When told to screen any horror movie of your choice, for a college class, what would any student majoring in film do in 2013? Netflix of course. The great thing about this online flume of movies, TV shows, and documentaries, is that they are all are categorized by genres, sub genres, and hybrid genres. So it was quiet easy to find a horror film of my choice. I came across a film, that was also in my instant queue (more of a reason to watch it), with the title “Nine Dead.” This film was released in 2010 straight to DVD. “Nine Dead” directed by Chris Shadley, his first film, and starring Melissa Joan Hart (“Sabrina, the Teenage Witch”), was your classic psychological horror film.
“Nine Dead” tells the story of a “masked man” who kidnaps nine individuals. The film takes place in one sketchy, dirty room where all nine individuals stand. The “masked man” informs the nine people that they are here for a reason, and unless each one of them figures it out, someone will die every ten minutes.
For the most part the actors portrayed their characters pretty well. It was definitely a challenge for Melissa Joan Hart, who usually portrays upbeat, positive personality characters. But in the end, all the characters were pretty believable (even the one Asian woman who spoke no english).
The cinematography was alright. There was not much of a challenge considering the film was shot in one room, and the lighting worked well with the grimy room effect. The characters wore costumes that reflected themselves, pretty easy stuff for costume design. The priest was dressed as a priest, and the business women dressed in business attire (nothing to crazy).
I know it seems like I wasn’t to crazy about this film, but I definitely think it was a good watch (especially on a rainy day, when you have nothing else to do). It’s not a film you re-watch every so often, because you loved it so much. “Nine Dead” is a film to watch to gain answers to your burning questions. Who’s the masked man? Why are these people here? And how is the film going to end?
