Just what I expected

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

It's sad when the only good ratings a movie can get are from the filmmaker's family and friends. Well, here's the dead matter in a nutshell: The vampire (Andrew Divoff) wears a blonde lady's wig that looks like it's on backwards. The storyline is… oh wait, there is no story. The overweight zombies look worse than what you'd expect to see at a local haunted house run by high school kids. The music just drones on, but maybe it's better than nothing. The movie is described as a campy horror comedy, but there's nothing humorous at all about this film, except maybe the terrible acting. No boobs, very little blood and no interesting death scenes, nothing you haven't seen a million times already, and no hot chicks, just a few frumpy fat dudes. The actress that plays Gretchen is cute, but not in a "hot" way. And like I said, no boobs. I can't even recommend this train wreck for a beer and B-movie night. It's just a huge waste of time.

I could barely sit through the mandatory 30 Minutestes of this drivel, but still I have to give it high marks. First star goes to the fact that the movie is called DEAD MATTER and it opens with a town under siege by well made up zombies. In the middle of the Zombie Apacolypse are two Sabre Wielding Zombie Slayers. The Sabre wielding Zombie Slayers turn into Wooden Stake impaling Vampire hunters as they are in pursuit of a magic Amulete. Although one vampire over-lord has a cheap wig and horrible fangs, the actor who plays him already has a couple of Horror movie franchise under his belt already. He kills humans turning them into Zombies, technically ghouls to do his bidding. the other vampire overlord a veteran of the remake of Night of the living dead (which explains why the Zombies were so well done) drugs his fellow vamps to do his bidding. However the actress playing the women in distress is so horrible she brings the movie down.

McCallister and Mark, a vampire/zombie fighting duo are after Vellich, the ancient vampire leader, who has a scarab artifact in his control that allows him to have power over the undead and the forces of darkness. McCallister and Mark temporarily take possession of the amulet and are on their way to a mystical place in the Ohio woods where the unholy relic can only be destroyed. However, Vellich will try to get there first to prevent this and take back the amulet. While both parties fight it out at the magical location, they lose the scarab. Enter Gretchen and her friends the following evening, who decide to hold a séance in the woods at the same mystical place, to help her communicate with her dead brother. The group finds the artifact at the magical site and Gretchen takes it home with her. She soon befriends a zombie that comes to her apartment and she feels that her new found amulet and walking dead friend can help bring her deceased brother back. However, McCallister and Vellich both want to reclaim the relic and Gretchen's friends are concerned that she has set them all on the road to utter doom.The Dead Matter is a well executed movie with good directing and editing. Special attention is placed on the film's technical areas for smooth viewing throughout. The story is also quite involved, so the viewer will have to really pay attention to take in the different characters and sub plots that are going on to understand their connections.Midnight Syndicate, known for their Halloween and haunting, horror music CD's provides the soundtrack for The Dead Matter. The movie had some good eerie music in it, particularly the main title and end credits theme. Edward Douglas, the president and co-composer of Midnight Syndicate, steps into the film director's chair for The Dead Matter. He does a nice job using the camera to tell his story visually with good choices for shots.British actor Jason Carter delivers some fine acting and is well cast as a Van Helsing type vampire hunter named McCallister, who is after the scarab and tries to save Gretchen and her friends from the forces of evil. He is very intense in the role and his sharp features, European accent and old style clothing really embellish his performance as McCallister. Our main indication that McCallister really lives in the present day world is that he carries a cell phone with him.Horror genre favorite Tom Savini, the special make-up effects artist behind such scare classics as Friday The 13th, Dawn Of The Dead and Creepshow, has a small role in the film as Sebed, a modernized rival vampire leader to Vellich, and his old style blood sucking ways. Savini fans will enjoy seeing him acting in the movie. And fellow special make-up effects man Robert Kurtzman (formerly of KNB EFX Group) is one of the producers of the movie. Robert Kurtzman's Creature Crew provides the special make-up and visual effects for The Dead Matter.There are some creepy looking night exterior shots of the walking dead coming up the road and through the fields. In a few scenes, there is also homage to classic horror movies like Night Of The Living Dead, A Nightmare On Elm Street and others that fans of the genre should pick up on.An interesting scene that was chilling takes place when Gretchen and her boyfriend Mike try to get the zombie to help her communicate with her dead brother in the cemetery. Aligned with a jolting music cue, the zombie suddenly starts repeating in a strange sounding voice, "Death is the answer...death is the answer…death is the answer…death is the answer!"One particular humorous scene in the film occurs when friend Jill arrives at Gretchen's apartment and wants to speak with her but the zombie then walks over them. Jill eyes the zombie and turns to Gretchen, "We need to talk…alone." Gretchen looks at the zombie and then smiles at Jill and says, "Okay." They both then step away farther into the room.Frank (Christopher Robichaud), one of the friends in the group, is a scientist and IT specialist at Trilec Labs, which specializes in diet pill formulas. He is fascinated with the zombie and wants to study it and run scientific tests on it, despite his friend's objections. Frank's character provides most of the film's comic relief and black humor. The feature film was made in Ohio and hats off to the filmmakers for shooting the movie on Super 16mm motion picture film, a great format for low budget filmmaking and horror in particular. The Dead Matter is a fun movie to watch with a new storytelling take on the traditional vampire and zombie films.

