Dance of the Dead

Fans of SF or horror who can wrap their heads around stories (and the films based on them) like Orwell's 1984 and Burgess' A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, who understand that such stories are meant as cautionary comments on contemporary society more than they are predictions, will appreciate Tobe Hooper's nihilistic "Dance of the Dead," the auteur's first-season entry for Showtime's MASTERS OF HORROR series. Hooper updates those classic cautionary tales to give the world a fresh glimpse into the post-apocalyptic future, this time through a computer-age lens tinted with goth and punk sensibilities.

Hooper's tight and visionary direction is supported by the outstanding cast and crew. Portraying Peggy, the audience's window into the grim future, beautiful Jessica Lowndes exudes unvitiated innocence as her character's eyes are newly opened to the reality of her world. Actor Jonathan Tucker is perfect as Jak, a brooding, introspective black-marketeer who struggles with guilt over the questionable ethics of his vocation. And horror icon Robert Englund's delightfully over-the-top performance as a grizzled, cynical nightclub MC--a sort of post-apocalyptic re-interpretation of Joel Grey's performance in CABARET (1972)--is itself worth the price of Anchor Bay's DVD. The script by Richard Christian Matheson, based on a short story by his famous father, is a literate, frighteningly nihilistic speculation on the post-nine-eleven possibilities that threaten our world. And the frenetic, multi-layered cinematography of Jon Joffin (enhanced by Andrew Cohen's the top-notch editing) perfectly complements the horrific, chaotic atmosphere and lifestyle of the potential future Hooper here depicts.

Any moviegoer who comprehends and enjoys SF-based horror will certainly come away satisfied after watching "Dance of the Dead." While not necessarily the best entry from the first season of MASTERS OF HORROR, it is a great mini-movie nonetheless, and it proves that director Tobe Hooper is, indeed, a master of the genre.

The excellent DVD from Anchor Bay is well worth the price of admission. It offers a pristine digital anamorphic transfer of the flick in its original aspect ratio of 1.77:1. In addition, there are over three hours of cool extras, including two commentary tracks (one featuring director Hooper and one with scripter Matheson), interviews with Tobe Hooper and the main actors, a behind-the-scenes featurette, and more! A fine addition to the film collection of any SF or horror fan.

I totally agree. You take a story by Richard Matheson, get Tobe Hooper to direct it and give Robert Englund a choice role and you would think this outing of Showtime's "Masters of Horror" would be a real treat. Instead the result is quite disappointing and I would argue that the reason is an ironic little case of history repeating itself (insert "Twilight Zone" music here). The good news is that the special features on this DVD take away some of the sting of the experience of watching "Dance of the Dead."

Set in a dystopian future that is right around the bend, "Dance of the Dead" is about a world where something has happened and now toxic residue falls from the sky. The specifics on the war or terrorist attack are unclear, as are what exactly happens to people when they stuff falls on them, but America is clearly in a death spiral. Meanwhile, poor sweet young Peggy (Jessica Lowndes) is bored with her mundane (but safe) existence working at her mom's roadside cafe. When good looking Jak (Jonathan) and his obnoxious partner Boxx (Ryan McDonald) blow through town, she decides to take off with them and see what life is like in the big bad world out there. Of course she finds out more about death. The two guys are blood merchants, and then take Peggy to the Doom Room, where they sell plasma to the M.C. (Englund), who uses it as part of a secret Army recipe for this special juice that reanimates the newly dead for a short period of time. The Army used it to get more from soldiers on the battlefield, while the M.C. uses it to reanimate female cadavers. Use cattle prods to shock them, and you have the dead dancing for the entertainment of the wretched audience that comes to the Doom Room.

Now, in addition to turning his novel "The Incredible Shrinking Man" into the movie of the same name and "I Am Legend" into "The Last Man of Earth," Richard Matheson also did the scripts for Roger Corman's adaptations of the works of Edgar Allan Poe, most notably "House of Usher" and "The Pit and the Pendulum." For television Matheson did scripts for "Star Trek" ("The Enemy Within") and Steven Spielberg's debut effort, "Duel." But if you talk about Matheson's work on television then first and foremost you need to talk about what he did for "The Twilight Zone," where we wrote 16 scripts including the classic episodes "Nick of Time," "The Invaders," and "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet." It was when I thought about Matheson's great work on the "Zone" that it dawned on me what was wrong with this story.

After three successful seasons of "The Twilight Zone," the network executives decided that the show could be even more successful if it was twice as long, so for the fourth season episodes of the "Zone" were an hour long instead of a half-hour. Overall, the resulting episodes were big disappointments, and Rod Serling' show went back to the half-hour format for its fifth and final season. When I finished watching "Dance of the Dead" I realized the problem was that the story was twice as long as it should be. Take the first ten minutes and the last twenty minutes and the story works a lot better than it does in this bloated format. Now, it would be easy to point the finger at Richard Christian Matheson, who did the screenplay adapting his father's short story, but I think this one was doomed as soon as it was green lighted for the hour-long "Masters of Horror" format. Strip down the story as I suggest and you have the makings of a classic episode of "The Twilight Zone." The twist at the end is set up at the very beginning and by the time we get to the payoff you have probably forgotten it because the focus has become all about Jak showing Peggy the underside of the rock the world has become.

Several of the special features warn you that watching them before you watch "Dance of the Dead" will spoil the feature, which I find rather ironic. There are commentary tracks by both director Tobe Hooper and screenwriter Richard Christian Matheson." I especially liked the "Working With a Master: Tobe Hooper" featurette with its walk down memory lane, which goes along with his "Primal Screams" interview. Richard Matheson is also the subject of an interview, as are Englund, Lowndes and Tucker, all "On Set." Then you can throw in your basic behind the scenes/making of featurette, still gallery, storyboard gallery, Tobe Hooper bio, and some trailers (mostly Horrorfest stuff). In DVD-Rom mode you get the screenplay and a screensaver. Like I said, the extras here are pretty solid and I am tempted to round up on the rating because of them, but "Dance of the Dead" itself is just too disappointing given our high expectations and the rating needs to reflect that sorry fact. Check it out, but have no illusions about what you will see.

Wow, I'm surprised by the reviews. I loved it. I taped it off Showtime, but I'm buying the DVD (and I don't buy movies often). I thought it was the Best Master of Horror I've seen. I liked how the gore was less and the premise was actually realistic, unlike other movies in the genre. The chemistry between Jak and Peggy was felt through the screen and believable. Their romance was a saviour for both of them in an otherwise horrific world.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 18 reviews  3.4 out of 5 stars