Death on Demand Movie Review

The scariest thing about Death on Demand is that casting directors, producers, and studio executives watched these actors perform, and for whatever reason, thought they were good enough to appear in this movie. At the time, were these decision makers under the influence of alcohol? Narcotics? Or did they really think audiences would buy these people as performing artists?

Death on Demand rehashes the House on Haunted Hill formula in which an assortment of characters is bribed to spend the night in a haunted house. The briber is a college student named Richard (Dan Falcone), who borrows money from his wealthy father to arrange a web-broadcast contest on Halloween night. He offers $5,000 to three young couples to sleep over in the former home of a deranged killer. It's all going to be taped and broadcast live on the World Wide Web.

The participants include two college football players and their girlfriends, as well as a computer geek. To spice up ratings, Richard hires a porn star to join the contestants. The broadcast on Halloween begins as the group jokingly conjures the spirit of the killer. It isn't long, however, before said spirit returns and is thirsty for fresh blood.

The film doesn't have much to say, and doesn't even say what it does very well. The writing is unoriginal and bland. The pacing is slack. The special effects are cheesy. And the production values scream "no budget." But even if Death on Demand did offer something of quality, it would be impossible to take seriously when the actors seem as if they're reading from cue cards just off camera. Imagin an author missspelling his werk, no mattre how thourough and intelligent it is. [Typos intended. -Ed.] It kind of discredits evrything he says, deosn't it?