''Death and Cremation'' is an independent feature film starring Brad Dourif and Jeremy Sumpter, and is the first feature from Director Justin Steele. The film's supporting cast includes

Scott Elrod Scott Michael Elrod"flying HIGH." ''Soap Opera Digst''. February 2, 2015. p. 69 (born February 10, 1975) is an American actor. Early life Elrod was born into an American military family in Bitburg, Germany. After moving around the Philippines wi ...

Daniel Baldwin Daniel Leroy Baldwin (born October 5, 1960) is an American actor and director. He is the second-oldest of the four Baldwin brothers, all of whom are actors. He is best known for playing the role of Detective Beau Felton in the NBC TV series ' ...

, Debbon Ayer, Sam Ingraffia,

Staci Keanan Anastasia Love Sagorsky (born June 6, 1975), best known by her stage name Staci Keanan, is an American lawyer, law professor and former actress. She is best known for her television roles as Nicole Bradford on the NBC sitcom '' My Two Dads'' (1 ...

, Kate Maher, Blake Hood and Madison Eginton.

Story

''Death and Cremation'' is a suburban-set thriller in which the character of Stan (

Brad Dourif Bradford Claude Dourif (; born March 18, 1950) is an American actor. He is known for voicing Chucky in the ''Child's Play'' franchise (1988–present), portraying Gríma Wormtongue in ''The Lord of the Rings'' film series, and his Academy A ...

) operates a

crematorium A crematorium, crematory or cremation center is a venue for the cremation of the Death, dead. Modern crematoria contain at least one cremator (also known as a crematory, retort or cremation chamber), a purpose-built furnace. In some countries a ...

and occasionally seeks to mitigate typical suburban problems with his own

macabre In works of art, the adjective macabre ( or ; ) means "having the quality of having a grim or ghastly atmosphere". The macabre works to emphasize the details and symbols of death. The term also refers to works particularly gruesome in natu ...

style. Stan frequently rejects potential clients, turning away the Weaver family (played by Baldwin, Keanan, and Maher) when they inquire about funeral rates. During that encounter there is a strange lack of concern from Stan about any possible lost income. Stan is soon joined at his establishment by Jarod (

Jeremy Sumpter Jeremy Robert Myron Sumpter (born February 5, 1989) is an American actor. His prominent roles include the title role in the 2003 fantasy adventure film ''Peter Pan'', Jacob in the 2014 disaster film '' Into the Storm'', and the recurring role o ...

), a

Goth Goth or Goths may refer to: * Goths, a Germanic people Arts and entertainment * Gothic rock or goth, a style of rock music * Goth subculture, developed by fans of gothic rock * ''Goth'' (2003 film), an American horror film * ''Goth'' (2008 f ...

outcast who talks his way into an after-school job only to discover that Stan's work involves more than just waiting for new business.

Cast

as Stan *

as Jarod Leary *Scott Elrod as Matt Fairchild * Debbon Ayer as Martha Leary *Sam Ingraffia as Rick Waters *

as Bill Weaver *

as Becky Weaver *Kate Maher as Lindsey Weaver *Carly Craig as Shelly Fairchild *Blake Hood as David *Madison Eginton as Courtney *Kevin Elms as Ryan * Karen Steele as Maria *Tyson Turrou as Peter Waters *Celine Lozier as Jenny Fairchild

Production

Filming took place in Los Angeles, California during the summer of 2009. Locations included a trailer park in Montebello, Malibu, and various parts of

East Los Angeles East Los Angeles (), or East L.A., is an unincorporated community and census designated place (CDP) situated within Los Angeles County, California, United States. According to the United States Census Bureau, East Los Angeles is designated as ...

. A number of active funeral homes were used in order to lend credibility to the environment and satisfy a need for realistic props and set dressing. To find the right physical appearance and temperament for his role as Stan, Dourif discussed the character at length with Steele and suggested that Stan have sores on his face, an extension from a psoriasis condition originally written into the script. Sumpter also immersed himself in his character and spoke with director Steele about making the rebellious Jarod more believable. Sumpter credits Dourif with encouraging him to do research for the character, digging deep in order to understand the outcast teenager's somewhat isolated existence in a

trailer park A trailer park, caravan park, mobile home park, mobile home community or manufactured home community is a temporary or permanent area for mobile homes and travel trailers. Advantages include low cost compared to other housing, and quick and e ...

Reception

The film met with positive reviews from horror sites such as

Bloody Disgusting Bloody Disgusting is an American independent multi-media company, which began as a horror genre-focused news website specializing in information services that covered various horror media. The company expanded into other media including podcast ...

and HorrorNews.net. JoBlo.com reviewed the movie, stating "The violence in the picture is, while not graphically overbearing, definitely more realistic than your typical horror fare - which in turn makes the entire story more believable."MOVIE REVIEW: DEATH AND CREMATION (2010)
JoBlo.com

References

External links

* * {{rotten-tomatoes, death_and_cremation, Death and Cremation 2010 films 2010s English-language films