Play Dead
Director– Peter Wittman
Starring – Yvonne De Carlo, Stephanie Dunnam
Country of Origin- U.S.
Distributor - Vinegar Syndrome
Number of discs – 2
Reviewed by - David Steigman
Date- 08/06/2019
If you are a fan of films with killer dogs, Play Dead is just the movie for you. The big difference in this film, compared to others such as The Pack and Dogs, is this time the killer pooch is doing the bidding via black magic from a scorned woman. And who is the woman whose magical spells are cast upon the dog to do her bidding? Why, none other than Lily Munster herself, Yvonne De Carlo. Also known as Satan’s Dog, Play Dead is the tale of the lovely Yvonne De Carlo playing Hester Ramsey, a wealthy evil Satanist who uses her magic powers to have her Rottweiler dog Greta become a vicious killer and murder her relatives for some reason. Hester’s first kill was her sister as she took her man away from her. I guess she enjoyed it so much that she revels in killing her happy family. Her attention is drawn toward her niece Audrey (Stephanie Dunnam), sibling Stephen (David Ellzey) and her lover, Jeff (David Cullinane). Soon their happy lives are threatened. As the murders start to mount Detective Otis (Glenn Kezer) is brought in to get to the bottom of it before more murders occur.
Play Dead as one might suspect is nothing more than a B level cult film that would make low budget directors proud. The story and premise of Play Dead is pretty comical and ludicrous, but despite that director Wittman does a fine job of keeping the story moving along, with the dog attack scenes coming at the times when boredom may kick in. Yvonne De Carlo of course stands out among the actors, as she hands in another good performance despite knowing she is in a real ‘dog’ of a picture. The acting by the other cast members does leave something to be desired. Co-star Stephanie Dunnam would go on appearing in various television shows such as Dynasty, Magnum PI and Murder She Wrote. Play Dead does have few good gore scenes and some skin to keep you interested. Slow motion death scenes are at abundance here, and should that method of filmmaking, you will be in slow motion heaven.
Vinegar Syndrome releases Play Dead on both DVD and Blu-ray in one awesome package. The Blu-ray is what the focus will be on. First, many will be happy to know that this is a region free release, so you need not worry about the disc being compatible with your player. Moving on to the image, the video presentation is gorgeous to say the least, boasting rich, deep and bold colors. Reds and greens look especially strong. Outdoor scenery looks vibrant and ravishing; skin tones have a natural look to them, and black levels are balanced and can easily see the proceedings during evening scenes.
The English DTS HD master audio 1.0 track is also excellent, with dialog and other sounds coming in clear and strong overall. There is the occasional blip or pop here and there, but otherwise, the audio is sharp with it turning aggressive during intense, violent moments. Optional English SDH subtitles are available for this release as well.
Bonus materials include an interview with director Peter Wittman where he discusses what he can remember about Play Dead, which isn’t a whole lot but still compelling. There is also an audio interview with actress Stephanie Dunnam who recalls and reflects back on the making of this picture. The last of the extras is a theatrical trailer.
For an obscure film such as this, Vinegar Syndrome has given Play Dead a first class release and is highly recommended!
