The Burning Dead (also Volcano Zombies) is a 2015 American horror film directed by Rene Perez, written by Jeff Miller and Jason Ancona, and starring Tom Downey and Moniqa Plante.
| The Burning Dead | |
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 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Rene Perez |
| Written by |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Rene Perez |
| Edited by | Rene Perez |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Uncork'd Entertainment |
Release date |
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Running time | 82 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Plot
editLong-dead cannibals are brought back to life when a volcano erupts. A sheriff and his daughter band together with several other survivors to defeat the lava-based zombies.
Cast
edit- Tom Downey as Sheriff Denton
- Moniqua Plante as Mindy Roberts
- Nicole Cummins as Nicole Roberts
- Kevin Norman as Ryan Jacobs
- Kyle T. Heffner as Dr. Stevens
- Julia Lehman as Eve Jones
- Tom Nagel as Deputy Tisdale
- Adam Gregor as Ranger McGee
- Jenny Lin as Photographer
- Robert F. Lyons as Old Ben
- Danny Trejo as Night Wolf
Production
editPerez was attracted to the project due to his desire to work with producer Jeff Miller, and he was intrigued by the possibility of directing a campy horror film, which he had never done before.[1] Plante said that she was drawn to the film based on the campy appeal of the script.[2] Trejo was approached after the film had financing.[3] Lehman was cast by co-producer Mike Sikes, who she had previously worked with in Pretty Cool 2. She said that the actors had to take the story seriously despite its silliness in order to make the premise work.[4]
Filming began around November 2013 and included Lassen Volcanic National Park among other locations.[5] Post-production ended in September 2014.[6] Perez estimated that it took 1.5 years between when the script was written and the film's release date.[7]
Release
editThe original title, Volcano Zombies, was changed to The Burning Dead for marketing reasons. Perez endorsed the change.[8] Uncork'd Entertainment released The Burning Dead to video on demand on March 3, 2015. The DVD will be released on April 7, 2015.[9]
Reception
editDominic Cuthbert of Starburst rated it 4/10 stars and wrote that both the script and acting are terrible, but it could have been salvaged if Perez had not taken himself so seriously.[10] Mark L. Miller of Ain't It Cool News called it an attempt to cash in the success of Sharknado, though it is even more nonsensical.[11] Scott Foy of Dread Central rated it 1/5 stars and wrote that although The Asylum might not have made a good film with this premise, they could have done it with more flair.[12] Ben Bussey of Brutal as Hell called it a "waste of time" that is full of filler.[13] Michael DeFellipo of Horror Society rated it 6.8/10 and wrote, "By all means this movie isn't made to be taken seriously, so it does achieve its goal of being fun to watch. If you're a fan of SyFy Network Original Movies, then you'll get a kick out of The Burning Dead. Anyone else should probably avoid."[14]
References
edit- ^ Patta, Gig (2015-03-03). "Exclusive Interview with Director Rene Perez for 'The Burning Dead'". Latino Review. Retrieved 2015-04-01.
- ^ Loeffler, Shawn (2015-02-17). "Interview: Moniqua Plante From The Burning Dead". Yell! Magazine. Retrieved 2015-04-01.
- ^ Lealos, Shawn S. (2015-02-21). "Renegade Interview: Rene Perez, 'The Burning Dead'". Renegade Cinema. Retrieved 2015-04-01.
- ^ "Exclusive Interview: Julia Lehman Talks The Burning Dead, NBC's Constantine and More". BioGamer Girl Magazine. 2015-02-25. Retrieved 2015-04-01.
- ^ Miska, Brad (2013-11-26). "Danny Trejo Will Battle the 'Volcano Zombies'". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved 2015-04-01.
- ^ Condit, Jon (2014-09-07). "Explosive First Trailer for Volcano Zombies". Dread Central. Retrieved 2015-04-01.
- ^ Jones, Tamika (2015-02-22). "Indie Spotlight: The Burning Dead, Chopping Block, Tall Tales from the Badlands". Daily Dead. Retrieved 2015-04-01.
- ^ Hopkins, Shawn (2015-02-16). "PopGeeks Interviews Rene Perez, Director of 'The Burning Dead'". Pop Geeks. Retrieved 2015-04-01.
- ^ Barton, Steve (2015-02-02). "The Burning Dead Flare Up in March". Dread Central. Retrieved 2015-04-01.
- ^ Cuthbert, Dominic (2015-02-07). "The Burning Dead". Starburst. Retrieved 2015-04-01.
- ^ "THE BURNING DEAD (2015)". Ain't It Cool News. 2015-03-06. Retrieved 2015-04-01.
- ^ Foy, Scott (2015-02-19). "Burning Dead, The (2015)". Dread Central. Retrieved 2015-04-01.
- ^ Bussey, Ben (2015-03-13). "Review: The Burning Dead (2015)". Brutal as Hell. Retrieved 2015-04-01.
- ^ DeFillipo, Michael (2015-03-05). "Review: The Burning Dead". Horror Society. Retrieved 2015-04-01.