This film, shot entirely on location at a movie theater, makes us rethink what it means to be a zombie - must one be an actual undead human, or can the definition extend to those who have been hypnotized into being whatever the media tells them to be? As we see the theater staff overtaken with the idiocy around them, one begins to wonder - are we just puppets, and if so, who is the real villain pulling our strings? "Dead at the Box Office" aims to answer this and other important questions about American life, including what happens when panicked law enforcement agents attempt to deal with something they simply don't bother trying to understand. Ten stars!

When I first heard of this movie I didn't expect much, but after watching it I was very impressed. Any movie with Nazi's tied in is amazing! (ex. like Hellboy and Indiana Jones) I mean this movie costars one of the lost boys in HOOK! The special effects and makeup was very convincing and the directing was bar none. Dead at the Box office definitely pays homage to the the old school Romero movies, and Casey Kirkpatrick did an excellent job paying his respects to the Legend himself. This movie wasn't dragged out either and had a very cool and funny twist in the end. When I checked the features on the DVD...being a big fan of toxic crusader...seeing the owner of Troma giving his approval...paved the way for a good zombie killing fun.

This is the epitome of what any fan can do when they really put their mind to it. You can tell both from the film and from the directors commentary that they had little funds or equipment to work with. Still though, they pull off a great story with all the essentials parts of a classic horror film of any sub-genera. Sure the special effects are kind of cheesy, but that's what makes a low budget feature great. It's the inventive ways that directors use what limited space, manpower, actors, and resources that they have that make this kind of movie so great. Eric's speech about horror movies and what makes Night of the Living Dead so extraordinary is pure genius. If you're a fan of horror this is a must own.

It's obvious that the people who made 'Dead At The Box Office' love B-movie horror. Overt references to the genre are peppered throughout, from stock characters (the authority figure who doesn't believe the monstrous invasion is really happening) to Kevin Smith style discussions to reenacting Duane Jones' last moments from 'Night of the Living Dead' not once but twice.Unfortunately it takes more than love to make a good movie.The staging and shot choice are unexciting and unimaginative. While a common admonition in film school is to avoid 'Mastershot Theatre,' telling the story completely in a wide master shot, here we find the obverse as in several sequences it's hard to figure out the spatial relationships between characters as the story is told in a series of medium shots with no establishing shot to tie it together. Editing is drab and basic and at times there are unmotivated cuts. The lighting is flat and sometimes muddy, making the scenes in the darkened theatre hard to make out (was there lighting, or was this shot with available light only?). Some shots are out of focus. The dialogue is trite, and the performances, for the most part, one-note (Isaiah Robinson shows some energy and screen presence as Curtis, and the fellow playing the projectionist has some pleasantly dickish line readings; Michael Allen Williams as the theater manager and Casey Kirkpatrick as enthusiastic film geek Eric have some nice moments). The premise is silly, even for a B horror flick (Also, it's too bad Dr Eisner was unaware of Project Paperclip - he could've saved himself a lot of trouble!). The 'zombies' are non-threatening, and their makeup is unconvincing (although the chunky zombie trying to get a gumball out of the machine raised a smile). For a zombie fan film, there is very little blood or violence, although what there is, is handled pretty well. The incidental music, while stylistically uneven, is kind of nice at times, and there are some good foley effects. The 'Time Warp' parody was a fun listen, although the images going along with it were less fun to watch. Unfortunately, the looped dialogue sounds flat. Was this shot non-sync (doubtful, it looks like video through and through)? I watched the special introduction by Troma Films' Lloyd Kaufman before the main feature - although it consisted essentially of Kaufman plugging his own stuff and admitting that he hadn't seen the movie while someone mugged in a Toxie mask, its production and entertainment values were higher than 'Dead...' itself (quick aside to whoever put the DVD together - the countdown on film leader beeps only on the flash-frame 2, not on every number plus one more after). For that matter, the vampire film theatregoers are seen watching early in 'Dead...' looked a lot more entertaining than this. Recommendation to avoid, unless you know someone involved in the production or are an ardent Lloyd Kaufman completist (he plays 'Kaufman the Minion' in the film-within-a-film).(Full disclosure: my girlfriend is an extra in this movie. I swear this did not color my review.)