Chain Letter (2010)

Director:

Deon Taylor

Writers:

Michael J. Pagan
Deon Taylor
(more)

Release Date:

11 November 2010 (Russia)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

If you don't forward it, you die

Plot:

A maniac murders teens when they refuse to forward chain mail. |

Plot Keywords:

Chain | Sms | Mask

Cast

Madison Bauer	...	Jane Campbell
Mark S. Allen	...	TV Announcer
Phil Austin	...	Philip Campbell
Nikki Reed	...	Jessie Campbell
Michael Bailey Smith	...	Chain Man
Michael J. Pagan	...	Michael Grant
Matt Cohen	...	Johnny Jones
David Zahedian	...	Brad
Cherilyn Wilson	...	Rachael Conners
Cody Kasch	...	Neil Conners
Noah Segan	...	Dante
Brad Dourif	...	Mr. Smirker
Roshni Shukla	...	Emo Girl
Eliot Benjamin	...	Kevin
Betsy Russell	...	Sergeant Hamill
Keith David	...	Detective Jim Crenshaw
Matthew Mongillo	...	Priest
Patrick St. Esprit	...	Dean Jones
Kate Enggren	...	Debra Jones
Jonathan Hernandez	...	Carlos
Bai Ling	...	Jai Pham (credit only)
Joel Shnowski	...	Freeman
Terrence Evans	...	Mr. Bradford
Khatira Rafiqzada	...	Miss Garrett
Charles Fleischer	...	Frank Wiggins
Andy Arness	...	Coroner
Aysha Aubrey	...	Pretty Girl
Ryan Calavano	...	Student
Shari Carlson	...	Judy Connors
Daniel Garcia	...	Freshman Boy
Deborah Geffner	...	Irene Cristoff
Niki McElroy	...	Fine Girl
deMann	...	Scientist (as De Mann)
Cory Montgomery	...	Yelling Gamer
Clifton Powell	...	Coach
Lyn Ross	...	Shirley (as Lyn Michele Ross)
Bonnie Jean Shelton	...	Judy Conners
Johann Tate	...	Burt
Brian Tee	...	Brian Yee
Richard Moorhouse	...	Uncle Bob
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jennifer Swarbrick	...	Ruby
Ahku	...	Murder Suspect (uncredited)
Naeem Alvi	...	EMT (uncredited)
Brad Bingham	...	Townsperson (uncredited)
Geneen Bland	...	Detective (uncredited)
Ron Brokenbrough	...	Military Sergeant (uncredited)
Roza Calderon	...	Day Player (uncredited)
Ken Carr	...	Man in Crowd (uncredited)
Goldie Chan	...	Asian Girl Texter (uncredited)
Sheila Ellis	...	Detective (uncredited)
Ivan Gonzalez	...	Winston (uncredited)
Leslie Goodman	...	Detective (uncredited)
Juli Marialani Johnston	...	(uncredited)
Stacie Luann	...	Police Detective (uncredited)
Christina Marie	...	CSI Agent (uncredited)
Kenyon Page	...	Gamer (uncredited)
West Ramsey	...	Neighbor of victim (uncredited)
Pat Ridley	...	Man with Cell Phone (uncredited)
Jessica Ritchie	...	Britney (uncredited)
Dennis Shanahan	...	News Anchor (uncredited)
Big Spence	...	Murder Suspect (uncredited)
Mike Stahl	...	Police Officer (uncredited)
Joy Stern	...	Punk (uncredited)
Jeff Sutherland	...	Detective (uncredited)
Kelly Symone	...	Townsperson (uncredited)

Directed by
Deon Taylor

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Diana Erwin
Thomas Fenton		uncredited
Michael J. Pagan
Deon Taylor

Produced by
Roxanne Avent	....	executive producer
Chad Cole	....	co-producer
Steve Cubine	....	co-executive producer
Skip Davis	....	associate producer
Ron Gell	....	co-producer
Nesim Hason	....	executive producer
Steak House	....	co-producer
Steak House	....	line producer
Dominic Ottersbach	....	associate producer
Michael J. Pagan	....	producer
Todd Slater	....	executive producer
Deon Taylor	....	producer

Original Music by
Vincent Gillioz

Cinematography by
Philip Lee

Film Editing by
James Coblentz

Casting by
Corbin Bronson
Peter Wise

Production Design by
George Goodridge

Art Direction by
Sean Veale

Costume Design by
Chasia

Makeup Department
Jessica Bondi	....	assistant makeup artist
Karicean Karen Dick	....	key hairstylist
Dean Jones	....	makeup effects supervisor
Starr Jones	....	makeup effects department head
Alex Noble	....	fabricator
Rachel Whitehurst	....	key makeup artist
Desmond Dez Wooden	....	assistant hair stylist

