An abandoned psychiatric hospital looms dark and foreboding on the horizon. Into it pass six individuals who are about to discover its terrifying secrets and come face to face with its blackest horrors.
Jefferson N. from BLAIRSVILLE, GA Reviewed on 9/21/2012...
Screaming Dead is the story of a sleazy photographer who wants to take a bunch of hot chicks to an abandoned insane asylum to take pictures and to get it on. What he doesn't realize is that it's already occupied by a madman who wants to have his own fun. Pretty quickly, it hits the fan and the ladies are bound and tormented in the dungeon by this supernatural psychopath.
Ok, this sounds like any old trashy movie that is just an excuse to have a lot of beautiful women in bondage to make a few books. And it does that in spades. But, surprisingly, it's not a bad movie, either. It has a very 80's feel to it...in a good way. Reminds me of some of the better "straight-to-video, made-with-a-home-video-camera" movies of that period. The actors are decent, the women, including the ever-sexy Misty Mundae, are gorgeous, and the f/x are not too bad. If you like crazy, low-budget horror, you'll probably enjoy this one. You won't feel like you lost two hours of your life, at least. There is a lot worse stuff out there!
3 of 3 member(s) found this review helpful.
Chad B. (abrnt1) from CABERY, IL Reviewed on 7/22/2010...
This film is awful. The only decent performance comes from Misty Mundae aka Erin Brown. A cheesy waste of time
1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Movie Reviews
Screaming tamed
03/10/2004
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Nothing says fun like Misty Mundae strapped to a plank of wood doing a Jesus pose all bloodied up wailing. It's all part of the modeling scene in the dungeon that goes terribly wrong. In a way this a socially relevant b-horror movie that Brett piper brings to us. Young naive girls wanting fame, at the expense of their dignity. The antagonist roger neale is the one stripping any piece of dignity from these poor young girls. Luckily we have a knight in shining armor to save these dansels in distress.After a while you get tired of the social statements, and want the horror to begin. You want to see blood dripping, and gore oozing off the screen. Well Maybe some other movie. Brett Piper
wants the story told his way, and the characters devoloped as he sees fit. But you do get caught up in the drama. At some point you sympathize for these young darlings.Of course the big star is misty mundae. She does hold up to her responsibilities in her role. Watching her sit nude, blindfolded being "auditioned" by Mr. neale you feel a genuine sense of the girl next door wanting fame badly, at the cost of her innocence. her nervousness as she's being grilled comes off naturally. Maybe thats why we love this girl.Her co-stars do carry their weight performance wise.The ghoul torturing the models reminded me of Freddy kruger. He seemed like a sick sadistic Jack Nicholson.As far as DVD bonuses, the package is decent. You get cast interviews, insight to the asylum used as location, and a Misty Mundae documentary. Nothing as Juicy as behind the music.Can't wait to get Bite Me!"
Horror fans, meet the ultimate Scream Queen: Misty Mundae
Daniel Jolley | Shelby, North Carolina USA | 05/28/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Screaming Dead is the first film release from Shock-O-Rama Cinema, the fresh, newly-relaunched horror-focused offshoot of ei Independent Cinema (most famous for its Seduction Cinema line of films). Anticipation and expectations were high among those of us in the know, namely the legions of Misty Mundae fans. The emphasis here is on the horror aspects of the film and not the erotic elements which have fueled ei's rise to prominence as an independent film company. One of the greatest things about this film is its potential to introduce more mainstream horror fans to the work of ei Independent Cinema; more importantly, it will introduce a new set of fans to the glory that is Misty Mundae. With her girl-next-door image, unquantifiable charm, down-to-earth radiance, and incredible talent, Misty Mundae has emerged over the last six years as the hottest, most adored B movie goddess in the business. Misty is famous, of course, for her long string of erotic films under the Surrender Cinema label, but this talented actress is now getting the chance to spread her wings and show audiences just how talented an actress she is. Devoted Misty fans should take note that you won't find Misty frolicking around in erotic scenes with her female costars this time around - there's some nudity, of course, and one scene with some definite tease quality, but don't go in thinking this is another erotic Misty Mundae film. The film itself probably deserves four stars, largely due to a rather hokey ending, but there are a number of wonderful extras included on the DVD, and the whole film is just so darned Misty-licious that I'm giving it five stars. Screaming Dead is a ghost story with a focus on the exploitation of women; it is in some ways a throwback to the vintage horror films of the 1970s and 1980s. Renowned photographer Roger Neale (my nominee for irredeemable sadist of the year) has found the ideal location for his next photo shoot - an abandoned mental institution. Legend has it that a fellow named Rossiter tortured untold numbers of young people in a secret basement, and this thought makes the unabashed sadist in Neale feel all tingly inside. All he needs are three young female models to exploit for his own perverted needs. This guy is so famous that he doesn't even pay his models, and we see his highly unusual interview technique early on as Bridget (Misty Mundae) is forced to sit naked and blindfolded while Neale tells her what he demands from a model (which can be summed up as "I own you"). Once he gets the girls to the location, Neale enforces his increasingly dominant will on