Dead (film)

Dead is a 2020 New Zealand comedy horror film, starring Tom Sainsbury and Hayden J. Weal.[1]

Dead
Directed byHayden J. Weal
Written by
Produced byHayden J. Weal
Starring
  • Tom Sainsbury
  • Hayden J. Weal
CinematographyTammy Williams
Edited byKerri Roggio
Music by
Release date
  • 2020 (2020)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryNew Zealand
LanguageEnglish

Plot

Dane 'Marbles' Marbeck can see ghosts with the help of a homemade drug. While out on his day job of connecting people with their deceased loved ones, he's confronted by a freshly dead cop, Officer Jayson Tagg, who wants help hunting his killer.[2][3]

Cast
  • Tom Sainsbury as Dane 'Marbles' Marbeck
  • Hayden J. Weal as Officer Jayson Tagg
  • Tōmairangi Ihaia as Tana Tagg (Officer Tagg's sister)
  • Jennifer Ward-Lealand as Janine Marbeck (Marbles' mother)
  • Michael Hurst as Ross Marbeck (Marbles' father)

Production

The script was co-written by Sainsbury and Weal, with both also performing the two lead roles. Weal also directed and produced the film.[1]

Release

The film was released in New Zealand in August 2020, and internationally on 6 October 2020.[4]

The film was later released as an eight-part web series.[1][5] In New Zealand, the series is available to view on TVNZ's free-to-air streaming service TVNZ+.[3]

Reception

Kate Rodger of Newshub praised the film, stating that it had great performances and a cracking script. Rodger wrote that Dead "was, in fact, full of life, and death and was an unexpected delight" and gave it four out of five stars.[2] Writing for Stuff, reviewer James Croot stated although there were some inspired moments, "Dead’s combination of the supernatural and silly behaviour just felt a little too forced," and rated the film three stars.[5]

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 88% based on 16 reviews, with an average rating of 6.4 out of 10.[6]

References
  1. "Dead". NZ On Screen. Archived from the original on 28 February 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  2. Rodger, Kate (19 September 2020). "Film review: Dead has great performances and a cracking script". Newhub. Archived from the original on 6 November 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  3. "Dead". TVNZ+. TVNZ. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  4. Barton, Monika (21 July 2020). "Kiwi comedian Tom Sainsbury speaks to ghosts in creepy Dead trailer". Newshub. Archived from the original on 27 April 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  5. Croot, James (17 September 2020). "Dead: Tom Sainsbury takes a more serious turn in tonally odd Ghost story". Stuff. Archived from the original on 6 November 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  6. "Dead". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
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