The Dead Center is a 2018 American supernatural horror feature film in which a hospital psychiatrist’s sanity is pushed to the edge when a frightened amnesiac patient insists that he has died and brought something terrible back from the other side…
Written and directed by Billy Senese (Closer to God), the Sequitur Cinema-Movie City Films production stars Shane Carruth, Poorna Jagannathan and Jeremy Childs.
Release:
The Dead Center will be released on Blu-ray by Arrow Video on October 22, 2019, with the following special features:
- Audio commentary with writer-director Billy Senese, producer-actor Shane Carruth, and actor Jeremy Childs
- Audio commentary with writer-director Billy Senese, producers Denis Deck and Jonathan Rogers, and cinematographer Andy Duensing
- A Walk Through The Dead Center – Making-of documentary with writer-director Billy Senese, producer-actor Shane Carruth, cinematographer Andy Duensing, and more
- Deleted scenes, including an alternate ending
- On-set interviews with actors Shane Carruth and Poorna Jagannathan
- Head-Casting with Jeremy Childs – A look at the creation of the make-up effects seen in the climax of the film
- Intruder – 2011 short film directed by Billy Senese and starring Jeremy Childs
- The Suicide Tapes – 2010 short film directed by Billy Senese and starring Jeremy Childs that inspired The Dead Center
- Midnight Radio Theater – Six radio plays (“Insomnia”, “The Long Weekend”, “Disposable Life”, “The Tapes”, “The Woman In The Basement”, “Blood Oath”, “Flu”) written and directed by Billy
- Senese
- Theatrical trailer and teasers
- Image gallery
Reviews: click on links to read more
” …the medical examiner’s peculiar path stumbles somewhat from serving largely as intertwined exposition. Still, the unusual approach to storytelling increases the movie’s atypical appeal as a hypnotic chiller. Engaging performances from unfamiliar faces, a mesmeric score from composer Jordan Lenhning, and a cleanly clinical look to Andy Duensing’s cinematography tie the bow…” Culture Crypt
“The pace is slow so if you like your movies with a bit more urgency, The Dead Center is likely not for you. If you like something thought-provoking though with some genuinely scary moments, The Dead Center is a perfect choice.” Entertainment Focus
“Though the slow build and genre-bending approach won’t be for everyone, this is an intelligent piece of filmmaking that demonstrates an acute understanding of horrors present in the mundane world.” Eye for Film
“For a b-movie, it’s executed to a high quality and as a debut film it would be impressive but its failure to offer anything more than the very basic story it provides may leave viewers distinctly underwhelmed. The solid foundations and creative potential The Dead Center harbours will be enough for some but its lack of character and originality will be its death sentence for many.” HC Movie Reviews
“The Dead Center builds to a satisfying finale while at the same time remaining sufficiently ambiguous that it will keep you thinking afterwards. The low budget works in the film’s favour. Everyday settings are drenched in gloom and there’s a nice atmosphere of dread that builds as the film goes on.” House of Mortal Cinema
“The movie struggles with holding the pace once the two storylines converge and the lack of connection to the characters makes it difficult to stay engrossed through the duration of the ending scenes. However, I will give a lot of credit to Jeremy Childs because he does really well with playing a catatonic/possessed patient and he definitely keeps you guessing as to what ails him.” Killer Horror Critic
“It’s all in the storytelling and the world-building of writer/director Billy Senese – who goes to great lengths to make the major setting, an overloaded hospital, a convincing, affecting environment. One test of whether a horror film will stand out is to ask if you’d watch a film about these people in this place if a monster wasn’t going to show up, and this passes that impressively.” The Kim Newman Web Site
” …definitely has its own way of suggesting something malevolent beyond the veil. That it doesn’t give us all of the answers is by no means a failing. This is a horror film – in the sense of horrific – through and through, a grim mystery which grows ever and ever nastier.” Warped Perspective
“My greatest compliment to Billy Senese’s third feature is in his casting. His characters aren’t beauties. They’re everyday people you’d find in the believable settings […] Jeremy Childs is disturbing. While the runtime could have been cut to make the movie flow smoother this is still quality filmmaking, with a good story, all done on a budget.” Without Your Head
Cast and characters:
- Shane Carruth … Daniel Forrester – Swiss Army Man; Primer
- Poorna Jagannathan … Sarah Grey – The Circle
- Jeremy Childs … John Doe
- Bill Feehely … Edward Graham
- J. Thomas Bailey … Travis
- Quinn Cooke … Parker
- Josh Croft … Ward Janitor
- Reegus Flenory … Officer Davis
- Karen B. Greer … Patient
- Clark Harris … Scream Patient
- Heather Le Roy … Doctor Tracy
- Jessejames Locorriere … Lobby Patient
- Tyler Merritt … Paramedic
- Anna Shalray … Attendant
- Tamiko Robinson Steele … Darcy
Running time:
93 minutes
