Review by Chris Rennirt
Some of the best horror films are those in which the monsters are the people around us, our friends and family, and anyone but the obvious, overt physical monsters we expect. These monsters look just like our friends, relatives, etc., buy they aren’t; they are none of those people, really. Hidden within their facade of familiarity is something deadly, all the more so because it is so well disguised, ready to jump out, at any moment, making us a victim. Fear grows and envelops us as we learn, ever more, about the deception of appearances; fear becomes paranoia, and paranoia becomes terror, with the urge to even kill those around us. With this, movies like John Carpenter’s The Thing and Invasion of the Body Snatchers come to mind quickly. From now on, when I think of such movies invoking such fear, another will come to mind as quickly–one that I just watched recently–Dead Mary. It’s another one that reminds me how good, effective horror doesn’t have to be big budget.
Dead Mary was released in 2007. Why I’m just now writing a review about it in 2021 (14 years later) is beyond me. Somehow, it slipped through my radar earlier, even though it stars one of my favorite actresses–Dominique Swain. Swain has a certain sultry confidence and bad-girl beauty that has protagonist-heroine/final girl written all over it. No! I’m not giving away the plot or including a spoiler; I’m not saying that she is or she isn’t the heroine, the final girl, etc.; I’m just stating the obvious, as it seems, when anyone sees Dominique Swain in action (or, perhaps I should say, while acting). Any writer could take full advantage of Swain’s natural character impression to surprise the audience. But, do writers Peter Sheldrick, and Christopher Warre Smets take this advantage?
Dominique Swain (as the Kim), oozing sultry appeal, in Dead Mary
Dead Mary is what I would call pop/folk horror–it’s horror is derived from a popular legend. As the story goes, its akin to the game Bloody Mary, except Bloody Mary is the “lame” version, as Kim says in the movie (more about that later). With this one, you take a candle into a dark room, look in a mirror, and say Dead Mary three times–“Dead Mary…Dead Mary…Dead Mary.” There I said it (although I admit that I didn’t use a candle, and I didn’t look in a mirror; no, even I’m not that brave.) The cast of characters and could-be game players include a group of six twenty-something young people, five being closer friends with a history, and one (Lily) being a bit younger and without the “history” the others share. To make things tense from the start, Kim (Dominique Swain) and her arrogant boyfriend have just broken up, and body language (as well as words) make it obvious. All converge, for a weekend, to a cabin in the woods, where dysfunctional relationships, infidelity, and dark secrets soon become the least of anyone’s concerns.
Other than the recently jilted siren, Kim (Swain), our hapless gang of gore magnets (yes, they certainly attract gore in this movie) include Kim’s self-centered, ass of an ex-boyfriend Matt (Jefferson Brown). Eve (Marie-Josée Colburn) is the seductress by nature, wooing any man she wants, even if his significant other is nearby. Amber (Reagan Pasternak) is the naive girl that everyone takes advantage of, because…because they can. Dash (Michael Majeski) is Amber’s husband, and his name is telling of his character. And Baker (Steven McCarthy) wears the type of straw cowboy hat worn by people I never trust; does his character here exemplify the stereotype? Baker is trusted and loved, truly, by his too-sweet girlfriend Lily (Maggie Castle), not part of the movie’s inner circle of friends.
Does Eve’s stare reveal an inner demon? Or, is she just pissed? Or both?
With a cast of characters (all of whom are antagonists to one another, while ironically getting together as friends), Dead Mary has all of the elements of a great movie–a good drama, if nothing else. However, to up the ante, horror is added soon enough, although maybe not fast enough for some. I personally like the movie’s slow buildup to the horror. It begins as a weekend in a cabin in the woods, not unlike so many we’ve seen before. We see the guys small talk, smoke weed, and drink; we get equal time with the girls, minus the weed and booze. What would be unremarkable moments in many such films, here reveal tensions relationships, and complexity that elevate and develop the plot. I like how Dead Mary takes its time shaping characters in this way, turning the usual nothingness of such scenes in horror films into something purposeful–especially in a genre where characters are so often flat and underdeveloped. While we may not care much about the fate of most characters in Dead Mary, we do know who everyone is, beyond just a name or stereotype. Those we care less about are those we know more about.
