Here's Light House Shines' look at DEAD MAN ON CAMPUS. It's fairly spoiler filled, but he wasn't the biggest fan of the flick. Personally I recommend a film with nearly the exact same premise called, DEAD MAN'S CURVE, which from all accounts (and I've seen it) is a better job at telling the story. I know DEAD MAN'S CURVE is supposed to be released by TRIMARK, so you should get a chance to see it. It's the better version of this story.
I actually heard about this film at a party a year ago when I met someone who works for a company that does title graphics for the majority of all Hollywood films. The same company in fact that did SEVEN's breakthrough opening credits, Hollywood films. The same company in fact that did SEVEN's breakthrough opening credits, that unfortunately have been copied again and again since then ( Mostly by the same company that pioneered them in the first place, but I digress!). Which is unfortunately also where I heard that the film Dead Man On Campus, wasn't supposed to be very good. As it has been (test) screened several times and has essentially been finished for almost a full year now ( I think the party was in late March 1997). Something that was kind of a bummer to hear, as I definitely liked the overall concept of the whole film. Said concept being, that if your college roommate just happens to kill him or herself, the surviving roommate(s) get straight A's for the rest of the semester. A little bit of college folklore that is actually true at some universities, though I think it is more that you are unable to fail your current load of classes, rather than simply get straight A's. For I think such a thing would inspire way too many people to murder their unsuspecting roommates and simply make it look like suicide, or at the very least attempt to room with someone so disturbed that they will obviously kill themselves at some point, which is exactly what happens in Mtv's third feature film Dead Man on Campus.
For that is the only hope two recently thrown together college roommates at rustic Daleman College have of saving themselves from being expelled due to extremely poor grades. Something that is completely unacceptable to straight arrow pre med student Josh ( Played by Tom Everett Scott, from TV's Grace Under Fire and An American Werewolf in Paris), who he has to keep a B+ average to keep his (full) scholarship. While party animal and professional slacker Cooper (Actually well played by Mark-Paul Glossear, who I normally hate since he was "Zack" on that evil insipid "Saved by the Bell" TV show!) needs to do well in this school or be forced to work for his father's toilet cleaning business, as Daleman is his apparent last chance for academic success as well as his last school period. For it seems that Cooper's father has been buying him entrance into various learning institutions that he keeps flunking out of, and there are no schools left he can bride his way into. Hence rather than face their impending expulsion from school with dignity and grace or by actually studying, our two roommates ultimately conspire to find the most depraved and suicidal individual they can in order to push him over the edge and reap the benefit of his demise! Which sounds pretty twisted and macabre, but this film was actually pretty hilarious! Especially all the scenes involving their search for that perfect psychotic roommate. The best being the scenes with the psycho frat boy played wonderfully by Lochlyn Munro, who absolutely steals the film. As this guy is so fucking out there that even his own frat brothers avoid him like the plague! Something Cooper and Josh eventually learn to do as they too become horribly terrified he might actually hurt them along with himself, especially after he sets one of their friends hair on fire while trying to forcefully light her bong. Only to try and put it out by urinating on the poor girl's head who is running around the room screaming that her hair is on fire! The poor girl in question being the nerdy red headed one from Buffy the Vampire slayer, who has to sport a hilariously bad hairdo/wig for the rest of the film as a result or her traumatic ordeal. Which was one of the films best moments, as I was almost in tears I was laughing so hard! Though keep in mind, Dead Man on Campus did have a lot of other really great and funny scenes as well. Like Cooper later manning the college's suicide hotline number and giving some absolutely horrid advice all so they could push prospective roommate number two over the edge as he was a paranoid delusional freak who thought Bill Gates was actually trying to lobotomize him while he slept in order to steal his intelligence as well as some other wacky paranoid delusions that were pretty bizarre!
Now unfortunately a major problem with a lot of films that are so dark natured, is that they tend to fall apart halfway through the film. As they never seem to be able to decide on whether or not they want to want to be a "real" honest to God black comedy or just a comedy with some dark elements thrown in for the hell of it, and as a result something inevitably ends up getting lost in the confusion. Though this was not exactly the case with this film, for while they lived up to the overall dark tone the film began with, I was somewhat upset that they did kind of back track towards the end. When they finally stumbled upon someone attempting to kill themselves and they prevent it, well Josh does at any rate. Though come to think about it, if they let some innocent human being off himself. It would make them both look like bloodthirsty ghouls that no one could like or feel sorry for, even though they were both pretty much responsible for their respective character's predicaments. Well Cooper actually turned Josh into a class skipping, alcoholic pothead, but he could have said no at any time and continued to study instead of becoming a refferhead, but none of that really mattered anyway as this is an Mtv film after all! I mean I was was actually impressed that they allowed as much blatant drug use and casual sex in this film as they did, as I always thought they were trying to distance themselves from such politically incorrect messages and/or situations aimed towards adolescents.
As such I honestly can't say there was anything really wrong with this film, except for the fact that it was a little short at only like an hour and a half long. As I would have liked to have seen more of the two main character's interactions, as I must admit they both have some great chemistry together, which the film does a good job making fun of. As there was a pretty funny subplot running through most of the film that had everyone in their dorm thinking they were both gay lovers, which made for some hilarious situations. Plus I also personally would have loved to have seen more of Lochlyn Munro's scary frat boy character, as he simply stole the film. As this guy was, like I said before, definitely the roommate from Hell! Though from having gone to so many test screenings of films, it was easy to see that they actually did add a few more scenes with his character, as well as change the ending to incorporate his return as well. You will know exactly what I mean when you see the film, when the film is finally released around the end of August. As they have apparently reedited this film and reshot quite a lot of scenes, something that normally doesn't help a film become a success. Though in the case of Dead reedited this film and reshot quite a lot of scenes, something that normally doesn't help a film become a success. Though in the case of Dead Man on Campus, I think the film will do just fine. Especially with some good word of mouth, as they have been screening the (semi) completed version an awful lot recently and they don't usually do that if they think the film is gonna suck!
Sincerely,
Light House Shines
