Dead Tone (2007)

Finals at the prestigious University of Dreyskill are finally over and it's time to party. "The Crew", as they are known by their peers and dorm mates, are invited to a rich classmate's ... See full summary »

Directors:

Brian Hooks, Deon Taylor

Writers:

Vashon Nutt, Brian Hooks

Stars:

Rutger Hauer, Gwendoline Yeo, Antwon Tanner

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rutger Hauer	...	Detective John Criton
Gwendoline Yeo	...	Detective Anne Hastings
Antwon Tanner	...	Kareem
Brian Hooks	...	Marcus
Wil Horneff	...	Scott / Josh
Jud Tylor	...	Karina
Aimee Garcia	...	Jody
Cherie Johnson	...	Roxy
Jonathan Chase	...	Brandon
Austin Basis	...	Crazy Cal
Germán Legarreta	...	Shawn
Kyle Turley	...	Killer
Donald Ray Crockett	...	Investigator
Denyce Lawton	...	Anna
Brian Hilton	...	Killer #2

Storyline

Finals at the prestigious University of Dreyskill are finally over and it's time to party. "The Crew", as they are known by their peers and dorm mates, are invited to a rich classmate's hideaway mansion high up in the hills of Colorado. What was supposed to be a weekend of fun and relaxation quickly becomes a trip they will never forget... If they survive! A simple game of prank scare phone calls becomes an intense game of survival and escape when one of the Crew members accidentally calls the wrong person.

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Plot Keywords:

party | mansion | bare breasts | masturbation | male masturbation | 

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Taglines:

It Was Just A Harmless Phonecall

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive strong bloody violence, language, sexual content and some drug use

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 August 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dead Tone

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hooks and Taylor Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Karina: Does it really matter whose fault it is? There's a fucking psycho with an ax in this house. How about we blame him, the killer? If you fuckers can stop trying to prove who's got a bigger dick, maybe we can get out alive.

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Connections

References Basic Instinct (1992)

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Soundtracks

Transfer
Written by Invitro
Performed by Invitro
Produced by Invitro

User Reviews

A somewhat lazy nod to the ubiquitous blood-bath hack-fests of the early '80s

There are times when you want a horror movie to be genuinely frightening ---if this is one of those times for you, you might want to hang up on Dead Tone. It's just not that type of slasher. It's more of the get-a- bunch-of-your-friends-together-throw-stuff-at-the-screen-and-play- drinking-games kind of a slasher.

I've never thought ultra-graphic horror was that frightening...in movies, that is, especially on-a-budget outings like this. Kind of like the shark in Jaws, the closer you get to it, the less horrific it seems. The killer in Dead Tone wears a hooded ski parka and wields an axe, so the kills are violent, but you see them coming for seconds before they hit. From that point on, it's just a matter of how bad the effects suck.

Still, Dead Tone ain't a total snooze. Given the lack of thrills, marginal to bad acting, and zero character development, all that's really left to make this watchable is "how serious are the directors taking this?" Turns out, not very...and that's good.

There's the standard rest-stop sequence, where the "crew" (a multi-culti Benneton crew, of course) stops to take a bathroom break, and that whole scene --- toothless redneck from hell clerk, mega-blasted "fright" music cues at the stupidest moments --- really works. When this film is lampooning the genre and itself, it's the best and brightest.

Sadly, though, those moments are few and far between. There are a lot of visual and scripted call-backs to other, better slashers (Urban Legend, Black Christmas, etc.) that prove the filmmakers weren't just rubes. But they didn't quite have a handle on what they wanted to do, and the film as a whole suffers for it.

Oh yeah, a postscript: Rutger Hauer is the brand-name star here, playing the usual doggerel cop role, and looking barely engaged enough to make camera contact. One mystery at least solved: I wondered how he managed to tumble down the long road to something like the rancid "Hobo With a Shotgun"...this is a telling detour.