“She’s all rotting flesh, and her eyes are sunken into their sockets…and when she breathes, she breathes death into you!” ~ Kim
The initial slow-burn of the film is eased into horror with the dare-game of the movie’s title, Dead Mary, introduced convincingly, as if by chance. From there, the whole mood of the movie shifts. As each person accepts the dare, candle in hand, tension rises…followed by dread. It is during this scene that Dead Mary achieves a height of horror, using mostly sound. Audibly, more than visually, we are jolted into the movie’s horror. Yes! It was one of those moments in my theater room, when I wondered if the sound was from the movie or from somewhere else in my home, upstairs…where no one else should be. And such are the moments of the greatest horror!
Kim (Dominique Swain) takes time out to collect her thoughts, in Dead Mary
“If Dead Mary reminds you of John Carpenter’s The Thing and Invasion of the Body Snatchers, then what’s so special about it?” you ask. For me, what’s special is the fact that Dead Mary has the elements of such paranoia classics, but it’s from a singular genre–horror, rather than science fiction/horror mix. You may already be thinking of other such horror films I could have thought of, others more obvious, but I’m not thinking of them. While there are others that are similar, no others do it quite so well as a parallel through horror, totally devoid of sci-fi. Sometimes, the criteria for originality in horror is that specific and, in being so, no less noteworthy.
“But, does Dead Mary deliver the gory goods?” you ask. Yes and no. There’s plenty of blood and gore, but the actual coup de grâces take place more off camera than on. Yes, we see the aftermath of the violence, the victim after being impaled with a shovel, sundry garden tool, or makeshift weapon. But, as it happens, we mostly only hear the cut, slice, or penetration, sometimes also seeing the tortured look on the victims face, as it happens. With all of that, even with so much off camera, I never felt like I was missing a thing. If you’re like me, you’re mind will fill in all the blanks just as well.
Is this really Eve (Marie-Josée Colburn) or not? Apparently, someone doesn’t think so!
According to IMDb’s trivia, “The script originally featured an actual Bloody Mary who, when summoned by the mirror game, rose from the depths of the lake to murder the characters one by one.” However, Director Robert Wilson wisely decided that it would be more interesting “if the evil force was never seen, but instead could manifest itself in any one of the old friends gathered at the cabin, thus making the film more a creepy paranoia piece and less a supernatural slasher film.” I totally agree that this was a great decision, making Dead Mary not only more interesting, but also far more original and…frightening. More on screen cuts and slashes may have also made it more of the slasher type, unwanted by director Wilson.
Also from IMDb’s trivia is that the movie’s screenplay was originally called Bloody Mary. “The title was cleared in every territory except Japan,” IMDb trivia continues, “where the name Bloody Mary is copyrighted, and it was suggested that the title be changed to Dead Mary for release in that country alone.” Later, the film’s producers discovered that the title Bloody Mary was also being used by another film about to be released, near the same time. So, with the nail in the coffin, they decided to officially change their movie’s title to Dead Mary. “This,” according to IMDb, “spawned an inside joke in the finished film, when the better-known game Bloody Mary is dismissed as being ‘the lame version’ of Dead Mary.” And a very clever “inside” joke it was (and one I would never have gotten), had I not read the IMDb trivia. Yes! Kim’s line about “the lame version” caught my attention, but never made sense, as it does now.
Amber (Reagan Pasternak) trying to decide if this is really her husband Dash (Michael Majeski)
Dead Mary is an off-the-radar, lesser known gem of low-budget horror worth seeing at least once, if not adding to your collection. What gets off to a slower start (albeit from developing characters), accelerates to full-throttle horror, suddenly and relentlessly, onward to the end. Paranoia of friends and lovers, fueled by supernatural evil abound, brings out the inner demons in us all. Possessed by spirits, revealing our own evil, or both, we’re all a horror show waiting to happen. One way or the other, our potential is terrifying. Could that be a little paranoia you’re feeling right now? Could that noise you hear be more than just the house settling? Of course it could! If that’s not enough, there’s always “Dead Mary…Dead Mary…Dead Mary.” “I’ll never say that,” you say? Too late. You just did!
Rocket Rating – 7
Chris Rennirt (the author of this review) is a movie critic and writer in Louisville, Kentucky, as well as editor in chief at Space Jockey Reviews. He has been a judge at many film festivals, including Macabre Faire Film Festival and Crimson Screen Film Fest, and he attends horror and sci-fi conventions often. Chris’ movie reviews, articles, and interviews are published regularly on Space Jockey Reviews and in Effective Magazine. His mission statement (describing his goals as a movie critic and philosophy for review writing) can be found on the “Mission” page, here at SJR. For more information about Chris Rennirt (including contact details, publicity photos, and more), click here.
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