They Put Billy Drago In a Dress. It was not Pretty.

I'm currently watching The Dead One, starring Wilmer Valderrama and made in 2007. It was interesting, which is more than I can say for a lot of low budget stuff I find on cable. It was also frequently very silly, starting out as a "lost" ghost story (lost as in doesn't know he's dead), and ending up as The Crow with a stereotypically Hispanic twist.

For starters, the names of the main character and his romantic interest is: Diego and Maria! Clever! I personally think they should have named her Dora, but that's simply because that would have been hilarious. I work with kids; I take my laughs where I gets 'em. I guess we should just be grateful his name wasn't Juan or Jose; I just would love to see some slightly more creative Spanish names, like Octavio or Lorena. Of course all of the honkies are skeptics and all of the brown folk are mystical and or highly Roman Catholic. Personally, if I'm being chased by Billy Drago, in drag (must.. resist..joke..!!!), with a knife, answering to the name "Catrina", I'd run and keep my ass running. I would NOT go to the local shrine and pray.

Apparently this movie is based on El Muerto, The Aztec Mummy, a comic written and drawn by Javier Hernandez, and that title sums this up well, though he was less mummy and more zombie. Sorta. (EDIT: Stac read good! The title IS ..Aztec Zombie and not mummy. I misread it TWICE. How fucking sad is that?) I'd really like to read this, though, as it ties in with what I liked about this movie-- it had a very strong Dia de Los Muertos theme, something I'm personally fascinated with. So I dig the costuming and the set dressing, for sure. (Speaking of horror, my cat just sneezed. All over my bare shoulder. Now it is drying in the breeze. Delightful!)

Over all I liked it just fine in a brainless, something on t.v. while I'm reading Herodotus (I'm a history major, not just pretentious, I swear.) kinda way. And really, you have Billy Drago as A WOMAN. He is supposed to be a WOMAN. He wears a DRESS and a WIG. Worth the price of printing the dvd, right there!