7 friends go to a cabin and decide to play a game called ' Dead Mary' which unfortunately for them appears to have some basis in reality. It's a familiar tale but one that is done quite well especially considering this is a straight to video effort. Low budget films often rely on the ability of the actors concerned and whilst we have no Oscar winners here they all do a good job. The fact that you get to know the characters a bit before the mayhem starts is always a plus and this group are quite a pleasant bunch which makes the happenings a bit more tense. This isn't a particularly scary movie though there's a fair bit of gore and a few tense scenes. This is interspersed with a nice bit of humour around who is sleeping with who. This is a good low budget horror and a fun watch as you try to fathom out who if anyone will survive.

Story, acting, editing, character development — all top notch.What makes this movie special and unique I can only describe as its texture. Whoever did the sound and the musical accompaniment was genial. I find DEAD MARY so creepy that I might watch it once a year, say near Halloween. Otherwise I store the movie well out of sight. I don't want the story entering my thoughts. Life is frightening enough.I'm a 47 year-old adult male, big, and don't scare easily. And no, I don't have a vested interest in this film. Just telling my honest opinion.I feel the same about DEAD SILENCE of 2007 — which is perhaps more sinister. Especially the end and the credits. Yikes! For both DEAD MARY and DEAD SILENCE, I believe these movies outdid themselves. Can a movie be too scary and dark? Yes.I allow myself to absorb into the movie and pay attention to everything. Both these movies actually frighten me more than I want. JEEPERS CREEPERS of 2001 terrifies me similarly. The end got me.Many people before me gave DEAD MARY low marks. I cannot understand why they did not find it adequately frightening.These critics wrote intelligently, but disliked DEAD MARY perhaps because it did not fulfill their expectations, or they regard it as a mere imitation of another franchise.I took this movie for what it was, without preconception. Like climbing on an amusement ride for the first time. Once that bar comes down and locks you in the seat, you are in for a ride, you have no control and you don't know what will happen next. DEAD MARY moved at a good pace. I watched the first 45 minutes over and over to better understand the sequence of events and how they relate to the supernatural malevolence.Enjoy.

I expected this film to be a classic teen slasher flick which was what I actually wanted to see but there was just so much missing from it that didn't even meet the standards for that. The acting is very good, especially from Dominique Swain but the atmosphere of the movie is so depressing that there needs to be more action and less talking. I know that sounds typical but this film failed at making scares without blood and gore (like "When a stranger calls"). The script is very original and the setting of the lake is beautiful but all of this was taken for granted. This film could've been an awesome horror flick but its more of a thriller/drama genre because the first half is all talking. Also the film is based on "Bloody Mary" the game but the context really had nothing to do with it as we saw no ghost of Mary! This film isn't horrible, but don't expect any scares from it and do not be fooled by the DVD cover or the R rating. All in all an okay movie that could have been so much better.

Dead Mary seems to be a horror movie that misses at every attempt that a horror movie shoots for. First it is very formulaic: a bunch of young people go to a remote cabin where something supernatural will start hunting them. Dead Mary actually spends time in the beginning trying to give you the back stories on these individuals that are meeting for the weekend. The purpose of this you would suspect is so that you get some intrigue on the characters actions, add to the paranoia, advance a plot, or perhaps simply gain some empathy for the characters. By the end of the movie you will realize none of these things happened and thus it was a pointless waste of time. So you might say: "So what, it is a schlocky horror movie. Who cares about plot, character development,etc…?" To that I say I can enjoy a silly B-movie horror movie as much as the next guy. But what is it that fans of, let's say, Friday the 13th want in a movie? I would break it down to things such as: Good special effects, creative kills, scares, maybe a few laughs, and if all else fails some T&A. Dead Mary fails to provide any of these things.I gave Dead Mary 2 out of 10. In hind sight this might be a little low because the acting wasn't particularly bad and the technical aspects of the film were OK. I guess I rate it so low because there is nothing to speak for in its favor. Often there are bad movies where you say: "The movie really stunk, but there is this one scene..." Not true of Dead Mary. You can go through your whole life without seeing the movie and not have missed anything.