Nine Dead

I thought this film was absolutely amazing, it was a great thriller, had an amazing story line and really kept you on the edge of your seat right to the end just to know what was going to happen. The acting was really good as well, its nice to see Melissa Joan Hart in such a different role than what we have seen her in before. The other actors on the were also really good and they played there part absolutely perfectly. I watched this film thinking it was going to be really bad because all the reviews said that it was, but while watching it I was trying to discover if they were watching the same film as i thought it was it was brilliant. Now for the reason of the 8 out of 10, the ending has been mentioned in several reviews and they are spot on, the ending was dreadful. Bad ending ruin films and that is what has happened with this film as well, it was just ridiculous.

Don't waste your time on this film. It could have been good, but the ending was one of the lamest I've ever seen. I seriously have to wonder how the people involved with the making of this film could've looked at that final scene and thought, "yeah! now there's an ending!" and patted themselves on the back about it. To me it seemed more like they just ran out of ideas! They built up the final scenes to have a cool twist, but instead just let the whole build-up fall flat on it's face. When the last shot faded to black and I heard the credit music starting I was in shock - I could not believe what I was seeing and that someone could even call that an ending. The best thing anyone could do with this film is rewrite the end and give it some substance. Seriously, I'd really love to get whoever came up with that one in a room, look them in the face and say - WTF??!!!!

The movie I am going to discuss is Nine Dead. A film that has been causing me a lot of interest for months because I was interested in seeing Melissa Joan Hart (Sabrina, the Teenage Witch) in a different role. The film centres around 9 people, being held captive by a mad men, they all must discover why they are there, or every ten minutes, He will come in and shoot them one by one. Sound familiar? its very much like 'Saw' but its budget is far less and it shows. The film had a lot of promise but I was sadly disappointed by it. The acting, sets and story are quite average. This is a movie that will not ignite anymore interest in Hart's acting career or anyone else's for that matter, but it is a fun, harmless film. I was expecting a lot of gore from this film, but you hardly see any blood. I won't give anymore away but i do recommend this for any fan of Melissa Joan Hart or the Saw movies. This is a good movie and I would watch it again. Although you will be disappointed by the anticipation and the hype that was surrounding the film. I give it 6/10 but 8/10 for trying and 8/10 for the acting.

This movie has credible characters in incredible circumstances, and the director and writer are obviously influenced by the master, Hitchcock, so this is almost sure to have mostly upside. No doubt many will think of SAW when this is seen. But lets face it, there are millions of films, and no matter what you make, it will overlap other films. I didn't get the impression that this was a "copy" at any time, but merely an original script. 9 people are chained in a room by a masked man, and unless they can figure out why, he will kill one every ten minutes. Of course the masked man is a loony, but we at least learn later there is a method to his madness. It doesn't even begin to justify what he does, but it does give us a credible belief that he is doing it. Not once do you feel you are watching actors during this film. The characters are very well drawn, and there are lots of little intricacies that you may not notice till later. This is very Hitchcock oriented, with lots of drama and believable characters. I won't spoil the film, but will say that those of us who grew up poor and live uninsured lives will see the key to the mystery long before the others, and it is worth noting that the English speaking characters in this drama were all either in the upper crust or such thugs that they would not care, which was part of the point of the film. There's a lot to this film. It wasn't watered down, and it has lots of upside. It looked like it wasn't hampered at all by jealousy on the drawing board, which means it was done by professionals from the director down to the assistant assistant set designer. While SAW was original enough, this film is superior to SAW on all levels, particularly if you want believable action, story and characters.

