I Need You Dead!

Director - Rocko Zevenbergen (Meat Lovers)

Starring - Estevan Munoz (Zombie Cats from Mars, Abe Makes a Movie), Tyveon L. Ray (Black Widow, Dracula), and Lloyd Kaufman (#Shakespeare's Shitstorm, After School Lunch Special)

Release Date - 2020

Genre - Horror/Comedy

Tagline - "A new psychedelic has hit the streets of Schmucksville.  Get dummy high, open your third eye...and prepare to die!"

Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Sometime last year I received a random email about the indie horror comedy I Need You Dead!  This was the first time I had heard about the project but the images, artwork, and so on had me hooked.  It sounded so absurd that I had to see it.  I replied to the email and director Rocko Zevenbergen promised to keep me in mind when he received the finished product.  Sometime passed and a few weeks ago I was sent an email asking for my address.  This really got me excited and when the movie finally arrived I quickly tossed it in.  I was not ready for this crazy ass film but I really enjoyed it.  

     The film follows Dood (Munoz) who likes to party and partakes in the occasional drug use.  After sampling Dummy Gummies he finds himself tripping and soon discovers a strange creature on the street.  The creature has sinister plans for Dood which sends him on an unexpected but dangerous jounrey through a horrible trip.  

     I knew this was going to be a wild fucking movie but I wasn't expecting it to be this fucking insane.  A lot of indie movies make up for lack of budget with creativity and imagination.  I Need You Dead! is a pretty ambitious story that works for the most part.  There is a few things I would have liked to see done differently but it's still a fun watch as it is.  The acting in this one is solid.  The cast is really into their roles and deliver some pretty fun performances.  Munoz is fantastic as Dood and carries the film very well.  I review a lot of indie releases and I'm pretty fucking shocked I haven't seen his name appear in the credits of some of them.  He is a fantastic actor and I hope he is cast in some other projects soon.  The supporting cast is decent as well.  Some of the characters are written with a little more detail than others but the cast does a solid job bringing them to life.  The story for this one is bat shit crazy.  It's like Troma meets Brain Damage.  I really loved the amount of humor and weirdness the films throws at the viewer.  It's not afraid of being different and does a fantastic job at holding the viewer's attention.  With that being said, I'm not really a fan of the "making a movie" aspect of the film.  It gave the film some run time but it does break the pacing of the movie up.  I could have lived without it.  Finally, the film has some pretty cool practical effects and pretty awesome looking creature.  It has plenty of blood and uses the solid practical effects very well.  I love seeing a monster in a no budget movie and this one looks absolutely amazing.  Overall, I Need You Dead! is a difficult movie to explain but it's well worth your time.  If you like the odd side of cinema then this movie is for you.  I highly recommend it.