The following is a review By DuValle Christopher from Best Horror Movies http://www.best- horror-movies.com/review?name=death-of-a-dummy-Apri-review
The other day I was surfing YouTube to find new and exciting horror flicks when I came across Death of a Dummy, about a ventriloquist who communicates with people through her dummy and is abused by her drug dealer boyfriend. Eventually this woman makes a deal with the Devil, snaps, and has everyone in her way killed.
The film stars ventriloquist April Brucker, star of the TLC reality series My Strange Addiction. At first I was a little suspect of the film because of the Gawker article accusing Brucker of claiming her ventriloquism as her art form for publicity. However, I watched and was pleasantly surprised. Not only is Brucker a good ventriloquist, she is striking and beautiful on camera. Cinematically, she has this mixture of classic beauty and feminine grace that is lacking in many female movie stars of this generation. In addition, she has a natural innocence about her with a touch of street, making her a good choice for the mild mannered girlfriend of drug dealer Malcolm who can only voice her frustrations through her stuffed sidekick.
Puppet or dummy May Wilson, usually the more vocal of the duo, is funny as she takes pot shots at Malcolm's drug dealer friends and tries to talk sense into the train wreck that is her ventriloquist. Adding comic relief to a movie where Satan makes an appearance, it can easily be said May Wilson steals the show. While April Brucker shows promise as an actress, May Wilson is easily the star of this film making it the magical surprise it is.
James Konczyk plays Malcolm, the drug dealer boyfriend. Mr. Konczyk gives a matter of fact and very truthful performance in his portrayal of the street thug on the arm of whacky Sheila. Giving the character truth and depth, Mr. Konczyk's Malcolm is a gritty hustler who also has several tender moments with Sheila on screen. While he is a less than stellar boyfriend, the audience sympathizes with Malcolm who leads a hard life and does his best to protect his eccentric girlfriend with issues. All and all, next to May Wilson, his is perhaps the best performance in the film.
Mephistopheles, portrayed by Derek Scott Graves, comes off a little flat at first. As a horror fan this was a concern of mine because the supernatural villain always makes a good horror flick. However, once the character of the Devil begins to kill people and blood hits the floor, the stoic demeanor not works for this character but as an audience member I fell in love with this demon. Not to mention his methods of killing are creative, whether they be someone simply dying via a random accident or impalement. Either way, at one point in the film I began to root for the Devil.
Jeremy Halpern's Schlomi is a minor character in the film who serves as the owner of Dummy Comedy Club, the place that Sheila and May normally perform. Halpern's character is full of life and naturally easy to hate as the belly crawling, sleazy club owner who abuses his comedians. Although he's in only two scenes, his performance deserves a round of applause. Even though I was glad when he got killed, I would have to say wonderful acting job, bravo.
The movie itself was written and produced by Jesse Waugh of Tinky Films. Before this, I had never seen any of Mr. Waugh's work. Apparently he also sang a cover of Fever, the theme song of the film. As far as dialogue goes, the film has a few places where lines of the characters are cliché and forced. In addition, at the beginning the story lags a little. However, on the other hand, the story is cleverly written and the jokes between Sheila and May are original and left me laughing as comic relief to all the blood being shed. In addition, the cinematography is superb and on the mark. Not only is Miss Brucker captured at her best angle as Sheila, making her a fully covered scream queen, but it serves as a beautiful love letter to the city of New York as a whole, with several locations that I know as a ten year veteran of the city.
All and all, I would say this blood fest called Death of a Dummy is a must see. I see a great future for every cast member and my hope is that they make a sequel. If Tinky Films continues like this, this could easily be the next Evil Dead series of our generation.
The other day I was surfing YouTube to find new and exciting horror flicks when I came across Death of a Dummy, about a ventriloquist who communicates with people through her dummy and is abused by her drug dealer boyfriend. Eventually this woman makes a deal with the Devil, snaps, and has everyone in her way killed.
The film stars ventriloquist April Brucker, star of the TLC reality series My Strange Addiction. At first I was a little suspect of the film because of the Gawker article accusing Brucker of claiming her ventriloquism as her art form for publicity. However, I watched and was pleasantly surprised. Not only is Brucker a good ventriloquist, she is striking and beautiful on camera. Cinematically, she has this mixture of classic beauty and feminine grace that is lacking in many female movie stars of this generation. In addition, she has a natural innocence about her with a touch of street, making her a good choice for the mild mannered girlfriend of drug dealer Malcolm who can only voice her frustrations through her stuffed sidekick.
Puppet or dummy May Wilson, usually the more vocal of the duo, is funny as she takes pot shots at Malcolm's drug dealer friends and tries to talk sense into the train wreck that is her ventriloquist. Adding comic relief to a movie where Satan makes an appearance, it can easily be said May Wilson steals the show. While April Brucker shows promise as an actress, May Wilson is easily the star of this film making it the magical surprise it is.
James Konczyk plays Malcolm, the drug dealer boyfriend. Mr. Konczyk gives a matter of fact and very truthful performance in his portrayal of the street thug on the arm of whacky Sheila. Giving the character truth and depth, Mr. Konczyk's Malcolm is a gritty hustler who also has several tender moments with Sheila on screen. While he is a less than stellar boyfriend, the audience sympathizes with Malcolm who leads a hard life and does his best to protect his eccentric girlfriend with issues. All and all, next to May Wilson, his is perhaps the best performance in the film.
Mephistopheles, portrayed by Derek Scott Graves, comes off a little flat at first. As a horror fan this was a concern of mine because the supernatural villain always makes a good horror flick. However, once the character of the Devil begins to kill people and blood hits the floor, the stoic demeanor not works for this character but as an audience member I fell in love with this demon. Not to mention his methods of killing are creative, whether they be someone simply dying via a random accident or impalement. Either way, at one point in the film I began to root for the Devil.
Jeremy Halpern's Schlomi is a minor character in the film who serves as the owner of Dummy Comedy Club, the place that Sheila and May normally perform. Halpern's character is full of life and naturally easy to hate as the belly crawling, sleazy club owner who abuses his comedians. Although he's in only two scenes, his performance deserves a round of applause. Even though I was glad when he got killed, I would have to say wonderful acting job, bravo.
The movie itself was written and produced by Jesse Waugh of Tinky Films. Before this, I had never seen any of Mr. Waugh's work. Apparently he also sang a cover of Fever, the theme song of the film. As far as dialogue goes, the film has a few places where lines of the characters are cliché and forced. In addition, at the beginning the story lags a little. However, on the other hand, the story is cleverly written and the jokes between Sheila and May are original and left me laughing as comic relief to all the blood being shed. In addition, the cinematography is superb and on the mark. Not only is Miss Brucker captured at her best angle as Sheila, making her a fully covered scream queen, but it serves as a beautiful love letter to the city of New York as a whole, with several locations that I know as a ten year veteran of the city.
All and all, I would say this blood fest called Death of a Dummy is a must see. I see a great future for every cast member and my hope is that they make a sequel. If Tinky Films continues like this, this could easily be the next Evil Dead series of our generation.
