''Club Dread'' (also known as ''Broken Lizard's Club Dread'') is a 2004

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

slasher film A slasher film is a genre of horror films involving a killer stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools like knife, chainsaw, scalpel, etc. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as ...

directed by

Jay Chandrasekhar Jayanth Jambulingam Chandrasekhar (born April 9, 1968) is an American comedian, film director, screenwriter, and actor. He is best known for his work with the sketch comedy group Broken Lizard and for directing and starring in the Broken Lizard ...

and written by and starring the comedy troupe

Broken Lizard Broken Lizard is an American comedy troupe that comprises Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, and Erik Stolhanske. They collaborate on the screen-writing, acting and productions of their films, with Chandrasekhar and Hef ...

, Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme,

Paul Soter Paul Soter (born August 16, 1969) is an American actor, writer, and director, and one of the members of the Broken Lizard comedy group. As a child, he lived in Sacramento, Anchorage, Phoenix, and Denver. He graduated from Colgate University and w ...

, Erik Stolhanske,

Brittany Daniel Brittany Ann Daniel (born March 17, 1976) is an American actress. She is the twin sister of photographer and former actress Cynthia Daniel. Daniel is best known for her roles as Jessica Wakefield in the teen drama series '' Sweet Valley High' ...

, and

Bill Paxton William Paxton (May 17, 1955 – February 25, 2017) was an American actor and filmmaker. He appeared in films such as '' Weird Science'' (1985), ''Aliens'' (1986), '' Near Dark'' (1987), '' Tombstone'' (1993), ''True Lies'' (1994), '' Apollo 1 ...

. The film follows a group of staff members on a tropical island resort, where an unknown killer begins a murder spree. Though the story is set on an island in Costa Rica, filming took place in Mexico. ''Club Dread'' was released on February 27, 2004, and grossed $7.6 million at the box office on a budget of $8.6 million, becoming a financial failure. The film received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics.

Plot

Pleasure Island is a resort off the coast of Costa Rica, owned by famous, washed-up musician Coconut Pete. Staff members Rolo, Stacy, and Kelly sneak into the jungle to have sex, where they are ambushed and murdered by a masked figure. The resort staff discover another body behind the kitchen, and Dave relates a story about a former employee named Phil Colletti who lost his mind and murdered his fellow staff members, before

castrating Castration is any action, surgical, chemical, or otherwise, by which an individual loses use of the testicles: the male gonad. Surgical castration is bilateral orchiectomy (excision of both testicles), while chemical castration uses pharmaceu ...

himself and running away. Putman alerts the others when he finds Cliff murdered in a hedge maze. A message left by the killer suggests that he is targeting only the staff. All communication devices and transportation have been stolen or destroyed. Hank, a former

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

serial killing A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

investigator, convinces the staff to continue with their jobs and allow him to catch the killer. Two staff members decide to warn the guests and they too are murdered by the killer. The staff begins to suspect one of the guests, Penelope. Juan, believing her innocent, tries to eliminate her as a suspect. Putman disappears into the jungle after having a nightmare. Sam and Dave find a shrine of photos of Lars and his friends, in which all of the faces except Lars' have been replaced with Pete's; suspicion turns on Lars and the staff lock Lars in the resort's

drunk tank A drunk tank is a jail cell or separate facility accommodating people who are intoxicated, especially with alcohol. Some such facilities are mobile, and may be spoken of as "booze buses". Traditionally, and in some jurisdictions currently, the ...

. The killer attempts to kill Jenny by dropping a television into the swimming pool, but Jenny escapes just in time, ultimately killing Dirk and causing a power failure. Putman returns, and he and Jenny deduce that Lars is not the killer, and return to the drunk tank to release him, only to find that he has escaped. When Pete is found dead, the staff members turn on each other. Partway through the argument, Lars returns and discovers Pete's body. Just as everything escalates, Jenny calms everyone else down and tries to convince the group that they must work together to survive until the shuttle from the mainland returns for the guests. The staff split up and Dave restores the electricity, seconds before being beheaded by the killer. Jenny and Lars find Dave's severed head and, thinking the killer is coming for them, hide under a bed. Jenny places a nearby pair of handcuffs on what she believed to be the killer's feet, only to realize that she handcuffed Putman by mistake. Just as Jenny and Lars come out of hiding, the killer appears and Putman tells them to hide before being killed. During a party in the nightclub, the killer then reveals the corpses of his previous victims to the guests, causing a panic. Juan returns to join Lars and Jenny, with the killer's machete in his hand. Penelope, Juan, Lars and Jenny find Sam's body in a mud bath. While they consider their next move, Sam leaps from the bath and snatches his machete from Lars, revealing himself as the killer. He grabs Lars before revealing his motive: Pete had intended to sell the island, but ultimately decided to give the island to Dave, who Sam assumed would mismanage the resort and destroy it, instead of him. Lars grabs the machete, allowing the others to escape. Jenny and Juan lock themselves in the nightclub. They see Sam drowning Penelope in a large tank. Juan smashes the tank and rescues Penelope. Sam prepares to kill them, but Lars appears and stabs Sam. Sam pursues the four as they escape through the jungle. Cornered on a cliff, they jump to the water below. They find the resort's damaged boats, and try to cobble together enough working parts to leave the island. Sam appears and kills Juan, then attacks Jenny and Penelope. Lars breaks his vow of pacifism and overcomes Sam, and Sam is bisected by a rope attached to the power boat. Just as everything seems to settle down, Sam's upper half emerges and grabs Penelope, but Lars tosses him into the ocean, before they motor away. As they do so, Sam's lower half continues to pursue them as the film ends.

