| The Dead and the Damned | |
| Director: | Rene Perez |
| Producer: | Mattia Borrani |
| Starring: |
|
| Music: |
|
| Cinematography: | Paul Nordin |
| Editing: | Rene Perez |
| Studio: | Mattia Borrani Productions |
| Runtime: | 85 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
The Dead and the Damned (also known as Cowboys & Zombies) is a 2010 American Western horror film directed by Rene Perez, written by Perez and Barry Massoni, and starring David Lockhart, Camille Montgomery, Rick Mora, and Robert Amstler. The film depicts a meteorite that unleashes a zombie virus in the American Old West.
During the California Gold Rush, in the 1840s, Mortimer receives a bounty for Brother Wolf, a Native American accused of rape. Mortimer recruits a prostitute, Rhiannon, as bait to lure out Wolf. However, Mortimer becomes dubious of the charges once he meets Wolf. Meanwhile, a group of prospectors unleash a zombie virus when they attempt to mine a meteorite. Mortimer, Rhiannon, and Wolf must band together to stop the zombies.
Filming took place near Yosemite National Park.[1]
The Dead and the Damned premiered at the Another Hole In the Head Film Festival on July 17, 2010.[2] [3] It was released on DVD in the US on July 26, 2011,[4] and in the UK on August 1, 2011.[5]
Jim Harrington of the San Jose Mercury News called the plot "as ludicrous as it is fun".[2] Rod Lott of the Oklahoma Gazette called it "proof that bargain-basement zombie flicks, which are dime-a-dozen these days, shouldn't be made".[6] Gareth Jones of Dread Central rated it 1.5/5 stars and wrote, "With too little plot and too little visual imagination to justify a feature runtime, we're left with plodding scenes of predictable exposition, poorly executed action and lingering gazes at bare breasts peppered with occasional minutes of something approaching genuine entertainment."[7] Ben Bussey of Brutal as Hell wrote that despite its amateurishness the film "remains a reasonable bit of fun so long as your expectations aren't too high".[8] HorrorTalk rated it 2.5/5 stars and wrote, "The Dead and the Damned had a lot of potential, on both sides of the camera, and it could have succeeded with a bit more experience."[9] Alex DiVincenzo of HorrorNews.Net wrote, "If there's not a gun fight or a zombie chase on screen, the movie is boring."[10] Writing in The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia, Volume 2, academic Peter Dendle called it "mostly a zombie shooting gallery".[1]
A loosely connected sequel, The Dead and the Damned 2, was released in October 2014.[11]
. The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia, Volume 2: 2000–2010. Peter Dendle. McFarland & Company. 2012. 62. 978-0-7864-6163-9.