The stupid plot concerns four college kids finding themselves trapped in some resort in a town overrun with the undead, having returned because the sheriff(David Keith)was unable to provide a Mexican human sacrifice to appease the Aztec goddess which gave Vargas Diaz(Danny Trejo)immortality.
You see Vargas, in something like 1897, set off a mine which killed everyone practically living in the town his Diaz family settled so that he could live forever. Sheriff Blanco(Keith)lost his parents and sister(Jeffrey Combs, Ellie Cornell, and Mircea Monroe)to the undead in the 50's and has continued to feed human sacrifices to the Aztec goddess so that the town's zombie citizens would remain in their mountainous tomb. This is until Joss(Travis Wester)and his Mexican girlfriend Alicia(Marisa Ramirez)arrive in town on accident(the whole "wrong turn" scenario), interrupting the ceremony, stopping a tongueless victim from being sacrificed. Instead of taking the girl and getting her out of the town, they unknowingly hand the poor victim to the very one who wants to kill her, Blanco(they do not know of Blanco's intentions or the town's history). When this girl commits suicide, Blanco will capture Alicia(with help from the resort's maid and cook, Martia(Laura Harring), who drugs her, and their college pals Erica and Tyler(Nichole Hiltz and Laz Alonso))with the intent of sacrificing her. When Joss stops Blanco, that's when all hell breaks loose and the dead walk the streets wanting human flesh. What the dead ultimately desire is Vargas, revenge for his actions in regards to their murder at his hand.
Director Kasten is probably best known for THE ATTIC EXPEDITIONS, but I imagine ALL SOULS DAY:DIA DE LOS MUERTOS will not be considered a quality progression in his ongoing career. Fans of Combs will be utterly disappointed as he's in it with HALLOWEEN IV's Ellie Cornell just briefly, with them portraying a Beaver Cleaver type of domestic family, all smiles, on their best behavior. That is until they wind up in Diaz's town, victims to be. We never see their unfortunate fates realized(in a nightmare, Alicia hears their screams and sees blood all over the room they were in), only a faint image of Cornell as a hideously disfigured zombie. There's one amusing scene where Keith mentions to Esmerelda(Danielle Burgio)how much he likes cigarettes, comparing the taste to orally pleasuring a woman! This while she's awaiting her doom in a prison cell. Alicia and Joss, for some reason, invite Erica and Tyler to this town, barely giving poor Esmerelda little thought, even making out in their resort room while waiting for their friends to arrive. Harring spends most of the film aloof and distant, her character later elaborated further. There's this really dumb scene where Erica, after she is able to get to the car, tries to recover Tyler after the zombies tear into him, allowing herself to be taken from the vehicle even though her boyfriend's fate was already determined. ALL SOULS DAY apes NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD in that the zombies are outside wanting in, with Alicia and Joss(Joss wounded after an undead Esmerelda bites out a chunk of his leg)trying to figure out how to survive. As I mentioned above, Erica and Tyler, trying to retrieve their car and get help, it ending badly, also is quite reminiscent to the scene in NIGHT where the young couple almost escape only for the gas pump to ignite them in a fiery blaze on accident. The only way to possibly survive is to give the ghouls what they want, Vargas. Most of the zombie violence is held off screen and the photographic work is abysmal. To be honest, I just kept wanting Harring and Ramirez to kiss as a reason to continue wasting my time..nope, not even that. Fans of Trejo will probably also be let down by his rather small role(although his character is what started all this mess). I think zombie fans will be groaning as Kasten's camera can't stay still long enough for us to see them.
You see Vargas, in something like 1897, set off a mine which killed everyone practically living in the town his Diaz family settled so that he could live forever. Sheriff Blanco(Keith)lost his parents and sister(Jeffrey Combs, Ellie Cornell, and Mircea Monroe)to the undead in the 50's and has continued to feed human sacrifices to the Aztec goddess so that the town's zombie citizens would remain in their mountainous tomb. This is until Joss(Travis Wester)and his Mexican girlfriend Alicia(Marisa Ramirez)arrive in town on accident(the whole "wrong turn" scenario), interrupting the ceremony, stopping a tongueless victim from being sacrificed. Instead of taking the girl and getting her out of the town, they unknowingly hand the poor victim to the very one who wants to kill her, Blanco(they do not know of Blanco's intentions or the town's history). When this girl commits suicide, Blanco will capture Alicia(with help from the resort's maid and cook, Martia(Laura Harring), who drugs her, and their college pals Erica and Tyler(Nichole Hiltz and Laz Alonso))with the intent of sacrificing her. When Joss stops Blanco, that's when all hell breaks loose and the dead walk the streets wanting human flesh. What the dead ultimately desire is Vargas, revenge for his actions in regards to their murder at his hand.
Director Kasten is probably best known for THE ATTIC EXPEDITIONS, but I imagine ALL SOULS DAY:DIA DE LOS MUERTOS will not be considered a quality progression in his ongoing career. Fans of Combs will be utterly disappointed as he's in it with HALLOWEEN IV's Ellie Cornell just briefly, with them portraying a Beaver Cleaver type of domestic family, all smiles, on their best behavior. That is until they wind up in Diaz's town, victims to be. We never see their unfortunate fates realized(in a nightmare, Alicia hears their screams and sees blood all over the room they were in), only a faint image of Cornell as a hideously disfigured zombie. There's one amusing scene where Keith mentions to Esmerelda(Danielle Burgio)how much he likes cigarettes, comparing the taste to orally pleasuring a woman! This while she's awaiting her doom in a prison cell. Alicia and Joss, for some reason, invite Erica and Tyler to this town, barely giving poor Esmerelda little thought, even making out in their resort room while waiting for their friends to arrive. Harring spends most of the film aloof and distant, her character later elaborated further. There's this really dumb scene where Erica, after she is able to get to the car, tries to recover Tyler after the zombies tear into him, allowing herself to be taken from the vehicle even though her boyfriend's fate was already determined. ALL SOULS DAY apes NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD in that the zombies are outside wanting in, with Alicia and Joss(Joss wounded after an undead Esmerelda bites out a chunk of his leg)trying to figure out how to survive. As I mentioned above, Erica and Tyler, trying to retrieve their car and get help, it ending badly, also is quite reminiscent to the scene in NIGHT where the young couple almost escape only for the gas pump to ignite them in a fiery blaze on accident. The only way to possibly survive is to give the ghouls what they want, Vargas. Most of the zombie violence is held off screen and the photographic work is abysmal. To be honest, I just kept wanting Harring and Ramirez to kiss as a reason to continue wasting my time..nope, not even that. Fans of Trejo will probably also be let down by his rather small role(although his character is what started all this mess). I think zombie fans will be groaning as Kasten's camera can't stay still long enough for us to see them.