DORM OF THE DEAD (2012)

Directed by Tobias Canto Jr & Tyrel Good
Written by Michael Joyner, Tobias Canto Jr., Jimmy Anthony Donahue, & John Strong
Starring Aaron Sosa, Ryan DeLuca, Dana DiRado, Brian Oviedo, Ashley Pegg, Michael Miller, Jonathan Michael McClune, Chelsea Bowdren, & John Shartzer

There are a lot of zombie films out there these days. Seems anyone with a digital camera and a little fake blood can make their own. Proof positive of that is DORM OF THE DEAD. I’m all for indie films. Most of my favorite films of the seventies and eighties would be considered indie by today’s standards and though I can look back on those low budgeteers with a healthy sense of nostalgia, they also had imagination and that creative spark that guaranteed timelessness. Though it would be quite a leap to say that DORM OF THE DEAD will be looked at as a classic some time in the distant future, I have to applaud the filmmakers for giving the film their best.

DORM OF THE DEAD is a student-made film from some youngsters from Tucson, AZ. And in the end, it plays like a student made film–as if the AV club from the local high school decided to get together and make a movie over the weekend. This isn’t a polished product. Actors flatly deliver lines. Sound is off and/or spotty most of the time. Directing is pretty flat and stationary most of the time. Even the gore is pretty uninspired.

Still, even though there probably wasn’t a lot of thought put into the production, you have to admire the spunk of these kids to put a film together. It looks to have been fun to make. Just don’t expect big budget standards or payoffs here.

There is a pretty fun scene where our band of survivors, attempting to make it through a zombie Armageddon, and stumble upon two fraternity zombies holding another zombie over a dead body as if he were doing a keg-stand. Though DORM OF THE DEAD tries to add some depth with a conflict between two brothers, most of the drama falls flat. The makers didn’t seem like they really wanted to tread into innovative territory. They just wanted to have fun making a zombie flick, and it shows.

I would never want to discourage today’s youth from making movies. Though somewhat uninspired and amateur, DORM OF THE DEAD shows that the folks behind the camera have big aspirations. The concept of a zombie keg-stand is fun and made me laugh out loud. But I feel as if the filmmakers might have made a better film with a little distance from college life itself to actually make any impactful commentary about dorm life through the lens of the zombie apocalypse. DORM OF THE DEAD is for those among you who are total zombie completists and appreciators of amateur filmmaking.

Check out the trailer here!!