Production Management
Roxanne Avent	....	unit production manager
Steak House	....	unit production manager
Dominic Ottersbach	....	assistant production manager
Straw Weisman	....	post-production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Corky Cronin	....	first assistant director
Sean P. Galvin	....	second assistant director
Dean Jones	....	additional second unit director
Ryan Page	....	second assistant director
Abigail Severance	....	second unit director
Stephanie Tull	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Samson Kellman	....	assistant art director
Danelle Vierkant	....	sculptor

Sound Department
Joshua Adeniji	....	additional sound effects editor
Robert Dehn	....	sound studio manager
Jason Gaya	....	adr mixer
Corey J. Grasso	....	foley mixer
Angela Hemingway	....	adr dialogue editor
Chad J. Hughes	....	supervising sound editor
Steven Iba	....	sound effects editor
Richard Kitting	....	sound re-recording mixer
Zach Michaelis	....	foley mixer
Jonathan Pendergrass	....	foley editor
Thomas Pinney	....	sound mixer
Daniel Thomas Stewart	....	sound effects editor
Steve Papagiannis	....	sound effects editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
J.D. Nielsen	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Gevork Babityan	....	visual effects artist
O.T. Hight	....	visual effects artist
Rick Ravenell	....	visual effects artist

Stunts
Kelly Bellini	....	stunt double
Carl Ciarfalio	....	stunt coordinator
Zack Duhame	....	stunt double
Brennan Dyson	....	stunts
Gary Kasper	....	stunt double
Mandy Kowalski	....	stunt double: Cherilyn Wilson
Anthony Molinari	....	stunt double
Rick Sawaya	....	stunts
Tim Sitarz	....	stunt double
Tim Sitarz	....	stunts
Jim Stephan	....	stunts
Jim Stephen	....	stunt rigging coordinator
Eugene Collier	....	stunt double: michael j pagan (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Eduardo Barraza	....	key grip: second unit
Gary A. Beaird	....	key grip
Scott R. Boettle	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Greg Brezovec	....	best boy electric
Stu Brumbaugh	....	best boy electric: second unit
Brett Carleton	....	best boy grip: second unit
Adam Duffy	....	electrician
Adam Duffy	....	lighting technician
Bryan Gilbert	....	grip
James Ginn	....	lighting technician
Jonathan Goldfisher	....	second assistant camera
Ivan Gonzalez	....	grip
Jennifer Harville	....	loader
Chris Horton	....	electrician
Paul Janossy	....	first assistant camera
Christopher Kidder	....	grip
Paul Lambiase	....	b dolly grip
Geoff Nangle	....	grip: second unit
Ryan Norris	....	electrician
Steve Redondo	....	best boy grip
Matthew Rodrigues	....	photographer
Matthew Rodrigues	....	videographer
R. Dustin Sanchez	....	electrician (as Dustin Sanchez)
Curtis Sherman	....	gaffer
Mike Smith	....	camera loader assistant
Daniel Stilling	....	Steadicam operator
Daniel Stilling	....	camera operator
Keith Talley	....	a dolly grip
Dan Taylor	....	second assistant camera

Casting Department
Everett Blix	....	casting director: local
Corbin Bronson	....	casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Samuel Carmona	....	assistant costume designer
Ray Davis	....	costume assistant
Solomon Fobb	....	key costumer
Franco Leopold	....	wardrobe assistant
Glenda Maddox	....	wardrobe supervisor
Julie Suronen	....	wardrobe assistant

Editorial Department
Emily Chiu	....	first assistant editor
Kendra Rasmussen	....	post-production coordinator
Jonathan Thornhill	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Marcus Blanchard	....	composer: additional music
Marcus Blanchard	....	music editor
Marcus Blanchard	....	music score mixer
Marcus Blanchard	....	musical director
Patrick Brocca	....	composer: additional music
Harold Squire	....	composer: additional music

Transportation Department
Brandon Alford	....	three room driver
Gene Alford	....	transportation coordinator
Jim Morange	....	transportation captain
'Little Joe' Reynoso	....	three room driver

Other crew
Andre Avent	....	set production assistant
Sebastien Betsch	....	digital cinema supervisor
Marcella Bremond	....	script supervisor (additional script supervisor)
Brian Brooks	....	production assistant
Terri Burns	....	production coordinator
Terri L. Burns	....	production coordinator
Zoe Byrne	....	production assistant
Tiffany Cascio	....	set production assistant
Denise Collins	....	location manager
Shandra Dixon	....	business affairs
Shantell Fancher	....	production coordinator
Judy Garcia	....	production assistant
John Grant	....	location manager
Christina Hall	....	script supervisor
Sarah Kantner	....	production assistant
Lesley Leatherwood	....	production assistant
Rashad Lyons	....	production assistant
Patrick Minderler	....	location assistant
Paul Roberge	....	key set production assistant
Joel Shnowski	....	assistant to producers
Jc Todd	....	location assistant

Production Companies

• Deon Taylor Enterprises
• Tiger Tail Entertainment (as Tiger Tail Ent.)

