Dead Again, movie (2021) - Film review by Kadmon

If you'd like to be surprised by the Dead Again film, I don't recommend you to watch the trailer beyond 1:19, because it gives away a part of the plot.

Dead Again, movie (2021) - Watch the trailer on YouTube
video © Greenway Entertainment & Rellik Films

Article updated: 2022.10.04

The Dead Again (2021) is a horror film. The movie was reviewed by Kadmon.

Product: Dead Again, movie (2021)

Original title: Dead Again

Series: -

Setting: alternate Earth

Product type: Film, Genre: horror comedy, Style: horror, comedy, zombie (creature), Style: shaky camera

Release: 2021.01.05

Watched: very recent (2021.02), first time

Rating: Bad (1 out of 3 points), Enjoyment: Bad (1 out of 3 points)

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This is my review of Dead Again, a horror comedy movie from 2021. It's about about a pair of policemen facing a horde of zombies, while they are trapped in a building. The Dead Again film is not very interesting, I don't recommend it to anyone.

Dead Again, movie (2021)
image © Greenway Entertainment & Rellik Films

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Review (spoiler-free) - Dead Again, movie (2021)

I've just run into Dead Again. The premise sounded interesting, and I like zombie movies and dark comedies. I didn't watch the trailer before starting the movie. I probably should have.

Dead Again is about a pair of policemen facing a horde of zombies, while they are trapped in a building.

The story was very slow. Several scenes were either too slow, or straight up unnecessary. The first 30 minutes is just a long introduction, while nothing happens. There were no character arcs. There was no proper ending, it just ends without a real resolution.

The comedy is weak, and the humour is too sparse for a comedy. The horror is missing, and even the tension is lacking.

The cinematography was bad. The handheld camera made me nauseous. The lighting was bad. They've overused colour filters.  The action scenes are bad, but at least you are able to follow what is happening. The special effects are not very good, but I think that's okay due to to the low budget nature of Dead Again.

The characters were undeveloped and unengaging. The actors were acceptable for their roles.

The music was fine. It was probably the best part of the film.

The story is a strange mix of Shaun of the Dead and Plan 9 from Outer Space. Unfortunately, there's more of the latter in it.

Dead Again is a watchable but uninteresting film.

My experience

I didn't like Dead Again (2021). I felt it was dull and unsatisfying.

Rating: Bad (1 out of 3 points). Dead Again is full of problems. I was able to watch it to the end, but it took an effort to do so.

Enjoyment: Bad (1 out of 3 points). Dead Again couldn't catch my interest.

Rewatchability: If you loved it for the first time, you probably love it for the characters and the themes of the film. Although I don't think anyone would be desperate enough to watch it again intentionally.

Chance of watching it again: Nope.

Chance of watching a sequel: Maybe I'd watch it, but I'd sure watch the trailer and read some reviews before that.

Dead Again, movie (2021)
image © Greenway Entertainment & Rellik Films

Will you enjoy this?

If you like mystery or thriller movies, you might like Dead Again, as there are some hints of mystery in it.

If you like action horror movies (28 Days Later, Aliens), you might like the film, although there are not many action scenes or scary scenes in the Dead Again movie.

If you like horror comedy (Shaun of the Dead, Tucker and Dale vs Evil), you might like Dead Again, as there are some slightly funny scenes.

If you get through the first 35 minutes of the Dead Again film without being bored, you might enjoy the movie.

Watching for plot points

Even if you are really interested in zombie movies, I don't think it's worth watching the Dead Again movie for the plot points.

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Dead Again, movie (2021)
image © Greenway Entertainment & Rellik Films

Review with spoilers - Dead Again, movie (2021)

I didn't like the Dead Again movie.

Cover

The cover doesn't spoil the movie, but it makes it look more interesting than it actually is.

The trailer

The trailer is surprisingly good, it's a better watch than the movie itself.

Promise of the first scene

The first scene shows news reports about a worldwide attack, and about an epidemic. This was unexpected, as I thought this would be a small scale comedy. The second scene shows a woman being chased by something. Based on the title and the premise, I'd expected to see a zombie apocalypse film, but I'm a little bit confused by the first scene.

