MY CALL: This is an ultra-low budget, poor man’s Terrifier (2016). MORE MOVIES LIKE Die’ced: Well, obviously Terrifier (2016) and Terrifier 2 (2022). They’re both superior at what Die’ced aims to be.
Once I heard the buzz that writer and director Jeremy Rudd (The Dark Side) had created a movie much in the same vain as Terrifier (2016) and Terrifier 2 (2022), the movie had my attention and I knew I needed to see it, low budget or not. Some of us are gorehounds for the simple love of blood and guts cast across the screen. Some seek the curious thrills of the meaner and more boundary-pushing films that are emotionally and/or viscerally hard to watch. Still, others of us find an internalized, personal trauma-processing benefit from these types of films, like a form of therapy. I am all three. And if you feel you are none of the above, then I suggest you steer clear of this movie as well as anything to which it has been compared.
Halloween eve 1987, high schooler Cassandra (Eden Campbell; The Mortuary Collection, They Reach, Fear Street Part 2: 1978) is getting ready for a Halloween house party. Naturally, her friends and loved ones will feed the body count.
After his accidental discharge, a patient with dissociative identity disorder and a penchant for murder is set free upon the world. And despite his very adult skill set for murder, Benjamin (Jason Brooks; The Barn Part II) perceives himself as a child… a characteristic the movie goes out of its way to explain (creating some anticipation), but that we disappointingly never see realized on screen at all. Now Rudd readily acknowledges his inspiration from Art the Clown, and we see this in Benjamin’s inhumanly exaggerated features, not to mention that he, like Art, is a playfully homicidal mute and even has a few scenes that mirror Art’s.
Obviously, I wish this film had more money for its violence and gore. But the real noticeable flaw here was the writing. In some actors’ cases, the line delivery was as clunky as the written dialogue itself. Another minor issue was the clumsiness and filming, framing and angles of the physical altercations. Rudd has the kind of vision I like, but needs to hone his skills if others are to share his vision on the screen.
There’s plenty of blood, that’s for sure. There’s a sloppy, sticky, multi-choppy limb amputation, a woman is hammered to the floor, hands are severed, and the best gag was the eye-gauging skull split! A guy’s head is torn down the middle, bare-brained and all. Still, comparisons to Terrifier (2016) are only in “bullet point” form and never in the execution of these scenes. But again… budget is a factor. Not the only factor. But a significant factor, nonetheless.
I’d say much of the execution, gore, stunts and staging fall well below the quality of Terrifier (2016). But also general filmmaking experience was wanting. I imagine Rudd was a man of perhaps too many hats on this film. Or maybe many people handling many tasks (e.g., general photography) are still more green in the industry. I also don’t know if there was anyone handling stunts. It didn’t look to be the case anyway (I think the actors did everything). Truth be told, too much happens off-screen, out of view, or in obscured view. And sure, for the nth time, the money wasn’t there to better realize this on-screen.
This movie is just too ultra-low budget for me to enjoy. The graphic, gore-pleasing scenes were too few and far between. But truly, I still appreciate what Rudd is aiming for here and I’d like to see what he can do with a more workable budget. Whatever Rudd does next, I’m there. So frankly, if this was a job interview, then Rudd, you have my attention…