Nine people are systematically kidnapped after being rendered unconscious by a masked man's taser while walking to their various vehicles. These people, of all walks of life, find themselves handcuffed to poles and are told by their mysterious captor that they have a certain allotted time limit(ten minutes each)to uncover why they are in this situation. If they are unable to do so, one individual of the group will be killed, a random selection chosen for execution. Melissa Joan Hart is Kelley, a self-absorbed, very corrupt district attorney, whose needs(career) come before anything(or anybody)else. Chip Bent is Sully, a boorish strip joint owner with a rotten soul known for using violence on those who fail to pay him for lending money among other practices. Lawrence Turner, as depraved, bi-sexual pedophile ex-con Coogan who delights in watching the others squirm while attempting to come up with the answer behind their plight..Coogan, I imagine, will the most memorable of the cast because he's so deplorable, and unapologetic about his sickening nature. Edrick Browne is black burglar Leon, and yes there are conversations about race..it's inevitable when a lone black character is supplied in such a scenario that race will be brought up, never fails. John Cates is struggling actor/bartender Christian, who may be a root cause for why everyone is in this predicament. Marc Macaulay as a priest(no he is not in this situation because of pedophilia..I bring this up because, truth be told, it immediately came to my mind as well), Father Francis, who heard a confession and will not relate the information to the rest because of his vow to God. Lucille Soong as an Oriental woman who can not speak English..this will undoubtedly cause a tumult among the parties due to the language barrier(if they can not understand her, how can they understand why she relates to them?). James C Victor as a cop, Eddie, who has a history with Kelley later revealed. Daniel Baldwin shows up in what is an unimportant cameo. A Saw variation, just less brutal than what we normally see in these types of character puzzlers(..the killer uses only a loaded gun, shooting his victims point blank as they plead for their lives, begging to be spared) where an assemblage of stereotypes try to discover a way to recover past mistakes and decisions which might've contributed to their current dilemma. I imagine Melissa Joan Hart's name in the lead will draw curious viewers interested in seeing her in a film such as this..and, boy, is she a whopper to behold, certain to create repulsion in many a viewer. Chris Shadley's "Nine Dead", as many of the Saw movies and their imitators, opens with characters we know little about, and as the plot unfolds, revelations and behavior tell us all we need..this kind of plot services us with a catharsis, as character unveil their hidden flaws while understanding the crisis confronting them. I think the key to the film's modest success is that it really feels like these characters have ten minutes a piece as we literally hears the seconds tick as time becomes an issue and details emerge with the usual bickering and personality clashes. I won't lie, I thought the end result, after the mystery has been solved, was a bit contrived(..Kelley's actions are certain to bewilder, us having to accept that someone could be so abominable is a bit hard to fathom), but it comments on how, despite facing death every moment, one might still remain so selfish and concerned for(..and consumed with) their own well being, even upon possible absolution. As with the Saw series, "Nine Dead" often shows flashbacks from past events to weave it's tale. Most of the film occurs within the "cell" of the characters, where they are confined.

I thought altogether the film was very much worth watching, and I'd definitely watch it again! The film is much like the SAW series without the disgusting gore and with more thought involved. When I say thought, I mean that it keeps you involved making you try to figure out why they're there. The acting was average but you can't expect the best for a low budget film, and I think the acting did do justice. The only real disappointment with this film; was the ending, it's as if they're trying to lead you on to a sequel :/ Maybe they ran out of money for the film and had to cut it short but there are so many better ways to finish what would otherwise have been a blockbuster! :)

What a complete waste of time. The movie starts as a clone of the Saw series, but with even worse acting. Melissa Joan Hart is absolutely horrible. The ending is ridiculous and the story contains no twists, not plot surprises and just a plain bad ending. I liked some of the characters and I was hoping for everything to be tied together at the end. It just doesn't happen. It's a total "Wrestler" ending with none of the good acting. I can't believe I spent the time watching this. It's not "fun" as some people put it. A guy in a mask kidnaps people who are connected and forces them to figure it out. The connection is a stretch and he should have shot the main actress first.

