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Fan Review by Mari, January 2006
It's like a bad horror movie! Only WORSE!
OTHER TITLES: HOTEL ZOMBIE (Germany), MUERTES Y DESAYUNO (Spanish for DEAD & BREAKFAST), ADIVINHA QUEM VEM MORRER (Brazil/Portuguese for GUESS WHO'S COMING TO BREAKFAST/GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DIE); MRTVÍ K SNÍDANI (Czech title); Haverok, buli, halál (Hungarian for ZOMBIE DEATH SPREE); Το Μοτέλ του Τρόμου (Grezia/Greece)
Directed by Matthew Leutwyler, (ROAD KILL, THIS SPACE BETWEEN US) DEAD AND BREAKFAST is the kind of slapstick horror spoof that you have to be in the perfect mood for. Even if you have to postpone seeing it or perhaps postpone really paying attention, it goes down much better when you're in the mood for honest to goodness belly-laughs. I think it was about my 5th or 6th viewing that I was finally in the right mood for this kind of thing, because now I can honestly say that D&B is one of the funniest horror films I've ever seen.
Everything from the sight gags to the hilariously out-of-context musical moments make this film out and out hysterical to behold. Six friends are traveling in an RV to Galveston, TX for a friend's wedding. There are 2 couples, David (Erik Palladino) a boxer and Kate (Bianca Lawson), a pretty yet extremely temperamental girl. The other couple (at least they seem to be a couple) are Christian (Jeremy Sisto) a guy who likes pills quite a bit and tough chick Sara (Ever Carradine). The other two parties are the cheerful Melody (Gina Phillips) and the strange Johnny (Oz Perkins). These six actors work well together and are probably one of the film's high points. If you don't have a great cast with chemistry, the film usually doesn't hold my interest.
Instead of paying attention to where he's driving, Johnny keeps track of the number of carcasses along the highway, so naturally, the sextet is lost and far from the intended route to Galveston. They decide to find lodgings in the next town, a flyspeck called Lovelock, where the gas station attendant Randall Keith Randall (Zach Selwyn) also serves as the sole musician/entertainer. He directs the people in the RV to LaVana's Bed & Breakfast, because...well, it's the only place in town to stay, even if Randall knows it's not a very pleasant place.
The owner is creepy Mr. Wise (David Carradine), who immediately makes himself known as a devout Buddhist who burns incense and believes in spiritual good luck charms. Still, he's more pleasant than the snooty French cook Henri (Deidrich Bader), who takes rather a disliking to the out-of-towners. Almost every second of the first half hour or so of this movie is funniness. Even when Chef Henri is found the next morning with a knife in his throat, there are more laughs than nauseated groans.
If this movie hadn't been as funny as it is, I might have given it no more than a brief glance. I'm just not the biggest horror geek in the bunch. I make one exception in the case of WRONG TURN, and for 2 reasons: A.) Well, Jeremy Sisto is in it. B.) I liked the other characters pretty well. WRONG TURN is a straight-up non-spoof horror, ultra-violent, gory and with spare humor which gets killed off once Jeremy is out of the picture. I think DEAD & BREAKFAST is superior to WRONG TURN because it takes a genre that I'm really not fond of and makes fun of it, mercilessly. It's every bit as gory and messy as TURN, but it's not a serious horror film. You cannot for a second take D&B seriously. It's 100% pure fun. And if you're depressed in the slightest, this is a cure. Oh yeah, bloody arterial spray and all, this movie is a cure for sadness.
I mean this, because even though Jeremy's character is once again killed off way too early, the comedy is carried foreward with assurance by Palladino, Perkins, Lawson, Carradine, and other great cast members like Jeffrey Dean Morgan as the town Sheriff, Mark Kelly as Deputy Enus (how's that for a totally hickdified name???!!!), Padraic Aubrey and Devon Gummersall as a couple of hunters, Brent Fraser as the Mysterious Drifter In Town, and Miranda Bailey as the brave librarian. You'll only believe this once you see it, but the funniest scene in the whole movie involves a chainsaw and a lot of blood, and it's mainly because of the music during the scene.
There's a cool and clever plot device involving a little box and an ancient Thai legend. In spite of some complaints I read, Chef Henri's death was explained. My only mystery remains: Who did Lisa the librarian shoot after Christian and Sara left??? Was it Johnny??? And I guess she didn't wound him mortally.
Like ROAD KILL, Matthew Leutwyler's third film is well-written, funny and well-paced.
Now, if only we could see that second film I keep ragging on about!!! You know which one!!! I can't give up hope!!!
Cast:
Ever Carradine as SARA
Erik Palladino as DAVID
Oz Perkins as JOHNNY
Brent David Fraser as THE DRIFTER
Gina Phillips as MELODY
Jeffrey Dean Morgan as THE SHERRIF
Bianca Lawson as KATE
Jeremy Sisto as CHRISTIAN
Zach Selwyn as RANDALL KEITH RANDALL
Mark Kelly as DEPUTY ENUS
Portia De Rossi as KELLY
Miranda Bailey as LISA
Devon Gummersall as ORANGE CAP
and Padraic Aubrey as MULLETT HEAD
Song: We're Comin' To Kill Ya by Zachariah and The Lobos Riders from the DEAD & BREAKFAST motion picture soundtrack
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Dead & Breakfast
