Even though this starts off with a group of four little kids who sound Australian, this is in fact an English horror film from 2001. It still isn't out on DVD except in Australia for some reason which I have yet to figure out. I think those little kids probably were Australian after all.Here's the official blurb: "Craig is a college student with a business plan. He and six friends have broken into a derelict asylum to stage the party of the year - and get rich in the process. With DJ Lux on the decks, Lee's spectacular light show and sexy Victoria pouring the drinks, how can they fail? But as the team set up, things start to go horribly wrong. Sarah becomes convinced that they are not alone, and as the panic rises the asylum begins to take on a life of its own. Walls disappear, they reappear and the group are forced further and further into the mysterious depths of the building… where something ancient and sinister is waiting for them. The quest for fun is about to become a race to stay alive." It is absolutely full of UK soap actors including Dawn (Kara Tointon), Gus (Mohammed George) and Tony (Mark Horner) from "Eastenders" and three more whose names I don't know (but whose faces I recognised from "The Bill" and "Holby City"). You could tagline this film with "Eastenders does horror!" and it wouldn't be far from the truth.It is all filmed extremely well and looks a lot like that other Eastenders filled horror "Long Time Dead"... but it's much better than that and doesn't have the horrid Joe Absolom in it. It has a good atmosphere in spite of the low budget and, because it contains real actors, it appears far more professional than the usual independent horrors.Anyway, as the blurb says, this is about a group of "teenagers" who break into what used to be an asylum to use the building for an illegal rave. A lot of the film is spent building up the characters, showing them setting things up, pranking each other and exploring the building but there are a few genuinely spooky events along the way. Things build up bit by bit and there is a twist in the last scene.I really liked this a lot. The acting is much the same as an "Eastenders" episode and so is very good, gritty and realistic. The incidental music used for the scary bits is typical TV movie stuff but works well too. The ending is a bit of a cop out but it doesn't spoil anything.I've rated this as 6 out of 10 but I'd rate it higher if I could actually buy it. Hopefully Lionsgate will pick this up and distribute it as they seem to doing with everything else. We can only hope.

Never Play with the Dead starts as six friends pitch up outside a large rundown abandoned house, Craig (Mark Homer) is organising a rave that he hopes will make bags of money, joining him is Lux the DJ, Lee the electrician, Graham (Terence Corrigan) the tea boy along with Melanie (Sarah Annison) & Sarah (Louisa Millwood-Haigh) the dancers plus sexy babe Victoria (Kara Tointon). They begin to set things up in preparation of the opening but strange things start to happen, the house seems to develop a life of it's own & psychically changes while Sarah gets spooked when she thinks she sees a ghostly child...This British production was directed by Ray Kilby & for some reason I can't fully put my finger on I quite liked Never Play with the Dead. The script by David Fedash just has something going for it, the teenage character's are far better than those usually seen in these low budget teen horrors & the dialogue seems natural, no-one does anything moronically stupid & within the context of it's own story it's pleasingly restrained & plausible. I think the pacing is a problem, it's a touch too slow which sort of kills it as nothing really that significant happens & the whole of the first 80 odd minutes ends up feeling like one long drawn out build up to the admittedly good twist ending although I have to say as a seasoned horror veteran I actually guessed the twist before it was revealed but it still had decent impact & was surprisingly sad. Some of the storytelling isn't the best in particular it is never revealed why the place is haunted, why the house can change it's size & shape or what happened to the four children during that opening sequence which bugged me actually. As a 90 minute film maybe there's not quite enough here to turn Never Play with the Dead from a good horror film into a great one but what the hell I liked it all the same although I doubt I'd want to watch it again anytime soon.Director Kilby does OK, obviously working on a low budget & shooting on video rather than film Never Play with the Dead has a certain spooky atmosphere & there are a couple of very effective scenes which prove you don't need horrible looking CGI computer effects to get under people's skin. This one goes for tension, strong storytelling & a careful build up rather than in your face scares or violence of which there isn't any.Techncially the film is fine & you get the impression the filmmakers actually cared about the finished product which cannot be said of all low budget horror films from the past few years. The acting is pretty good from a largely unknown cast although many British viewers will probably recognise Mark Homer who appeared in 264 episodes over a number of years of Eastenders as gay-boy Tony Hills while both Mohammed George & the sexy Kara Tointon have gone the opposite way since making Never Play with the Dead having both joined the cast of Eastenders in prominent roles...Never Play with the Dead isn't perfect but there's just something here which I liked & sometimes the heart just overrules the head.

A group of teenager friends decides to organize a rave party in an abandoned house to make some money. They have a few hours to prepare the place, and after an electric explosion, weird things happen in the house. "Never Play With the Dead" is a surprisingly good horror low budget movie. The story seems to be a common teenager horror movie in a haunted house. However, the twist in the last scene recalls "The Sixth Sense" and makes this film a worthwhile entertainment. I liked it and recommended it for fans of a screenplay with a huge surprise for the viewers. My vote is six.Title (Brazil): "Nunca Brinque Com os Mortos" ("Never Play With the Dead")

Good teenage horror film. Not exploring much in the way of a new storyline but still an enjoyable film. It nonetheless keeps you gripped. Sis friends enter an old abandoned asylum in order to throw a wicked, unforgettable party. With DJ Lux on the decks and the beautiful Victoria pouring the drinks what could go wrong? Um, well loads actually. They start to suspect they're not alone and boy are they right. It's good to finally see actors and actresses who aren't well know finally having a chance to shine. Terence Corrigan and Kara Tointon stand out in particular. Playing Graham and sexy Victoria, they make the film more pleasing to the eye.A good one for a night in with the girls.