Execution: There were zombies, but I don't feel I really got what I thought.

Plot summary / Synopsis

We see news reports telling that the Earth is under attack. And there's probably some kind of epidemic.

A new policeman (Elliot Cable as PC Brody) comes to a rural village (Little Pitchfield), as the old policeman (Tony Fadil as PS Cooper) is about to retire. On his last day, the old policeman gives a tour of the village to his replacement.

Zombies attack two kids (Chris Monk as Dan, Sonera Angel as Katie), who hide in an abandoned manor. They are seen by the caretaker (Mark Wingett as Bob), who calls for the police, believing they are robbers. The owner of the place (Kit Pascoe as Ellen) also arrives.

When the policemen get there, the hordes of zombies attack, so they barricade themselves in a room. One by one they are killed, until only the two policemen remain. They grab their weapons, and shoot their way out of the manor.

In the meantime, alien spacecrafts have destroyed most of the major cities of the world.

By the time they get out of the manor, they are able to see a major city from the door, being destroyed by aliens. They start running towards the spaceship to shoot it down.

The setting

Contemporary alternate Earth. With alien invaders that can turn people into zombies. There's also an epidemic, maybe?

17 years ago there was a strange occurrence, when everybody had something stolen from them, while they've seen lights in the air. There's a theory that the aliens prepared their attack at that time.

Dead Again, movie (2021)
image © Greenway Entertainment & Rellik Films

The zombies

A bite from the zombies turn people into one of them in about half an hour. Physical trauma can kill the zombies (or maybe just head trauma, it was not really clear). It seems that they can talk, at least at the beginning of their transformation. Zombies are constantly wailing or growling, unless they are resting.

They seem to have normal human abilities.

Elderly zombies doesn't seem to pose much of a threat. Two of them are playing with paper birds, while the rest of the zombies attack, and the policemen are able to pass them without a need to fight with them.

The message of the story

I'm not sure there's one.

The structure of the story

Most of the Dead Again film was sequential, with one flashback, although that was unnecessary. The structure was a long introduction, some boring action, but there's no resolution, it just ends.

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Things I liked

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How does it compare to the other works of the creators?

I haven't seen anything from the writer / director (Steven M. Smith), and watching Dead Again didn't make me interested of his work. Especially as this is about the 20th feature film he made, and this was bad.

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Dead Again, movie (2021)
image © Greenway Entertainment & Rellik Films

Analysis of the story - Dead Again, movie (2021)

The story was full of problems that prevented me from enjoying Dead Again.

Problematic elements

The title: "Dead Again" - what does this mean in the context of the story? Who is dead again?

The beginning: The scene with the running lady is unnecessary. Especially as we'll see it again in a flashback.

Surprise attack: When the fat lady attacks the old policeman, she comes out of nowhere in a closed room. Did she phase through a wall? Did she hide somewhere?

Alien vision: Although I get the idea, but the scenes were too long, and most of them unnecessary. It didn't give much to the film, beyond taking up time.

The lack of proper ending: With any kind of resolution, I'd given it a Worse than Average rating, but this way it's just Bad.

Unanswered questions

• Why did the aliens took those things 17 years ago?

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Possibilities of improvement

How it could have been better?

The introduction of the cops is good. Just cut the rest of the movie, and do something with those cops. Anything would be better than the released version of the film.

As most amateur movies work better as a comedy, Dead Again would probably work better with more humorous moment.

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Dead Again, movie (2021)
image © Greenway Entertainment & Rellik Films

Uses for the film - Dead Again, movie (2021)

Plot

• Set in contemporary Earth.
• Aliens try to take over the planet.
• The attackers use a bio-weapon (that turns people into zombies), before invading the place.

Scenes

• The intro scene could be used to depict news reporting about an attack.
• The final scene could be used to depict the the start of a campaign game against an alien invasion.

Scenario ideas - Role-playing game scenario ideas

Scenario ideas - Wargame scenario ideas

• Escape: The escaping team got stuck in a building, with monsters around them. They are on the second floor of the building. They don't know the area, and they decide to break out. They have plenty of weapons at the beginning, but they will run out of ammo if they intend to shoot everything, so they need to be clever. The monsters can be more numerous but weaker than the team members, or less numerous, but similar in strength than the team members. The monsters can be played by a second player, or they can use Random aggressive movement in a solo game. The escaping team wins if they reach the exit, with at least half of their original numbers. If they reach it with less than half of their numbers, it's a draw. If they all get killed, the monsters win.
  