If only the ending were different. The first 7 minutes were not great. But once you get the 9 into the closed room and they have to put the puzzle together and solve the mystery, I loved it - until the end. Some people say it was a Saw copycat. I have not seen the Saw movies. I do not like slasher films and that seems to be all the saw movies are. This was far more cerebral. I didn't think the acting was as bad as some people said. Perhaps because they hated the movie they were more critical of the actors than perhaps the actors deserved. It was the ending that ruined the movie for me. The puzzle was solved. All the pieces finally fall together. For people who love mystery novels this is the greatest moment. But then the person who is the 'most' guilty in the whole mess takes out the other survivors to save her career. That just made me really mad. The person who carries the most blame escapes the room and escapes justice. Makes me want to scream in frustration.

Sadly it was misguided. This movie stunk from start to finish. It was hard to watch because I used to watch Clarissa Explains It All every day on Nickelodeon. I LOVED her. Then the next thing I found she did a spread in Maxim and she was gorgeous! I haven't really heard anything about her until I watched this movie on accident. I couldn't believe she would even let something like this be seen with her name all over it. Everything about it was wrong but it still looked like someone somewhere in the team was trying really really hard to save a sunk ship. Too bad.. I hope she continues to act and I would love to see her with a real cast in a real movie.

Chris Shadley has been involved on a production level in various other projects, including big hits, but this is his first time directing. Patrick Wehe Mahoney had never written for the screen before this. Going by "Nine Dead", neither of them should try again. Harsh? Perhaps, but if you take the time to see this movie, you will quickly be on board with that view. Nine people are kidnapped by a masked stranger, put in a room, and told they must deduce the reason they are there. Every ten minutes they will be asked, and if they fail to answer correctly, one of them will die. An intriguing setup, even if not completely unfamiliar to those who know of "The Killing Room", "Cube", or Agatha Christie, and clearly an idea that is trying to ride the wave of the "Saw" series, borrowing heavily from classic revenge movies and the exploitation cinema of the 70's in various ways. The fact it is rather derivative did not bother me so much (I am happy to watch a completely derivative piece of work if it is good as a standalone film). The problem is that they manage to make it look cheaper than it is, with a shooting style that you would expect to find in an impressive student film; clunky editing sewing flashback sequences in that just feel awkward; there is no excitement after the setup; no twists, no turns, no surprises, and when you finally reach the inevitable reveal of the connection, it is rather uninteresting, not to mention hard to believe that this person would have gone to this extent for revenge. It is like saying you're going to make a gorgeous desert for after dinner and all you can come up with is vanilla ice cream. If that isn't bad enough, imagine then throwing the ice cream on the floor! That, if you're confused, is my analogy for the ending. I enjoy a movie with a provocative endings, a movie that leaves you something to think about, provokes a discussion, or even a movie that is open-ended, so long as it is justified; this ending just screams that they did not know what to do with it. I'm not necessarily a sucker for top-name casting and am always happy to see new talent and give it a chance, but despite a couple of exceptions, this cast is awful. Some may seem familiar from character work they have done elsewhere, but barely any can deliver anything without looking like they have just been told their lines from off camera; even the "bankable" lead Melissa Joan Hart (Sabrina The Teenage Witch) fails rather miserably to deliver anything close to believable. This is of course not helped by the dialogue they are given, which from beginning to end is the most banal writing I've seen for some time! At points I even found it a bit insulting, Mahoney presuming that an audience, even those who are not dedicated genre fans, would relate to anything anyone in this film has to say; there seems to be, at points, attempts at social commentary (much akin to the early "Saw" movies) that is just trite, over-simplified rubbish! To believe that anyone interested in a film like this would accept and believe some of these characters' ways of thinking as being even remotely realistic is a big mistake on its own. So you're wondering why a three-star rating, right? It is simply for no other reason than the fact I have seen worse; I liked the performance of the hostage-taker (certainly the most interesting character present), and I genuinely feel it is an idea that, if committed to the screen by someone who knew what they were doing with the material, "Nine Dead" would have come out as an enjoyable mystery thriller. As it is, it is just completely forgettable, lacking the intelligence and intrigue of "Cube", the frightening social bite of "The Killing Room" and the cinematic panache of "Saw" all at once. In short, do not bother.