Dead (film)

Dead
Directed by	Hayden J. Weal
Written by	Tom Sainsbury Hayden J. Weal
Produced by	Hayden J. Weal
Starring	Tom Sainsbury Hayden J. Weal
Cinematography	Tammy Williams
Edited by	Kerri Roggio
Music by	Tom McLeod William Philipson Tom Pierard Jimmy Urine
Release date	2020 (2020)
Running time	90 minutes
Country	New Zealand
Language	English

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

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". Newshub. 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.

External links

• Dead at IMDb
• DEAD the movie
• Dead at TVNZ+