  • Procedurally generated playing area: If you have building interior tiles, you place one tile, with the team in the middle. When they leave the tile, you can draw randomly, and put it in an adjacent position. You roll a d6 every time - if it's a 1, there's their objective. The first objective is the stairs or elevator. Put it in the room that is the farthest from their current position.
  • Random ending: After the escaping team reaches the exit, roll a d6:
    • 1-2 - Leaving the area: After leaving the building, they also need to leave an open area to win. Place some scenery to represent this outside of the building. The monsters that are still inside the building can also leave through the exit to chase them.
    • 3-4 - Another kind of monster: Like the previous "Leaving the area", but outside of the building, there are some other kind of creatures that present a different kind of danger.
    • 5-6 - Wait for the evacuation: When they reach the exit, they have to hold out until they are able to leave the building (their evacuation vehicle arrives / the door or portal finally opens / a bridge is created).

Miniatures - 1/50-1/60 (28-32mm scale)

The civilians: Human-sized human civilian miniatures.

The policemen: Human-sized human miniatures, in police uniform.

The zombies: Human-sized humanoid zombie miniatures.

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Similar stories - Dead Again, movie (2021)

Movies

Cockneys vs Zombies (2012): Zombie comedy movie, set in England. Better than Dead Again.

Invisible Invaders (1959): Aliens try to take over the Earth, with the help of reanimated dead bodies.

Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959): Aliens try to take over the Earth, with the help of zombies. Plan 9 is probably a more entertaining movie than Dead Again.

Shaun of the Dead (2004): Zombie comedy movie, set in England. A lot better than Dead Again.

The Dead Don't Die (2019): Policemen against zombies, while aliens arrive. The Dead Don't Die is more interesting than Dead Again.

Wasting Away (2007): Zombie comedy movie. A lot better than Dead Again.

Zombieland (2009): Zombie comedy movie.

TV series & episodes

Zomboat! (2019): Zombie comedy, set in England.

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Frequently asked questions - Dead Again, movie (2021)

Is Dead Again film based on a book or comics?

No, Dead Again is not based on either books or comics.

Is there a post credit scene in Dead Again?

No, as I recall, there's no post credit scene in Dead Again.

Where can I watch Dead Again online? Is Dead Again available on Netflix? Is Dead Again on Amazon?

As of 2021.05.20, Dead Again is available on Amazon Prime Video.

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Resources - Dead Again, movie (2021)

Information

IMDB: Dead Again (2021): Database article.

Letterboxd: Dead Again 2021: Database article.

Reviews with no spoilers - Dead Again film (YEAR)

Chris (for Bad Movie Night): Dead Again (2021) Horror Comedy Movie Review: Review video of the Dead Again film, with minor spoilers.Ł

Daniel Simmonds (for The Rotting Zombie): Dead Again (2021) - Comedy Zombie Horror Film Review: Review article of the movie, with minor spoilers.§

Kevin Haldon (Haldon365)(for 365Flicks Podcast): Dead Again (2020)…: Review article about the Dead Again film with minor spoilers. (2022: The website is probably offline) §/Ł

MJ Simpson (for British Horror Revival): Dead Again: Review article about the Dead Again (2021) with no spoilers.

Reviews with spoilers - Dead Again film (YEAR)

David Dent (for Dark Eyes of London): NEW WAVE OF THE BRITISH FANTASTIC FILM 2020 #4: Reviews of After Dark aka Vampire Virus (UK 2020), Morris (UK 2020), Virtual Death Match (UK 2020), We Wait in the Woods (UK 2020), The Truth Will Out (UK 2020) and Dead Again (UK 2020): Review article of the Dead Again movie, with spoilers.

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Buying the product - Dead Again, movie (2021)

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Have you seen the Dead Again film? How do you like the movie? Would you recommend it to others? Do you know reviews or resources you'd like to add? What further thoughts do you have about it? Tell your opinion in the comments!