Play Dead (2022) Horror Movie Review

Welcome to Knockout Horror. It’s time for another addition to our Horror on Tubi feature. Today we will be reviewing cat and mouse thriller Play Dead from 2022. Directed by Patrick Lussier who you may know as the director of the fairly crappy 2009, 3D, remake of My Bloody Valentine. This movie takes us inside of a morgue, stretches the realms of believably to a level rarely scene in thrillers and embarrasses itself on a number of occasions. 

If that sounds good to you, read on! Oh, and before we start. We have also put together a Play Dead Horror Ending Explained article. So if you have watched this and need some help with some of the details. Why not check it out? It’s not spoiler free, unlike this review, so only read after you have watched the movie. Let’s go! 

Yet Another Low Budget Tubi Horror

To be honest, I suppose the above statement isn’t exactly true for Play Dead. I mean, it has a director that has made a well known horror movie in the past. It appears to have a hair and makeup department, the budget stretched to LED lighting and they managed to cast Jerry O’Connell as a sinister coroner. I don’t actually know if this movie counts at all.

Still, there are a lot of other boxes that Play Dead ticks. Terrible plot? Check! Awful acting? Check. Minority actors cast exclusively as bad guys? Check. This movie does so much wrong. I mean, the plot alone is pretty ridiculous. After attempting to commit an armed robbery, teenager needs the help of his older sister to retrieve a cellphone that will implicate him in the crime.

Play Dead (2022) Horror Movie Review

The only problem? The cellphone was taken to the morgue with the dead body of his accomplice. Breaking in doesn’t appear to be an option so it’s time for something altogether more ridiculous. The siblings score some Propofol and put their plan into action. Yes, seriously!

A Thriller With No Vital Signs

Morgues make a fairly common venue for horror movies. We have the fantastic Autopsy of Jane Doe, the watchable Corpse of Anna Fritz, the terrible Afterlife and a few others. Whereas many of them are pretty decent and Afterlife has Christina Ricci in the buff for over an hour, Play Dead has absolutely nothing to offer. 

Play Dead (2022) Horror Movie Review

After injecting herself with propofol and passing out under a bridge. Our protagonist bucks the trend of dying from such endeavors, instead waking up fresh as a daisy, feeling tremendously refreshed, on a slab in the local morgue. Obviously wanting to preserve her dignity from all of those pervy corpses, she grabs a sheet and sets about the task of finding the phone that will implicate her brother. 

An Absolutely Ridiculous Plot

I’m actually shocked that someone pitched this story and another person thought “Yeah, that sounds good. Let’s do it!”. Is this simply an example of folie à deux or are movie makers really that desperate for ideas? Whatever, this plot is farcical beyond belief.

Play Dead (2022) Horror Movie Review

It’s one thing to expect people to believe that paramedics wouldn’t do a cursory exam when finding someone passed out under a bridge. You know, to check on things like whether they are actually still alive or not. But to ask people to believe that someone can shoot a bunch of propofol into their arm. Pass out and wake up completely fine a few hours later. Is utterly ridiculous. 

Our protagonist injects this drug into her arm, not into a vein. So we are starting off pretty bad as it is. This is an intravenous drug, not a vaccine or hormone. She passes out and enters a coma like state for multiple hours.

Play Dead (2022) Horror Movie Review

You know what is really cool about Propofol and what makes it a fantastic drug for anesthesia? It wears off extremely quickly and is predictable. Chloe would have, likely, woken up 15 minutes later still staring at the underside of the bridge. That’s if her breathing wasn’t depressed to the point of death from taking too much. Things don’t get much better from there.

It Keeps Getting Worse

As the movie goes on, the plot becomes more and more ridiculous. A somewhat promising moment of creeping around the dark and eerie mortuary hints at a weak pulse. That hope almost instantly flat-lines, however, as the story is in such a rush to show its hand. There are a few brief, unsuccessful, resuscitation attempts but to no avail. The movie is left to die in a puddle of mediocre thriller tropes and purge fluid.

