Color, 2012, 74m.
Directed by Charles Band
Starring Jessica Morris, Eric Roberts, Ariana Madix, Jean Louise O'Sullivan, Circus Szalewski, Robert Zachar, J. Scott
Full Moon (DVD) (US R1 NTSC) / WS (1.78:1) (16:9) / DD2.0
Color, 2012, 74m.
Directed by Charles Band
Starring Jessica Morris, Eric Roberts, Ariana Madix, Jean Louise O'Sullivan, Circus Szalewski, Robert Zachar, J. Scott
Full Moon (DVD) (US R1 NTSC) / WS (1.78:1) (16:9) / DD2.0
It was probably only a matter of time before Full Moon would tackle a monster movie set in the decadent world of Hollywood parties during the silent era. While most people probably would've expect to see a bunch of knife-wielding puppets running around after aspiring platinum-haired actresses in a mansion, what you get instead is The Dead Want Women, an amusingly cheap-'n'-trashy quickie that may be the first movie to feature an Oscar-nominated actor in a ghost/zombie orgy scene.
In an interesting move, the first 27 minutes of the film (which runs a very trim 74 in total, including pretty long credits) unfolds in 1927 Hollywood, where starlet Rose Pettigrew (Gingerdead Man 3's O'Sullivan) throws a swanky bash complete with a couple of naked bit players doing a lesbian act in her underground cave before they get manhandled by a western 
actor, Sonny Barnes (Eric Roberts!), and some guy obviously meant to be a Fatty Arbuckle stand-in named "Tubby" Fitzgerald (Scott). Unfortunately Rose gets an ugly piece of news during the festivities, so she slaughters all the copulating guests in firing range before planting a bullet in her skull. Flash forward to the present day as sexy pals Reese (Bloody Murder's Morris) and Danni (Killer Eye: Halloween Haunt's Madix) arrive to prep the house for sale,which brings Rose and her undead pals out of the woodwork to party again.
While the modern day portion of this film is familiar Full Moon territory (lots of DV-shot footage of shapely women scoping out the handy setting before getting chased around), that opening act
is a surprisingly bent and sordid curtain raiser that could have almost been a complete film itself. As it stands, your mileage will definitely vary depending on how much you're willing to go along with the repetitious structure to get to the monster makeup and bare flesh, both of which are effectively rendered. The disc itself looks fine given the digital video source, which is colorful but fairly satisfying as far as it goes. Audio is standard two-channel stereo, mainly reserved for a little channel separation in the music. The retro cover art its striking but bizarre, making this look like a sequel to Curtis Harrington's The Dad Don't Die.
On the extras side you get a 15-minute behind-the-scenes featurette (basically a VideoZone-style piece with the actors chatting about their roles and undead makeup in front of a wildly unconvincing rock wall), the trailer, and bonus previews for Skull Heads, Devil Dolls, Killjoy's Revenge, Evil Bong 3, Killer Eye: Halloween Haunt, Goobers, Shandar: The Shrunken City, and The Haunted Casino.
