Search - Cadaverella on DVD

Much better than I thought it would be

Robert Bruce Scott | Dallas, Texas | 03/28/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"For (what I believe is) a low budget indie horror movie, Cadaverella turned out to be a much better movie than I was hoping for.

Okay, it's short on story and what there is of a plot is obvious. Some of the acting isn't that great and the dialogue is average at best. The special effects are not very good.

So what gets this movie a 4 star rating? Megan Goddard and the "bad girl" heroine "with a chip on her shoulder" part that she plays. Megan makes the movie. She played the part perfect and it's her character that makes the movie enjoyable. Her character with it's "bad ass" attitude made everything else in the movie work, the good and the bad.

Besides Megan Goddard, there are two additional aspects that make Cadaverella better than the average low budget horror movie. The first is the sense of humor that pervades the undertone of the movie. I think the actors and production staff enjoyed themselves and making the movie without taking themselves or it too seriously. That may also explain the cheesy special effects. If you can't afford really good special effects then make them humorous and cheesy and have fun with them.

The second aspect falls under the category of the mostly unwritten "Rules of Horror movies". Come on!!!! You know what I mean. Quality horror movies don't have to "pay off". However one of the rules of horror movies is that B grade or lesser quality horror movies must "pay off" and usually the pay off is either over the top blood and gore or some degree of nudity. Cadaverella has just the right amount of "pay off" or nudity. First there is the gratuitous nudity - a topless "go-go" dancer that just kind of appears in the movie for 2 short scenes with no explanation. Then there are the relatively short topless scenes of Megan Goddard. Interestingly enough the topless scenes fit into either the humor and/or plot of the movie and therefore interface with the movie quite well rather than appear as a blatant "pay off" (say for example a pay off scene where 2 males and 4 females all of a sudden decide to skinny dip in a pond for no good reason right in the middle of the horror movie). Megan's look of disgust,anger and resignation upon finding herself topless and shoeless as well as freshly killed and brought back from the dead as some kind of voodoo zombie is priceless.

Unless you are a collector of both good and low budget horror movies like I am, I don't necessarily recommend buying this movie. I do recommend seeing Cadaverella over many many other low budget indie horror movies. I would like to see a sequel with a bigger budget, more plot and where Megan Goddard's character is more fully developed."