By Geno McGahee
I am a huge fan of micro budget horror films. Sometimes it is difficult to get over the bad acting and production value, but if the story is interesting enough, it can overcome those problems. BURNING DEAD, written and directed by George Demick, is as low budget as it gets and the acting is as bad as it gets, but I stuck with it and I’m glad that I did.
The lead character, Jim (D. Vincent Ashby) is returning to his hometown after a terrible tragedy years ago. He cannot remember all of the details, but he knows that he lost plenty of friends and family in a terrible fire. The spirits of the dead are haunting him now along with a cloaked demonic figure. He wakes up terrified and even sees them during the day. Jim is a troubled soul. Ashby is a terrible actor, but I give him an A for effort. He did his best to sell the role and I enjoyed his ambition.
Jim moves in with his cousin and his wife and is once again haunted by the terrible souls and demonic man. He soon becomes possessed by the smoke and attempts to kill his cousin’s child…but then the burning dead reveal themselves to his cousin and it soon becomes obvious that Jim was not lying and he’s not crazy.
Jim’s boyhood friend, Bill, shows back up into his life and they soon talk about the good old times, but there is still the mystery surrounding the fire. The two reconnect and normalcy begins to return to Jim’s life as his high school girlfriend arrives in town and the sparks fly, but not is all that it seems.
-Spoilers –
The past is revealed and Jim’s childhood manipulation by a Satanist that demanded sacrifice is revealed. The demand was made for Jim to kill his girlfriend, but it was refused and Jim had no choice but to throw gasoline on the Satanist and set him afire. This would cause the huge fire that left so many dead, and it obviously sent Jim into different eating patterns. As a teenager, he was a plumper. Maybe they couldn’t find a slimmer teen actor, but they didn’t match Ashby too well on this one.
The plan to kill Jim’s girlfriend to give the Satanist eternal life is put back into action and Bill comes out and reveals that he is a servant of the master and would ensure that this sacrifice will go through. The burning dead come in handy and help in the end and Jim’s nightmares come to an end.
BURNING DEAD, despite the terrible acting and very low production value is a good horror flick. Ashby grew on me as the lead and put all of his heart into it. The story is more complex than most films that are made on no money and the mystery element kept it going. The fat guy that played the demon, when not in costume, was far from intimidating, but as a demon, he was pretty good.
For those of you that can forgive the shortcomings of micro budget films, I highly recommend BURNING DEAD. I really enjoyed it… I have a burning love for it.
Scared Stiff Rating: 7/10.
