When younger brother Cory (Ryan DeLuca) visits his resident stoner and slacker brother Will (Aaron Sosa) at college he is in for more than your typical college visit. While your everyday campus visit would involve scantly clad college girls sunning in the quad and beer filled solo cups at frat parties, this visit quickly turns into something much different. It's the returning week to campus after Spring Break, and as students come back to campus it appears a cold has broken out and is spreading quickly among them. However, instead of staying in bed and drinking fluids these ill co-eds are seeking a different remedy to quench their thirst, your flesh. Quickly Will finds himself in a new position of responsibility, a word he barely knew the meaning of the day before. Now he not only has to lead his brother to safety, but also a group of misfit students who are trapped on campus during the outbreak.
Dorm of the Dead is one ambitious little zom-com. Like many in the sub genre that have come before it, this movie allows for the viewers to enjoy a good laugh at the misfortunes of this motley crew who end up battling the undead in an unequipped setting.
While this movie doesn't bring anything new to the table of zombie films, it does reflect many of the reasons we love this sub genre, and why it's so popular today. For instance, the resident nerd affectionately named 'Jorge' (Brian Oviedo) dons large George Romero black rimmed glasses and enlightens the survivors of the basic rules the Of The Dead films have taught us. Through Jorge's expertise in the field of horror he gets the ground rules established that guide these characters through the gruesome world thrust upon them.
A lovely bi-product of this character are the onslaught of geeky references many of us fans of the neighbor genre of sci fi all know and love. Star Trek, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and Spiderman all make an appearance in geeky references exchanged between resident geek Jorge and his new found friend Jeremy (Michael Curtis Miller.)
Between the horror staples of your typical zombie comedy being met, a good supply of gore on tap, and witty geek fueled lines, another aspect that makes this zom com stand apart from others is the cast of characters. These characters are so fun! In many movies of its kind the characters are usually just bodies to add to the death count, but in Dorm of the Dead the characters are very amusing and highly memorable. This is the first movie in quite awhile that I've actually cheered the characters on to survival and didn't want to meet a bloody demise. However, being the genre it is, not all of my favorites made it to the end.
Lastly, a trivial yet well deserved detail I feel that is worth noting is that the cast of college delinquents really do appear to be college age! This accurate reflection of age is a rarity in the genre. However, with a younger cast does come some less experienced actors, so don't expect award winning performances from all involved. However, despite their young blood a few of these actors in particular seem to have star power and will hopefully find a return to the big screen. Perhaps some of the survivors will make a return in a sequel, since the outbreak was neither contained nor cured.
