***Quality haunting ambiance, but ultimately a pedestrian mish-mash of several other horror flicks*** Released to TV in 2016, “Shadows of the Dead” starts with a group of teens going out to a cabin in the woods to party (no, seriously). Thankfully, that’s just the beginning as some kind of deadly shadow-like creature follows them back to their Southern Cal town where havoc naturally ensues. I like petite cutie Kennedy Tucker as the main protagonist and Thomas Miguel Ruff as her likable pal, Gabe. The rest of the cast is serviceable. The tone is serious, which is good in my book, and the haunting air makes this a good TV flick for the October/November season. I also like the fact that the monster is explained better than the half-baked nonsense of similar movies, like "The Night before Halloween" (2016) and "Stickman" (2017). The shadow creature is reminiscent of the monsters from “Mothman” (2010) and "Scarecrow" (2013), both superior to this, while including elements of “Alien” (1979), “Messiah of Evil (1973) and “From Within” (2008). Although “Shadows of the Dead” is better than “Neverknock" (2017), it suffers from a similar feeling of "Meh.” Something needed added to perk the movie out of its prosaic goings-on. Some of it works, though, and I appreciated the positives despite my tedium. The climax is totally predictable though. The movie runs 1 hour, 27 minutes and was shot in the more remote outskirts of Los Angeles. GRADE: C/C+

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