The Civil Dead (2022)

"All a Bit Too One-Note"

The debut feature of writers-producers-stars Clay Tatum and Whitmer Thomas, with Tatum directing, gets a digital and selected cinema release from Bulldog Distribution.

Hopeless slacker of a photographer Clay (Tatum), a man who can't even get his haircut right, is desperately short of cash to pay his rent. His latest scam involves pretending his house is for rent and then charging prospective applicants $50 just to apply to live there. 

With no job prospects Clay decides to take some random 'art' shots and meets Whit (Thomas). Whit is an old friend from high school who says he now works as an actor. He also happens to be a ghost and only Clay can see him. This comes in useful when Clay enters a poker game and wins big with Whit's help. But Whit hasn't exactly told Clay the truth about himself.

Shot during lockdown on a budget of allegedly $30 000, which is admirable, THE CIVIL DEAD suffers from being way too long at 104 minutes, with scenes that could easily have been edited down or cut altogether to make the film a lot tighter. The somewhat one-note nature of the relationship of the  'comedy pair' doesn't really develop over the running time, and while the film has obviously been shot for no money, the muddy, sepia-tinted photography starts to grate on the eyes after a while. It's possible that Tatum and Thomas have talent, and there seem to be a lot of more positive reviews out there which is why I haven't felt too bad about being honest with this one, but THE CIVIL DEAD outstays its welcome long before Whitmer Thomas' ghost does the same in the movie. Anyway, here's the trailer, which does succeed in making the film look rather more appealing:

THE CIVIL DEAD is out in selected cinemas and on Digital from Bulldog Distribution on Friday 19th January 2024