review: DEAD MAN'S HAND

Full Moon Features  //  Buy from Full Moon Direct After Inheriting a casino from his dead uncle, Matthew Dragna, his girl friend J.J(Robin Sydney) and a group of friends take a road trip to the outskirts of Las Vegas, where they find the run-down Mysteria Casino. But the trip takes a frightening turn when the kids discover that the casino is haunted by the ghosts of Vegas mobsters Roy The Word Donahue(Sid Haig) and his goon Gil Wachetta (Michael Berryman), looking to settle an old score. Matthew and J.J. must fight for their very souls as the ghosts seek their gruesome vengeance, and in the vein of The Shining, this horrifying tale builds to a bloody and surprising climax. I count myself as a passionate and hugely loyal Full Moon Features fan - in my mind, anything Charles Band touches is golden - witness "Gingerdead Man" and "Evil Bong" (yes, "Evil Bong!!!") His latest opus, "Dead Man's Hand: Casino of the Damned" is another fun sojourn into the land of b-movies, with appearances by the mighty Sid Haig (Captain Spaulding of "House of 1,000 Corpses" and Michael Berryman ("Hills Have Eyes" and "Weird Science.") While I can say that the film takes itself maybe a bit too seriously, the over-the-top special effects and ridiculously entertaining carnage more than offset this serious tone. I guess I like my b-movies to reek of cheese, but to Band's credit, he is a filmmaker who sets out to make "real" movies, cut with layers of schlock for good measure. This is another fun one from Full Moon and well worth checking out. Surprisingly enough, Sid Haig is the straight man in this one, but his 3 ghostly cronies definitely deliver enough over-the-top wackiness to satiate even as big a goofball as myself. Fun stuff! Video The film gets a widescreen transfer that is very nice - sharp detail, good coloring and deep blacks that never wash out or over the action on the screen. Nice job. Audio Only a Dolby stereo mix, but it does a good job of delivering the dialogue and a pretty robust score. Extras "behind the scenes" featurette trailers for other Full Moon features Closing Thoughts Fun b-movie frivolity + entertaining extras = definitely recommended for those of you looking for something off the beaten path