Everything here is so familiar and so predictable. The mortuary setting is completely wasted. Never used to actually create any scares or to effectively build tension. Our protagonist never feels particularly over-matched, either. Typically outsmarting our clumsy coroner with ease. The sense of threat is almost completely absent. A big reveal somewhere half way through the movie plays out like the first two minutes of chewing juicy fruit gum. Initially promising but almost instantly woefully disappointing. It’s all so silly and incredibly milquetoast.

Play Dead (2022) Horror Movie Review

As the movie begins to draw to a close. The plot becomes even more farcical and even more unbelievable. Taking a turn that is fairly positive for the action element of the movie. But incredibly negative for the believability of the story. As the final scenes play out you will be wondering how this story was ever commissioned. There are so many questions. So many things that are beyond unlikely. And so many things that make no sense at all.

A Completely Unlikable Cast

Play Dead’s cast is utterly obnoxious. We are supposed to sympathise with the situation of our protagonist Chloe (Bailee Madison) and her brother. Her father has offed himself, probably sick of living with his brat kids. His life insurance didn’t pay out and she really doesn’t want to get a job to pay for the house. Her little brother, T.J. (Anthony Turpel), is also suffering from a sticky mattress and doesn’t want to work so he hatches a plan. Let’s rob some poor bastard to get some mortgage money. These two are insanely unlikable and difficult to root for.

Play Dead (2022) Horror Movie Review

On top of the unlikable cast. Play Dead contains some controversial old horror tropes that really should have died a long time ago. There are a number of people of colour in this movie. All of which are portrayed in a negative light. We have veterinary nurses selling drugs from the cabinet. Hispanic gang members, abusive ex-boyfriends turned armed robbers and worse. It’s pretty eye-rolling and short sighted. Play Dead manages to have an African American character be the first to die not once, but twice. Quite an impressive feat of doubling down on tired horror tropes. As a white fan of horror, this is a bit embarrassing. Weren’t we past this type of offensive story telling?

Lacklustre Acting

Bailee Madison, as Chloe, felt completely out of place here. I feel like Olivia deJonge, or someone similar, would have been a way better option. Madison is pretty good at crying on cue, outside of that she brings almost nothing to this role. Her range of facial expressions is lacking, her line delivery is poor and she really lacks in charisma.

Play Dead (2022) Horror Movie Review

Anthony Turpel is dishwater dull as T.J. Bringing absolutely nothing to the role. He stutters wildly in parts before speaking clear as day in others, as if he had rehearsed certain parts excessively and others not at all. Chris Lee, as Ross, is okay, managing to, at least, offer up some emotion when called for. On the plus side, Chris Butler is great fun as Sheriff Duggan, provoking a few laughs and generally doing a great job. I, also, enjoyed Jorge-Luis Pallo as Mannix. 

I was trying to place Jerry O’Connell’s face for the entire movie. He plays the coroner in Play Dead and is the only genuinely interesting character. It dawned on me, half way through, that he is the dude from the party boat in Piranha 3D. I am surprised I remembered anything about that movie after the underwater Kelly Brook scene. Anyways, O’Connell does a great job here. Making for a genuinely interesting and sinister antagonist. Unfortunately, he is given very few lines and, as far as antagonists go, is a bit of a bumbling idiot. Something which massively robs the movie of tension.

Should You Watch Play Dead?

I have to make it clear before I summarise this movie. I, personally, know people that would probably enjoy this movie. They would watch it without over analysing the story. They wouldn’t be bothered by the annoying characters or the ridiculous plot and I doubt the lacklustre acting would be a problem for them. They would simply enjoy it as a middle of the road thriller with a few moments of tension. I always say, your mileage may vary. For me, however, there is way too much to look past. The plot is farcical, the acting is lacking, the script is terrible, the characters are unlikable, the scares are absent and the whole movie is just a bit dull. I wouldn’t suggest that you watch Play Dead but you may enjoy it regardless.

By Richie