Review by: Eric R. Lowther
Posted by: Root Rot
DIE-ner (Get It?) (2009)
Written and Directed by: Patrick Horvath
Hey Kids! It’s Eric R Lowther aka biguglyhairyscary here to fill your brain with the little indie zombie black comedy “DIE-ner (Get It?)” written and directed by Patrick Horvath. It’s an interesting little piece of work that was surprisingly better than its pun-ny title would suggest.
Synopsis;
Sociopathic serial killer Ken (Joshua Grote, doing his very best Ryan Reynolds impersonation) is having a bad day. Every serial killer has their schtick, and Ken’s just happens to be killing truckers and roadside diner denizens (get it? DIE-ner? I sure hope you do, otherwise the whole pithy title thing is wasted). But when he plies his trade at this particular DIE-ner (get it?), his victims have a bad habit of rising from the dead. To complicate matters, a young, bickering couple (little-knowns Parker Quinn and Liesel Kopp) with an imploding marriage and a nosy sheriff (Larry Purtell in a rare, named film role) happen along just in time to prevent our wisecracking killer from making a clean getaway, forcing Ken to deal with his hostages, his past and the walking dead all at the same time. Ken’s night goes from bad to worse as he realizes not only do the victims he’s killed that night come back but all of his victims have somehow found a space/time portal to this very DIE-ner (get it?) seeking their revenge.
This is a rare movie for me in that the plot makes absolutely no sense with what we’re presented but I still liked it, anyway. There’s no reason presented for how or why victims from his past have managed to shamble their way to this nowhere DIE-ner (get it?) or why they’ve come back as zombies in the first place. There are two different flashbacks to Ken as a child playing with his mother. It’s clear from the nature of these flashbacks we’re supposed to infer something happened back then to help make him into the sociopath he is today, but it’s so unclear all the flashbacks do is waste our time. The film really keeps itself in a dark comedy/satirical horror vein save for the flashbacks, and I think it would’ve made for a much tighter piece all the way around if they would’ve laid off trying to give us a weak explanation as to why Ken kills. There’s really no reason to go into his motivations when the rest of your film concentrates on the satire/black comedy aspects.
I think most of my ability to see past the plot faults has to do with Grote’s portrayal of Ken the serial killer and the overall rapid-fire nature of the script. It also helps that the movie comes in at about 75 minutes runtime, since anything more would’ve required a greater explanation of the plot that frankly I don’t think exists. When I say Grote is doing a great impression of Ryan Reynolds, I mean exactly that. He even looks and sounds enough like Reynolds to make you do a double-take (which I’m sure helped get him the role in the first place). The character is also scripted as if Reynolds himself would’ve been playing Ken, with the lines and actions timed to that actor’s style. It’s not bad as impersonations go, but I think I could’ve gone with a little less of that and just a little more originality in the characterization. The rest of the cast does a pretty good job with the acting, especially when the bickering Bickersons get going. There’s also plenty of physical comedy going on, with use #1002 added to the list for our venerable friend, duct tape.
So now we move on to the nuts and bolts of the thing. The zombies look pretty good here and virtually all the effects are physical, which as most of you know is a real plus for me. The thing looks pretty good while we’re inside the DIE-ner (get it?) and the director and cinematographer do a nice job in the cramped confines of the kitchen and other areas. However, the exterior shots are quite grainy and poorly lit. They also suffer from a lot of jumpy, bobbing camera work. Thankfully, most of the movie takes place indoors so we don’t get subjected to too much of it. The script is basically a string of snappy one-liners for the killer and a running fight/making up banter from our couple peppered with some down-homey goodness from the sheriff. The action and violence are all seasoned with humor and some little bits of slapstick and are well-played. The zombies, while Romero-esque on the surface, can move around after their heads have been removed though can be killed by head trauma, giving them a confusing array of abilities.
And now we get on to the real question; is it any good? If you’re a zombie fan or a lover of black humor and satire it’s certainly worth a watch, especially with its short run time. Straight horror fans may also enjoy it as a change of pace as well. Additionally, if you’re a Ryan Reynolds fan you’ll probably want to check it out just for the similarities. If this sounds like a tasty treat to you, you can get it from Amazon or your other online outlets for anywhere from $8-$20 as well as for rent or instant watch through Netflix.
Well, that’s enough for today. Make sure you’re checking out everything else hangin round ye olde Witch’s Hat, such as the rest of the fine, fine content here on the blog as well as the Witch’s Hat family of podcasts. I also invite you to stop over at our forum at Killer Reviews to talk about the shows, blog, Root Rot’s charity work with cannibal hobos and my thread, where you can let me know what movies you’d like me to take a gander at. So with a tip of my imaginary hat to Mr. Rot, Keely, MisfitBoy, Kreepy K and all the rest this has been biguglyhairyscary saying, see ya, kids!
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