Distributors

• New Films International (2010) (USA) (theatrical)
• BBI Films (2012) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• CInema Hotel Corporation (CHC) (2010) (Russia) (all media)
• California Filmes (2011) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Falcon Films (2011) (Lebanon) (all media) (Middle East)
• I-On New Media (2012) (Germany) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2011) (Australia) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera dollies
• Dolby Laboratories  sound mix
• Hala Lighting and Grip  grip and lighting equipment
• IndieClear  script clearance
• NPI Entertainment Payroll  payroll services (as NPI Production Services)
• Sonic Magic  sound post-production
• Steakhaus Productions  production services

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for strong bloody sadistic violence throughout, language and brief nudity

Runtime:

USA:96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #45974) | Singapore:R21 | Australia:MA (2011) | New Zealand:R18 | Netherlands:16 | UK:18 | Germany:18

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Company:

Deon Taylor Enterprises

Trivia:

In addition to Betsy Russell, 7 other stars of the film have starred in other notable horror movies/franchises. Michael J. Pagan, in 'See No Evil'. Charles Fleischer, in 'A Nightmare on Elm Street'. Keith David, in 'The Thing'. Matt Cohen, in 'Boogeyman 2'. Michael Bailey Smith, in 'A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child' and the remake of 'The Hills Have Eyes' and its sequel "The Hills Have Eyes 2' albeit as different characters. Noah Segan, in 'Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever'. And Brad Dourif who has been a staple of the horror genre since his 1988 performance as the killer doll Chucky in "Child's Play'.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Jessie realizes she is being watched by the killer via her laptop webcam and on the killer's computer screen, it shows he is monitoring her by using GOM Player interface. GOM Player is actually a popular media player but not a live streaming or webcam tool.

Movie Connections:

Features Wii Sports (2006) (VG)

People die from CHAIN LETTERS....not kidding.

A chain letter is forwarded to a one kid online, he decides to forward it to some of his friends. Those who forward the chain letter live, those who don't die.

The film Chain Letter went wrong in many places, so many that it pains me to write this review because that would mean I have to remember parts of the movie. Here is a film so boring, unimaginative and down right stupid that it almost doesn't qualify as a horror film. The one and only thing the film has going for it are some gruesome death scenes, yet even those aren't that great. So now that I have that one and only positive out in the open, let me address the numerous issues this film has.

For starters, the script. You should always start with the script, or in this case, lack there of. Chain Letter has a simple premise. People are dying because they don't forward a chain letter. Now, the direction the film could have taken and if they did, would have made it a hundred times more interesting, is a supernatural route. Instead, they went with some cult route that has a killer, deemed The Chain Man, tracking these kids down through technology and killing them with his chains. I had a good laugh seeing this monster type on a laptop.

The story had some interesting bits to it that are only mentioned and never explored. The cult of people who hate technology, is shown to us at the last minute and we never get the chance to go deeper than that. This part could have helped the film if they would actually pursue it, but they thought it would be more interesting to bore the audience to death. Both Keith David and Brad Dourif seem to be trying in their poorly written and underused roles, but even they seem to know they are in a stinker of a movie.

We never got the opportunity to like, or even hate the characters. I would hope that the film would at least make some characters clichéd enough to hate, but not here. These characters were so one dimensional I was surprised they got actors at all. I don't remember a single character from this movie, other than the detective and the teacher (David and Dourif). Sadly the film is too boring to even remember characters enough to hate.

There is no climax. The film has no rising action, it goes from one kill to the next. There isn't even a main character. Once you think it's the female, but then we end up spending more time with the detective. The movie doesn't know who's who or where it wants to go. It's a confusing mess, so much that we get to see the title sequence TWICE. We literally get to see the title of the movie pop up in the exact same manner twice. For what purpose? You either start with the title, or end with the title and go to black. Don't do both, then have a few minutes of random images afterwards. It makes no sense.

The writers, directors and producers have no idea what they were doing. The movie is competently done, but what good is that? The only people who seemed to know what they were doing were the special effects guys, dishing out the blood. The Chain Man is forgettable, this movie is a complete mess and I wouldn't even consider calling it a horror film. Delete this Chain Letter and move on with your life.