The Demented (2013) – Review

Where to watch The Demented

2 1/2 Stars

What does it take to make a zombie? Looking at the undead in The Demented the checklist would be as follows: fake blood, dirt and some tattered clothing. To be fair these zombies aren’t really rotting, instead they’re infected by some sort of rabies like disease. They’re fast when they notice you, but these are sleeper zombies, saving their energy for the chase – similar to what we saw in last year’s Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies. At this point in the game it’s difficult to make a break-out zombie flick as the market is completely flooded with them. The Demented is more of the same, including crappy CGI special effects, but at least the film is entertaining and the second act doesn’t lag, even though the first thirty minutes are excruciatingly slow.

Three college couples go on a weekend getaway to a secluded house in the countryside and go about douching it up. Activities include joking about sleeping with the other guys’ girlfriends, slip-n-sliding and grilling while wearing aprons that read will grill for sex. These people clearly aren’t the touchy feely type, I’m not even sure they’re really friends, more like drinking buddies. Soon the six-some is informed that there’s been some sort of terrorist attack, and that ballistic missiles are heading for American soil. They decide to stay at the house as it’s out-of-the-way and the chances of anyone attacking the outreaches of a small town are slim-to-none. They couldn’t have been more wrong. One of the missiles lands within view and a green cloud rises up in the distance. As the infection spreads to the town the college friends find themselves under attack from zombified residents. The entire area has been quarantined. Can they make it to the extraction zone in time?

The best thing The Demented has going for it is the cast, which includes TV’s The Vampire Diaries‘ Kayla Ewell, Twilight‘s Michael Welch, the I Spit on Your Grave remake’s Sarah Butler, TV’s The Carrie Diaries‘ Richard Kohnke, the ever gorgeous Brittany Alger and newcomer Ashlee Brian. Every single one is underutilized, although the filmmakers did take advantage of their great looking cast, mainly because this movie skimps on what is now the normal emotional outings for a zombie flick. I can say without a doubt that after seeing Michael Welch’s performance in Born Bad that making him the head douchebag of the group was inspired. But it never played out to any degree and the script never gives anything for the actors to really chew on.

That’s not say that The Demented is a horrible film. It’s pretty standard B movie zombie fare. Don’t expect a lot out of it and you’ll enjoy what it brings to the table. Unfortunately like most of the newer low-budget horror flicks we don’t get to see a single zombie until thirty minutes in. The entire first act is a time waster, but the action does continually get marginally better with every scene right to the end.

Director: Christopher Roosevelt
Stars: Kayla Ewell, Richard Kohnke, Ashlee Brian, Brittney Alger, Sarah Butler, Michael Welch