Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Undead and Biting Comedy: A Movie Review

*full disclosure: a screener of this film was provided by Indican Pictures.

Director/writer: Jordan Galland.

This review is going back a little to late 2010 when Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Undead was released theatrically and shortly thereafter on home video formats. This is a small film that includes certain characters from William Shakespeare's "Hamlet," but little else is borrowed from this playwright. Terse in dialogue and amusing, this film is light-hearted; however, the play could have sourced more from "Hamlet" and a little less from "Friends."

As background, the fictional characters Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were friends of Hamlet. They were also instructed to help assassinate him by order of the King of Denmark, Hamlet's uncle. They were unsuccessful and killed thanks to Hamlet's undoing. They are minor characters in Shakespeare's, arguably, best play. This critic would argue in favour of the "Merchant of Venice" as his best play, but that is a discussion for another time. Suffice it to say that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were good spies but poor assassins.

In Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Undead, these characters are played as self-absorbed buffoons. Horatio (John Ventimiglia), also from Hamlet, makes an appearance and this time he is a vampire! He is also a writer and he would like nothing more than to hold an undead play full of undead actors. He just has to turn them from the light to the dark before opening night. Julian (Jake Hoffman) plays a womanizer and the director of the play, who tries to keep him and his girlfriend in the land of the living. Enter in an occult debunking super society and the strangeness gets into full swing.

Horror fans out there looking for the next intelligent slasher flick will not be happy with this offering. While the film offers creatures from horror such as the vampire, this is not a horror film by any means. Yes, there is bloodsucking and the rules of vampirism make an appearance - vampires still do not like garlic, however there are none of the usual thrills found in horror here. Nor is there any tension. But hey, Ralph Macchio (The Karate Kid) makes an appearance; that counts for something, right?

This film is more of a comedy with some of the dialogue more biting than others. The vampire Horatio asks a promising cast member: "do you suffer from iron deficiencies?" That is not a standard job interview question. And much of the comedy comes from speech and not from any physical comedy. There is no slapstick here. However, the motivations of the vampire are different: "he traps and turns a large group of actors into vampires to save on special effects." This is also a modern vampire who fits into modern society even during the day. So, this is a film with a few laughs housed within, but there are only a few thrills.

Overall, this reviewer would recommend this film for a fun movie night. Also, not too complex, this is a film that uses dialogue to deliver its quick quips. Do not expect horror and do not expect first time feature film director Jordan Galland to look at Shakespeare's tragedy, the "Prince of Hamlet," with any depth. This is primarily a cursory look at "Hamlet" and fans of stage and film productions should check out this and other interpretations of "Hamlet," some of which might be better than the one found here.

Overall: 6.5 out of 10 (good dialogue, the acting is good, more horror could have balanced the comedy).

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Undead at Indican Pictures:

Film Details at Indican Pictures

Another review of this title at Quiet Earth:

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Undead Reviewed at Quiet Earth

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Posted in: 2010,comedy,film comedy,indican pictures,movie review,william shakespeare