Horror Movie Review: Dead Mary

It figures that I'd find some way to be let down by a movie about a demon apocalypse.  And not only because the movie was bad, but also because the entire film is predicated on a lie.

Now, I'm not criticizing a good mindfuck film, or even the 'everything you thought you knew is wrong' plot twist here, although that's maybe what it sounds like.  I'm talking about a film being sold to me, the viewer as one thing, and then having it not even be relevant to the story.  It's like, if you went to see Star Wars, and it takes place entirely in a Kansas Wal-Mart and there is no violent conflict at all in the film.  There are obviously films, like Cry_Wolf, where the ruse contributes to the viewing experience and reinforces the big plot twist, but Dead Mary isn't one of those films.

Dead Mary is, of course, a riff on the 'Bloody Mary' urban legend, which has been done to death - badly, in the case of Urban Legend: Bloody Mary, or surprisingly well in one of the stronger episodes in Supernatural's first season.  Or, if you prefer Tony Todd, Candyman.  And predictably, there's a scene where the characters in the movie stand in front of the bathroom mirror of the cabin they rented out in the middle of nowhere, and say 'Dead Mary' three times. And then people start dying.  As though this Dead Mary character was actually summoned and now taking out all of the particpants.

That's certainly what I'd expect to happen, given the title of the film.  But it's a complete red herring, and the supernatural goings on are totally unconnected.  Unfortunately for the idea - that there's this worldwide demonic attack occurring while these self-absorbed drunks are killing each other and whining about who's sleeping with who - there's insufficient context.  We don't see anything remotely resembling civilization and it's a severe detriment.  Pulse was at its best when we saw the hysteria happening in the background and watched it escalate while the main characters seemed too obsessed to notice.  Altered worked with a similarly claustrophobic environment for most of its screentime but still managed to create a believable world.  So ultimately, Dead Mary isn't held back by its concepts, but by their poor execution. 

Which is why there's such unsatisfying horror out there.  Misdirection.  Filmmakers are focused more on gore for gore's sake or cheeky in-jokes than they are on making a movie that viewers will care about.  The mise en scene tends to be ignored in movies like Dead Mary, which is pretty much backwards of the way it should go.