Tuesday, September 11, 2012

The Dead Inside and Requiring Expansion: A Movie Review

*full disclosure: a DVD screener of this film was provided by Monarch Home Entertainment.

Director/writer: Travis Betz.

Cast: Sarah Lassez and Dustin Fasching.

This reviewer knows Indiana born Travis Betz from his earlier production Lo. This title featured a demon and a circle of protection. This title was a small film. Betz's latest, The Dead Inside, is also a small film. There are only two characters and all of the action takes place in one setting, much like Betz's earlier film. Thus, there are only a few places this film can go. The Dead Inside is a little too mundane in this tight space to be enjoyable and it is a little too long to be recommended for most film fans.

The story seems simple enough. Fi (Sarah Lassez) and West (Dustin Fasching) are a couple living together in a smallish apartment. West is a photographer by day, while Fi is a writer of zombie apocalyptic fiction. Troubles begins brewing when Fi is no longer inspired, creatively. She becomes possessed by a demon, strangely. Now, West must deal with an unstable girlfriend who tells tales of suicide and being left at the marriage altar. But, is the story enough to draw viewers in?


This critic did not find the film very entertaining. A few early musical numbers were hilarious, but this affect wanes over time. To its detriment, The Dead Inside seems much too long. This film could easily have been cut at fourty-five minutes; yet, it carries on. Melodrama also detracts from a viewing. Because this is a small film, their is a heavy reliance on only dialogue and acting. Actors Sarah Lassez and Dustin Fasching are excellent, but there are few thrills to be found here. And listening to dialogue alone does not create for an interesting time. Some external shooting could have livened the film up a little.

The Dead Inside will release on DVD November 20th and this film fan would only recommend this title to a few. This might be a good couples' film. The Dead Inside is a compromise between a love story and a melodramatic thriller. Strangely musical at times, Betz shows his creative powers here once again. But, the smallish nature of this production can only take the imagination so far. Someone, somewhere needs to provide Betz with a larger budget to fully flesh out his horror designs. Because, The Dead Inside is unable to fill its 90 minute runtime with enough humour, action and surprises to keep this viewer entertained.

Overall: 6.5 out of 10 (gorgeous set design, great acting, boring, what is the tone of this film?, story is slightly flat and uninspired).

The film's fan page is here:

The Dead Inside on Facebook

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