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Zombie movies are back in vogue, what with 28 Days Later hitting theatres in the summer and a remake of Dawn of the Dead on tap for 2004, and this little number, based on the popular House of the Dead video games.

This film actually provides the backstory for the game as it tells the tale of five college students who head to a remote island off Florida for a Spring Break rave. Having missed the main party boat, they hire a grizzled old sea captain to ferry them across to the party, arriving well behind the main group. When they arrive, however, they find not the bacchanalia they expected but a horde of flesh-eating zombies intent on having a party of their own. In classis genre fashion, the five friends, plus the sea captain, two survivors from the zombies’ first feast and a bounty hunter chasing the captain, must find a way to convince the dead to stay dead, fend off an additional cadre of ferocious beasties, and uncover the secret of the creepy old mansion and the legendary exiled Spanish padre who built it if they are to survive.

Movies based on video games have done fairly well at the box, particularly Resident Evil, which would be the closest comparison to House of the Dead. Another plus for the film is that zombie movies, even if not done particularly well, are still a rollicking good time for audiences. While House of the Dead stands a good chance at having a decent run at the box office, I suspect it will see its greatest success in the home video market, a fact which has doubtless not escaped Artisan Entertainment. A marketing campaign that raises awareness of the film amongst the target audience should set House of the Dead up for respectable box office receipts during what will most likely be a somewhat-brief theatrical run before settling into a long and happy afterlife in the rental market. (Stephanie Star Smith/BOP)

Vital statistics for House of the Dead Main Cast Enuka Okuma, Tyron Leitso, Sonya Salomaa, Ellie Cornell, Ona Grauer, William Sanderson Supporting Cast Jonathan Cherry, Kira Clavell, Clint Howard, Michael Eklund, David Palffy, J?gen Prochnow, Ben Derrick, Steve Byers, Elizabeth Rosen Director Uwe Boll Screenwriter Mark A. Altman, Dave Parker Distributor Artisan Entertainment Trailer Click Here for Trailer Official Site http://www.house-of-the-dead.com/ Rating R Running Time 90 minutes Screen Count 1,520 Talent in red has entry in The Big Picture

Comparison films for House of the Dead
Title	Date	Opening	Adjusted Opening	Screens	PSA	Adj PSA	Total BO	Adjusted Total	Mult
Mortal Kombat	8/18/95	23.28	32.27	2421	9616.00	12821.3	70.43	97.63	3.03
Resident Evil	3/15/02	17.71	18.41	2528	7004.00	7004.0	39.53	41.09	2.23
Mortal Kombat: Anihilation	11/21/97	16.77	22.03	2140	7836.00	9901.7	35.89	47.14	2.14
Ghost Ship	10/25/02	11.50	11.95	2787	4128.00	4128.0	30.11	31.30	2.62