Dead Sea

More Horror

'Dead Sea' (2014) Review

Review written by Jonathan Weichsel, MoreHorror.com

Last year director Brandon Slagle’s The Black Dahlia Haunting became the indie horror sleeper hit of the year. Now he has come back with Dead Sea, a film that, despite its colorful poster design, is in many ways even darker and more brooding than its predecessor. Fans of The Back Dahlia Haunting will embrace this new film even more passionately, and it will be an even bigger hit. Dead Sea is a film that is sure to make waves, pun intended.

Dead Sea revolves around a small town with a big problem. The town is built around a salt-water lake, and every thirty years a Lovecraftian monster appears and feeds on the local inhabitants until they restore equilibrium by sacrificing one of their own.

This causes a lot of drama within the town, and as with many great monster movies, the real monster of Dead Sea isn’t a supernatural entity with a lot of teeth, but everyday people. This is where Dead Sea really gets things right. There has been a huge resurgence of monster movies recently, and almost all of them focus on the monster instead of on people. Dead Sea, on the other hand, like all of Slagle’s films, and like the old B movies that inspired it, is rich with dark, disturbed characters with sinister pasts.

JW Wiseman plays Callan Amissus, a good man who is wracked with guilt over his divorce and his abandonment of his daughter.

Alexis Iacono plays Callan’s daughter Victoria, a marine biologist who is also an alcoholic who is having an affaire with her married boss. Iacono displays a wide emotional range and has some very touching scenes with her father. She comes across as very intelligent and plays a scientist convincingly, but there is also an ever-present anger right below the surface that gives her character unexpected depth.

Brandon Slagle plays Kier Than, an ex-soldier turned drug dealer who treats the small town as a war zone. Slagle brings real intensity to his role as an unrepentant and bloodthirsty killer bent on finding a sacrificial victim for the monster. A prologue set in the Middle East where Than executes innocent Arabs is the absolute best thing Slagle has ever shot, and makes me hope he directs a war movie one day.

Devanny Pinn brings her trademark sexiness and vulnerability to the role of Auriel Servus, a wayward townie who, like most young people stuck in a small town, dreams of getting out. Throughout her career Pinn has shown that she is of true scream queen stock. In Dead Sea we get to watch as Pinn is attacked by a monster, almost drowned, literally washed ashore, and chased by a mercenary killer. Like all great scream queens, she handles these scenes with a certain grace and nobility that comes with suffering.

Tawny Amber Young plays Cass, a drug addicted prostitute. Young shows some true horror acting chops, especially in her final scene of the film. She is also unbelievably hot, and a real pleasure to watch. Tawny Amber Young is very deserving of all of her beauty queen nominations and awards, including her recent amazing win as Miss Shockfest.

Ryan Kiser has a very brief role in the film’s prologue as Adam Than, Kier’s father who takes on the burden of the town when the monster appears in 1983. Kiser blew me away with his insane performance in Truth or Dare. In Dead Sea he has a very different, low key, emotional role, yet he handles it just as well. I can’t wait to watch him in more movies, and see what he does next.

Dead Sea is a dark film full of action, thrills, and horror. It is gritty, exciting, and gripping, and will keep you glued to your screen. It has a great cast full of scream queens and scream kings, and will be an indie horror hit.

Dead Sea stars Britt Griffith (Syfy's Ghosthunters, Ghosthunters International), James Jw Wiseman (The Deadliest Warrior), Devanny Pinn (The Black Dahlia Haunting, Truth or Dare), James Duval (Donnie Darko, Independence Day), Alexis Iacono (The Penny Dreadful Picture Show, World of Warcraft), Tawny Amber Young (Wonderland), Chanel Ryan (Bad Kids Go To Hell, BASEketball), Candace Kita (Barb Wire, Two and a Half Men), KJ McCormick (Syfy's Ghosthunters), Frederic Doss (Transformers, GI JOE The Rise of Cobra) and was directed by Shockfest 2012 "Best Director" Award Winner Brandon Slagle.

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