HOUSE OF THE DEAD (2003)

MORGAN'S RATING

Set on an island off the coast of Florida, a techno rave party attracts a diverse group of college coeds and a Coast Guard officer. Soon, they discover that their X-laced escapades are to be interrupted by zombies and monsters that attack them on the ground, from the air, and in the sea, ruled by an evil entity named Castillo in the House of the Dead...specifically, Castillo is a centuries-old ghoul who was once a Spaniard looking for a fountain of youth, which he found, but at a dark, hideous price. Meanwhile, another small group of college coeds have persuaded a mysterious boat captain to take them to the island...can they survive, or will they end up as the second course?

Jonathan Cherry (Rudy), Tyron Leitso (Simon), Clint Howard (Salish), Ona Grauner (Alicia), Ellie Cornell (Jordan Casper), Will Sanderson (Greg), Enuka Okuma (Karma), Kira Clavell (Liberty), Sonya Salomaa (Cynthia), Michael Eklund (Hugh), David Palffy (Castillo), Jurgen Prochnow (Capt. Victor Kirk), Steve Byers (Matt), Erica Parker (Johanna), Birgit Stein (Lena), Jay Brazeau (Captain), Adam Harrington (Rogan), Colin Lawrence (G), Ben Derrick (McGivers), Elisabeth Rosen (Skye), Bif Naked (DJ), Penny Phang (Tyranny), Kris Pope (Raver), Mashiah Vaughn-Hulbert (Flashing Woman), Steven Kriozere (V.I.P. Zombie), Anthony Timpone (Zombie).

THE DEAD WALK...YOU RUN!

PRODUCTION INFORMATION

DIRECTOR: Uwe Boll (Alone in the Dark). WRITERS: Mark A. Altman and Dave Parker. PRODUCERS: Uwe Boll, Wolfgang Herold and Shawn Williamson. ASSISTANT PRODUCER: Christoph Nuehlen. ASSOCIATE PRODUCERS: Dan Sales, Jonathan Shore and Max Wanko. EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Mark A. Altman, Dan Bates, Mark Gottwald and Daniel S. Kletzky. CO-EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Michael Roesch. LINE PRODUCER: Dan Clarke. ORIGINAL MUSIC: Reinhard Besser. DISTRIBUTOR: Artisan Entertainment.

FACTS

RELEASE DATE: October 10th, 2003 (USA) DVD RELEASE DATE: January 27th, 2004 (USA) BOX OFFICE OPENING: $5.6 million (USA) BOX OFFICE RESULT: $10.2 million (USA) BUDGET: $12 million (USA) SHOOTING DATES: April 2002 -- June 2002 - The movie is set before the events of the first House of the Dead video game. - The fisherman with the meat hook at the beginning of the movie is a reference to the killer in I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997).

QUOTES

Greg: [pointing on a zombie in the water] Shoot it! Captain Victor Kirk: What do you think I am trying to do you fucking moron...

CRITICAL COMMENTS

"How are you supposed to be even remotely scared if you're constantly being reminded that what you're watching is a movie written and directed by some guys who really like movies?" -- J. Kelly Nestruck, National Post

"It's a botched attempt at filmmaking that could easily become a midnight staple along the lines of Showgirls, as aesthetically frazzled as Ed Wood's finest, and as howlingly, inadvertently funny as, well, pick a Sybil Danning movie, any movie." -- Marc Savlov, Austin Chronicle

"Misbegotten horror movie adaptation of the best-selling video game." -- Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter