schettina equally, if not more, amusing as his polar opposite. Desmond wants to get in Allison's pants, Jake just wants to figure out what's going on and save the day. They make a fun team. Marie Barker as our female lead? Well, she's a stone cold fox but there's more here than just good looks. She gives her character enough attitude that we never feel she's less than capable. She is, in many ways, stronger than Desmond or Jake and this comes through in her work in front of the camera. She also handles the comedic aspects of the movie quite well. She's charming and pretty and just fun to watch and she and her two co-stars actually have some really good chemistry here.
So yeah, stick with it. It takes a while to hit its stride but the last half of the movie makes up for any stumbles it might hit along the way. It's here that we get some wildly creative visuals and awesome effects set pieces - and they're not just for show, they tie into the storyline rather well. This definitely ends on a high note and, of course, it leaves things open for a follow up film. If that were to happen, I'd watch it.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The Neon Dead debuts on DVD framed at 2.35.1 anamorphic widescreen and it looks really good. The colors pop here in a big way, especially in the finale once the dead become more… neon. Black levels are solid and detail isn't half bad at all. This was shot on digital video and as such, there are no issues with print damage to note at all. The disc is well authored as well, so no problems with compression artifacts to note. Honestly, it's a shame that this didn't get a Blu-ray release as this would probably look fantastic in high definition, but as it stands the DVD looks just fine. Nice job!
The English language Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track on this DVD is free of any issues. The dialogue sounds just fine, it's easy to follow and understand, while the score and effects are mixed in properly and as such the levels are nicely balanced.
The extras on the disc start off with a commentary track from director Torey Hass that covers all the bases - trying to accomplish what was accomplished here with a low budget and a cast and crew with less experience than you'd get on a production with a bigger budget. It's a fun and enthusiastic talk as he speaks about working with the cast, putting together some of the movie's more interesting set pieces, the effects work, the locations and more.
From there, we get to check out a few 'bonus scenes' that run about ten minutes. More interesting than that are some little side-story styled short videos that detail some of the characters featured in the movie - these are amusing but also fill in some of the backstory, such as how our heroine wound up in the house in the first place. Also look for two short films from Hass - First Date and Troll Picnic - that are nice additions to the disc and entertaining enough that you'll want to check them out.
Aside from that, we get a trailer for the feature, trailers for a ton of other Wild Eye Releasing DVDs, menus and chapter selection.
The Final Word:
The Neon Dead might stumble a bit here and there with its pacing but once it all wraps up, this is a really fun and creative horror comedy hybrid. The visuals are top notch and the characters memorable and amusing. The film might wear its low budget on its sleeve but so be it, there's no shame in that. The team behind this one tried something different and it worked. The DVD release from Wild Eye looks and sounds good and has a nice selection of extras too. A prime example of how creativity and talent often matter more than budget, The Neon Dead gets the R!S!P! stamp of approval!
