Shatter Dead

Director - Scooter McCrae (Sixteen Tongues, Betamax)

Starring - Stark Raven (Sixteen Tongues), Flora Fauna, Daniel 'Smalls' Johnson (Pacific Blue, Son of the Beach)

Release Date - 1994

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "God hates you"

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection)

Rating (out of 5):

     When I was in high school, and a few years after I graduated before venturing off to college, I would often spend my nights and spare time at a friend's house with some other friends.  We would often drink and watch random horror and exploitation films.  We were all avid eBay buyers and often snagged films we had never heard of or caught our eyes.  One of my many purchases at that time was Scooter McCrae's Shatter Dead.  I remember liking it but I don't remember a god damn thing about it all those years ago so when Saturn's Core announced the release of the film on blu I was ready to upgrade my copy and revisit it.  Saturn's Core has really impressed me since partnering with Vinegar Syndrome so I was really looking forward to this release and checking out the film that I completely forgot about.

     The film follows Susan (Raven) who is one of the few living people left in the world.  The Dead are no longer dying but living forever.  She is trying to make her way home but the living dead, lead by an enigmatic preacher, are on the hunt for the living so he can grow his ever growing legion of the undead.  

     I loved the story and the approach it took.  It's not your typical zombie movie and the amount of creativity is still impressive almost 30 years later.  It is held back by the film's budget but as a fan of indie horror I found it to be extremely entertaining.  I'm honestly shocked that I didn't remember this one after my initial viewing.  The alcohol may have had something to do with it or I didn't appreciate it as much at my young age but now I fucking love it.  The acting in this one is solid but the cast is fairly inexperienced or has no experience at all.  I liked the wide array of characters that we are given and the cast does a fantastic job at bringing them to life.  However, a few of the scenes were a bit awkward which can be chalked up to the cast's lack of experience.  I liked it but there was room for improvement.  The story for this one is nothing like I had seen before when speaking about the undead or zombies.  We have people who can't die and punishment for betraying the evil preacher is receiving a disability that you will never outlive.  It's such a wild story that I seriously enjoy.  Keep in mind, this is a no budget S.O.V. horror film but the budget doesn't stop it from being so much fun.  Finally, the film has plenty of blood and some light gore but it works.  I enjoyed the deaths and how they fit into the film.  If you want blood then this film is for you.  Overall, Shatter Dead is a must see for fans of indie horror and S.O.V.  I fucking loved it and I'm respect the hell out of Saturn's Core for bringing this film to blu.  I highly recommend checking it out.