The Dead Matter...This is the imagination of Gothic/Halloween band Midnight Syndicate founding member Ed Douglas at work. Being creative always starts with an idea and a vision. In the mid 1990s he had an idea. He had a vision. He had a dream. He had $2,000. He had...............a Super VHS camera that he borrowed. It was used to film the first version of The Dead Matter, released in 1996. You have to start somewhere. A decade later an opportunity to re-make The Dead Matter with a much larger budget was realized (about $1.5 million). The script was co-written by Ed Douglas and Tony Demci, just as it was in the original 1996 film. Shooting took place in August and September 2007 in the Mansfield, Ohio area. To make this movie, Douglas went to the well and drew on his many talents, knowledge, creativity, interest in horror films, and prior background as a filmmaker and musician/composer, not to mention a college degree in theater and filmmaking. The end result is a dream realized. An excellent independent horror film with excellent actors, an excellent musical score courtesy of Midnight Syndicate themselves, not to mention contributions from other artists in the form of rock & roll songs (Lazy Lane, Eternal Legacy, and HipNostic).This movie stars Andrew Divoff (CSI: Miami, Lost, also movies such as Wishmaster, Air Force One, The Rage, Indiana Jones 4), Jason Carter (Babylon 5, Beverly Hills 90210, Angel, Charmed, Third Rock From The Sun), special effects legend Tom Savini (From Dusk Till Dawn, Dawn Of The Dead, Lost Boys 2, Grindhouse, Friday The 13th), Sean Serino (The Rage), Tom Nagel (North Mission Road, Beast Of Bray Road), CB Spencer (Passions, Ally McBeal, the movie Ballistica) Christopher Robichaud (the original 1996 version of The Dead Matter, plus voices on Midnight Syndicate albums), Brian Van Camp (New World Disorder), Donna Williams (The Rapture), Jim O' Rear (Hell House, Vampyre Tales), Meredith Beardmore (CSI: NY, A Family Matter), Kenyatta Foster, and "Big Chuck" Schodowski (American Scary), to name just a few, along with special effects/makeup artist Alan Tuskes (Star Trek, Vanilla Sky, The Rage). The narrator is Richard "Count Gore De Vol" Dyszel (The Alien Factor, Chainsaw Sally).What is this movie about? It's about a grief-stricken young woman named Gretchen who will do anything to contact or "reconnect" with her deceased brother. She stumbles upon an ancient Egyptian occult relic that leads her into the dark world of vampires and the living dead. She gets more than she bargained for, as all hell breaks loose. Two warring vampire lords are in search of the relic, which can control the dead. A vampire hunter is trying to stop them from obtaining the relic. This movie is unique in that it mixes both zombies and vampires. If you're somebody who is a fan of the Halloween season and its darker aspects, yet also embraces the lighter side of Halloween, then this movie will entertain you, as it is both on the dark side and lighter side. This movie has horror, humor, twists and turns, and keeps you guessing. The atmosphere is dark and creepy in parts, while at other times everyday activities and locations are used, such as in houses, bars, office buildings, etc. Midnight Syndicate doesn't hesitate to embrace the lighter side of horror/Halloween once in a while, and this movie proves it. You can't go wrong. I don't want to reveal too much. Watch it and be entertained. It's destined to become a Halloween classic, one of those movies that you'll want to watch every year during the Halloween season or on Halloween night after the trick-or-treaters have gone home and the jack-o-lantern has been extinguished. While not that scary, it does have its moments that will catch you off guard.Ed Douglas and Tony Demci were inspired and influenced by horror films of yesteryear, particularly from the '30s, '60s, '70s, '80s, Creepshow, and the Hammer films, but the bottom line is that The Dead Matter is ORIGINAL. The movie takes the "old school" approach of yesteryear, and it works. I personally think it's a great movie and I think you will, too. It doesn't take a lot of money to accomplish the primary goal, which is to scare or at least entertain the audience. Think of films like Carnival Of Souls (1962), Night Of The Living Dead (1968), and Halloween (1978). These are perfect examples of independent films that make their point and get the job done by scaring and entertaining you and creating the perfect atmosphere with minimal money.The Dead Matter is 89 minutes long and is presented in widescreen format.The extras on the DVD are excellent. There are two Midnight Syndicate music videos ("Dark Legacy" and "Lost", both of which appeared on The Dead Matter: Cemetery Gates album, released in 2008), three finalists' music videos from the Midnight Syndicate 13th Anniversary video contest, gag reels, audio commentary by Ed Douglas, Robert Kurtzman, and Gary Jones, a feature called Maximum Dead Matter that allows you to watch a scene in one corner of the screen while simultaneously watching the actual filming of the scene in another window, interviews with cast and crew members, locations, and concept art.Robert Kurtzman (producer, From Dusk Till Dawn, The Rage, Wishmaster), Gary Jones (Xena, Hercules, Boogeyman 3), and Ed Douglas all co-produced this movie.Yes, there is still hope when it comes to the making of quality horror movies. Thankfully, there are still a few people out there who actually have their own ideas and imagination. This is a standout independent horror movie gem released during the Age of Horror Remakes that we're currently living in. As good as this movie is, I believe that time will elevate this movie's status even more.