Dead Fury

Dead Fury
DVD cover art
Directed by	Frank Sudol
Produced by	Frank Sudol
Written by	Frank Sudol
Starring	Frank Sudol
Music by	Frank Sudol
Cinematography	Frank Sudol
Editing by	Frank Sudol
Studio	BlackArro Productions
Distributed by	Unearthed Films (USA]) CMV Laservision (Germany)
Release date(s)	April 9, 2008 (2008-04-09) (Philadelphia Film Festival) August 5, 2008 (2008-08-05) (DVD premiere)
Running time	82 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Dead Fury is a 2008 American animated comedy-horror parody written and directed by Frank Sudol, with Sudol also doing all animation, music, and voice characterizations.^{[1][2][3][4][5]} The film debuted at the Philadelphia Film Festival April 9, 2008,^[6] and was released on DVD August 5, 2008, through Unearthed Films.^[7]

Plot

Max, Pop, Jen and Jake are deer hunting out of season. Earlier, a hiker had found an ancient book of spells and after reading a few lines had turned into a demon. Hearing noise in the brush, the group thinks they have found a deer, only to discover it is the transformed hiker. Fearful, the groups shoots at the demon and takes refuge in a nearby cabin. As more and more zombie-fied creatures attack the group, they use every implement available to defend themselves.

Critical reception

DVD Talk noted that the film "is quite literally a one-man show"—written, directed, and produced by Frank Sudol.^[1] They wrote that as a "crudely animated tale" from an individual otherwise known for his work as an artist on South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut, the film "is a very interesting curiosity." They also noted that Sudol multi-tasked yet further as animator, musician, and vocal artist for all the characters. They gave "kudos to Sudol for sticking to his vision and making it," while judging it not successful as a feature-length film, they wrote They obseved that in his commentrary track, Sudol spoke toward a number of films that inspired the creation of Dead Fury, including Friday the 13th, but that the film was "clearly a homage to The Evil Dead and The Hills Have Eyes". Thy said that while the film has a great deal of gore, "its gore and over-the-top violence are played for laughs primarily." They wrote that there was much to admire in the film, but that the action became repetitive, and concluded that fans of "gory horror films would probably find Dead Fury entertaining", and that it was "creative enough for other movie fans to add it to their rental lists"—but summarized that the film would have been better as a 25-minute short.^[1]

Film Threat panned the film, calling it "shamelessly cartoonish" in a manner that would leave horror fans "speechless at this audience-insulting wreck". They granted that "Those who treat Fangoria as a pinup mag will smile at the demonic/punk zombies" as conceived by Frank Sudol," but that those same fans "will scratch their heads when seeing the zombie curse float as a ball of light, like Tinkerbell." They noted that the characters were "flat and move like cardboard across the screen," and felt that while some filmmakers were innovators in their field, they "should never be an inspiration".^[3]

Movie Cynics praised Sudol for his work on City of Rott, "a testament to what one man can do with a shitload of time and some skill at animating," but judged that Dead Fury while interesting, was less successful. They noted that it paid homage not only to zombie movies but also to "every backwoods demonic possession story that you’ve ever seen", and that it could compare to Evil Dead if such were to be done by Adult Swim. They saw its length as a major flaw, because the film "falls apart after the first 45 minutes," and that it would have been better if shorter. They also observed that while its "characters are interesting, humorous, and fairly likable," the writing becomes "boring and repetitive."^[8]

Philadelphia City Paper referred to the film's length as "excruciating" and made note that the film's flaws included production values that "would barely pass muster on YouTube", a story concept that seemed "borrowed ideas seemingly made in an afternoon in between Xbox games", and juvenile humor "penned at a sixth-grade reading level."^[6]

On the other hand, Dread Central found no flaws. The reviewer said that, seeing that the film was from the individual who created City of Rott, he initially feared that Dead Fury might not compare favorable to the earlier film. After viewing, he was able to state it "not only remains on top of its game, but it outdoes City of Rott at every turn!" He noted that the film was not a sequel, but an original story that "takes its cues from horror favorites The Evil Dead and The Hills Have Eyes," acting as an homage and "absolute love letter to the films that it borrows from." The reviewer praised Sudol as "a crazed one-man army of mad animated genius," writing that he "has delivered one of the single most carnage happy, no-holds-barred, mayhem filled, freak shows that I've had the pleasure of sitting through." He praised the dialog and delivery as hilarious, saying that "this is one of those things that's better left to speak for itself. No description I give can do it justice." Rating highly the DVD extras including an audio commentary by Sudol, the reviewer called it "just as funny as the movie itself," and concluded by writing "Dead Fury is without question the ultimate experience in grueling animated horror."^[2]

Fatally Yours noted that Sudol brought back his character of "Pop" from City of Rott for this film, but not in a lead role, nor was the film a sequel. They referred to Dead Fury as a "leaner, meaner movie" when compared to the earlier film, and that it has lots of gore and humor in a "tighter and a lot more focused plot. They praised the filmmaker for "bringing such a colorful and energetic movie to the screen," and for his work in every aspect of its production. They granted that while the animation style might not appeal to everyone, the film "had its own unique charm" in its hilarity.^[5]

DVD

The DVD extras include 40 minutes of excluded storyboards, deleted and extended scenes, the Making of Dead Fury where Sudol narrates his use of Photoshop to create the film and its characters, a slide show of the original story art, a full commentary track where the filmmaker shares observations about his work and inspirarions, as well as a gallery that includes trailers for City of Rott, Dead Fury, Rock & Rule, Junk, and Frankenhooker,^[1][2][4]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Justin Felix (October 4, 2008). "review: Dead Fury". DVD Talk. http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/34953/dead-fury/. Retrieved June 5, 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} Uncle Creepy (September 4, 2008). "RVD review: Dread Fury". Dread Central. http://www.dreadcentral.com/reviews/dead-fury-dvd. Retrieved June 5, 2011. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Matthew Sorrento (April 16, 2008). "review: Dead Fury". Film Threat. http://www.filmthreat.com/reviews/10922/. Retrieved June 5, 2011. 
4. ^ ^{a b} Mr Disgusting (August 2, 2008). "'Dead Fury' Animated Horror Film". Bloody Disgusting. http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/13156. Retrieved June 5, 2011. 
5. ^ ^{a b} Jude Felton (September 4, 2008). "review: Dead Fury (2008)". Fatally Yours. http://www.fatally-yours.com/horror-reviews/dead-fury-2008/. Retrieved June 6, 2011. 
6. ^ ^{a b} S.B. (April 2, 2008). "Philadelphia Film Festival: Week One Reviews". Philadelphia City Paper. http://archives.citypaper.net/articles/2008/04/03/week-one-reviews#deadfury. Retrieved June 6, 2011. 
7. ^ Johny Butane (March 31, 2008). "Dead Fury Premiere Set!". Dread Central. http://www.dreadcentral.com/story/dead-fury-premiere-set. Retrieved June 6, 2011. 
8. ^ The Vocabulariast (December 16, 2008). "Dead Fury (2008) – DVD Movie Reviews". Movie Cynics. http://moviecynics.com/dead-fury-2008-dvd-movie-reviews/. Retrieved June 5, 2011. 

External links

• Dead Fury at the Internet Movie Database
• Official website