them, going well beyond merely treating them like prisoners. On hand to cramp Neal's style is Sam Rogan, the real estate company's representative, and he turns out to be the girls' only hope for escaping the week-long photo shoot alive. The place really is haunted, you see, and Neale's perverted obsessions are just the fuel needed to feed the fire of old man Rossiter's eternal sadism. Joseph Farrell turns in an incredibly convincing performance as Roger Neale - few characters in the history of cinema have been as despicable, hateful, and sadistic; if ever a man needed to be taken behind the woodshed, it's this guy. Rob Monkiewicz is very effective in the role of Sam Rogan, and all of the young female actresses are great, as well (although Rachael Robbins' delivery sometimes feels a little forced). Naturally, Misty Mundae is superb and more than lives up to her scream queen credentials. Keeping in mind that Screaming Dead is a low-budget independent release, the special effects are actually quite good overall. A few of them look fake, and there was one editing snafu that jumped out at me, but by and large the movie boasts some pretty impressive special effects for a film of this nature. Will Screaming Dead scare you? Probably not. It does, however, offer loads of building suspense, a decent amount of gore, and the tried and true, crowd-pleasing use of assorted torture instruments on nubile flesh. The depth of the viewer's dislike for Roger Neale serves the film in very good stead. Anyone who mistreats a character played by Misty Mundae more than gets my dander up, and this guy is frighteningly good at being bad. The ending, as I mentioned, is not built to please, but overall, Screaming Dead is really quite a good horror film. As for those extras on the DVD, you get a featurette on the making of the film, a documentary on the true history of the Marlboro State Psychiatric Hospital in New Jersey (where the film was shot), interviews with director Brett Piper and several cast members (including Misty), footage of the premiere showing of Screaming Dead at Fangoria's 2004 "Weekend of Horror" in New York City, a photo gallery of shots from the film, a nice little collectible booklet about the film, and trailers for the promising upcoming releases from Shock-a-Rama Cinema (all but one of which feature Misty). Best of all, though, you get From Skin to Scream, a documentary on the meteoric rise to stardom of Misty Mundae. Folks, it's all about Misty - that's the bottom line here.On a final note, let me address one issue surrounding the DVD release. The first 4440 copies of the DVD mistakenly contained an insert telling fans how they could get the unrated version of Screaming Dead (they should have contained a postcard offering the buyer a free poster). There is no unrated version of the film; those who happen to get such a postcard with their DVD certainly need to be aware of this fact."
Screaming Dull
Jeff Berent | Lansing, MI United States | 04/23/2004
(1 out of 5 stars)
"Long, boring, and drawn out to excruciating length. Very little T&A and NO softcore lesbian scenes(!) that were done so well with the Seduction Cinema titles. Plot is nonsensical and just not very interesting. Blood looks ultra-fake and the acting is subpar. I'm giving this a 1 star rating purely on the fact the great Misty Mundae is in it.
There is a card enclosed with this DVD that supposedly entitles you to an unrated version of this film. When I sent mine in I recieved a letter back stating that the card was placed in error and no unrated version of the film exists, just the R version that I had already purchased. I recieved a poster and a list of new releases and the hopes that I would buy them also. I won't be buying anymore R versions of these films."
It was a dark and stormy night
Richard Bellush, Jr. | Brookside, NJ United States | 01/04/2006
(3 out of 5 stars)
"In Brett Piper's Screaming Dead, a dominating photographer has made a name for himself as an artist who "explores" the dark side of the human psyche with photos of chained and tortured women. He gives his pictures their edge by being abusive to his young unsuspecting models and by putting them in genuine fear of their lives and limbs, though he stops short (barely) of actually maiming or killing them. He and his latest crop of models encounter an entity with fewer scruples during a shoot at an abandoned mental institution -- the film was actually shot at an abandoned NJ mental institution.
I must admit to some prejudice against supernatural elements in movies, including mainstream films such as Poltergeist, Ghost, or The Sixth Sense. I can suspend my skeptical world view long enough to make them watchable, yet I think horror in particular is much more effective when the monster is credibly flesh and blood: Norman Bates is the prime example. I cut more slack when the films are overtly campy (e.g. Bride of Chucky). Piper's film is pretty campy. It is very referential to 50s/60s horror films with updated sleaze. The humor, which is understated enough to be easy to miss, comes from exploiting the conventions of these older films. The hero is a bit of a Neanderthal, but this too is common in 1950s B features.
While this film deserves its R rating, some Misty Mundae fans, who know her from Playmate of the Apes or Bikini Girls on Dinosaur Planet, may be disappointed that this is not a softcore sex film. Although she never has done hardcore, Misty is in a similar position to Traci Lords about a decade ago. She has built up a name and fan base which provide her an opportunity but at the same time hold her back. The good news is that Screaming Dead is a better breakout film than was Not of This Earth. (I like Traci, by the way: she was wonderful in the more recent Chump Change.)
I can't quite bring myself to give this movie four stars, but it really isn't bad. If you like horror - and especially if you grew up watching the old ones - this one will probably work for you.