Cast

;Pleasure Island staff *

as Jenny, the aerobics instructor on Pleasure Island and Lars' eventual lover * Kevin Heffernan as Lars Bronkhorst, a

buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

, pacifist and the recently hired Masseur on Pleasure Island * Erik Stolhanske as Sam "Machete Sam" Colletti, the aptly named "Fun Police", in charge of games and activities on Pleasure Island * Steve Lemme as Juan Castillo, a Nicaraguan staff member on Pleasure Island, and an athletic divemaster *

as Puttman Livingston, a British staff member and tennis instructor on Pleasure Island *

as Dave "DJ Dave" Conable, a staff member and the disk jockey for the club on Pleasure island, and Coconut Pete's nephew *

as Pete "Coconut Pete" Wabash, a washed-up folk singer, owner of Pleasure Island and Dave's uncle * M. C. Gainey as Hank, a southern-accented former director of the

Homicide Department, acting as Coconut Pete's bodyguard and best friend *

Lindsay Price Lindsay Jaylyn Price Stone (born December 6, 1976) is an American television actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as Janet Sosna on ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' and as Victory Ford on '' Lipstick Jungle''. She is also known for her wor ...

as Yu, a Japanese-American staff member and waitress on Pleasure Island *

Julio Bekhor Julio Bekhór (born July 30, 1976) is a Mexican actor and artist. Early life Julio Alejandro Cadena Cárdenas was born in Mexico City on July 30, 1976. At age seven, he began taking classes at Silvia Derbez acting school and later at Gonzalo Corre ...

as Carlos, the groundskeeper on Pleasure Island * Dan Montgomery Jr. as Rollo, a

polygamist Crimes Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is married ...

and staff member on Pleasure Island * Elena Lyons as Stacy, an assistant to Putman on Pleasure Island and one of Rolo's girlfriends *

Tanja Reichert Tanja Reichert (born September 19, 1977 in Vancouver, British Columbia) is a former Canadian actress. Career She started acting when she was 15 years of age, and she first appeared on TV at 17 years old, when she had the role of "Shelley-Girl # ...

as Kellie, an understudy to Yu, waitress on Pleasure Island and one of Rolo's girlfriends * Richard Perello as Cliff, a menial worker on Pleasure Island * Ryan Falkner as Marcel, one of the officials on Pleasure Island ;Other characters *

Greg Cipes Gregory Michael Cipes (born January 4, 1980) is an American actor. He was a cast member in the reality television program ''Twentyfourseven'' and had recurring roles in ''MDs'' and ''Peacemakers''. His voice acting roles include Beast Boy in ' ...

as Trevor, Pleasure Island guest * Michael Weaver as Roy, Pleasure Island guest and Manny's best friend *

Nat Faxon Nathaniel Faxon (born October 11, 1975) is an American actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter. A frequent presence on comedic films and TV series, he won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for co-writing '' The Descendants'' (2011) ...

as Manny, Pleasure Island guest and Roy's best friend *

Samm Levine Samuel Franklin Levine (born March 12, 1982) is an American actor, comedian and podcaster. He is known for his portrayal of Neal Schweiber on NBC's ''Freaks and Geeks'' and PFC Hirschberg in the 2009 film ''Inglourious Basterds''. Levine was al ...

as Dirk, Pleasure Island guest *

Jordan Ladd Jordan Elizabeth Ladd is an American actress. The daughter of actress Cheryl Ladd and producer David Ladd, she initially worked with her mother in several made-for-television films, before making her big screen debut at 19, in the vampire film ...

as Penelope, an Alaskan gymnast, Pleasure Island guest and Juan's eventual girlfriend * Paco Mauri as Mainland detective *

Tony Amendola Tony Amendola (born August 24, 1951) is an American actor. He played the Jaffa master Bra'tac in ''Stargate SG-1'' and Pinocchio's creator/father, Geppetto on ABC's '' Once Upon a Time''. He also had a recurring role as revolutionary leader Edou ...

as Mainland detective's partner

Soundtrack

On one of the disc's commentary tracks the filmmakers state that they screened the film for Jimmy Buffett, who was so amused that he requested permission to sing some of the film's songs on one of his live tours.

Critical reception

''Club Dread'' received mostly negative reviews. It has a score of 45 out of 100 on review aggregator website

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

based on 28 reviews. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, it has an approval rating of 29% based on 101 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads: "Comedy is too hit-or-miss in this slasher spoof". Dave Kehr of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' wrote that "From Broken Lizard, the comedy troupe that delivered the low-budget sleeper ''Super Troopers'' in 2001, ''Club Dread'' is a disappointingly routine horror movie spoof that follows the well-worn path of the ''Scream'' and ''Scary Movie'' franchises". Critic Roger Ebert gave the film a rating of two-and-a-half out of five stars and wrote that "Whether it works or not is a little hard to say; like "Super Troopers" (2002), the previous film by the Broken Lizard comedy troupe, it has lovable performances, very big laughs, and then some down time while everybody (in the cast as well as the audience) waits to see what next".

Alternate version

In 2005, an unrated edition was released to

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

. This version of the film contains an additional 15 minutes of footage for a 118-minute running time. It features several extended scenes, and also restores a subplot involving two cops that was absent in the theatrical edition. Director

states in one of the disc's commentary tracks that the original R-rated version is still the director's cut.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Club Dread 2004 comedy horror films 2000s slasher films 2004 films American comedy horror films American parody films American teen comedy films Mexican slasher films Slasher comedy films Broken Lizard 2000s English-language films Films directed by Jay Chandrasekhar Films scored by Nathan Barr Films set in Costa Rica Films shot in Mexico Fox Searchlight Pictures films American serial killer films American sex comedy films American slasher films Parodies of horror 2000s sex comedy films 2004 LGBT-related films 2004 comedy films 2000s American films 2000s Mexican films