Line #38 Film/DanceOfTheDead


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_danceofthedead_6939.jpg]]
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3	''Dance of the Dead'' is an American zombie horror-comedy film released in 2008. It premiered exclusively at Mann's Chinese 6 Theaters in UsefulNotes/LosAngeles on October 13, before being released on DVD the next day. The film was directed by Gregg Bishop and written by Creator/JoeBallarini. The film stars Creator/JaredKusnitz, Creator/GreysonChadwick, Creator/ChandlerDarby, Creator/CarissaCapobianco and Creator/MarkOliver.
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5	In true style of the teen horror genre, a group of high school students try and defend their prom from hordes of the undead, who have been resurrected presumably via the chemicals emitted from the power plant, located conveniently next to the cemetery.
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9	!!''Dance of the Dead'' contains examples of the following tropes:
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11	* AbsurdlySpaciousSewer: Jimmy, Kyle and Gwen travel through a big sewer while trying to meet up with the others, and take notice of all the toxic sludge.
12	* AirVentPassageway: Coach Keel crawls through the air-vents, setting bombs throughout the school in the climax [[spoiler: although he accidentally drops the remote to set them off in the middle of the dance floor while crossing over it, forcing Jimmy to go in and retrieve it]].
13	* AllLoveIsUnrequited: Steven likes Gwen and tries asking her to go to prom with him. Gwen wants to go with Nash Ramble instead, as her first choice bailed on her due to sickness. Nash, however, shoots her down. Steven still likes Gwen, but while they do show a little ShipTease after she realizes he likes her, she only starts to seriously like him back [[spoiler: after she is bitten by the zombie headmaster]].
14	* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: Gwen has a crush on the dark and brooding Nash, but quickly gets disillusioned by his behavior when she asks him out (although later she is happy to see him alive and is impressed to hear his music kept the zombies at bay).
15	* AndTheAdventureContinues: The film ends with them heading out to shut down the power plant (after stopping for breakfast at pancake hut first).
16	* AndThenJohnWasAZombie:
17	** Toward the end of the movie, [[spoiler: Gwen]] turns into a zombie following an unseen bite on the arm.
18	** Also [[spoiler: Kyle]] in the funeral home after struggling with one of the bagged corpses.
19	* AntiHero: Jimmy only wanted to go to prom with Lindsay and can be selfish early on.
20	* AnyoneCanDie: You deserved better, [[spoiler: Gwen, Steven, Jensen and Kyle]].
21	* AskAStupidQuestion: In a deleted scene, hoping for a rebound date, Jimmy asks Jennifer's friend Teri if it was just him or if there was some romantic sparks between them when they read ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'' for English class together. Keep in mind that Jimmy had already asked her best friend out right in front of her before asking Teri, and with a far weaker pretext.
22	-> '''Teri:''' It was just you.
23	* AssholeVictim: Mitch and Mr. Hammond are horrible people who die horribly.
24	* AttackItsWeakPoint: The zombies have an unusual weakness to music, which is taken advantage of twice by Nash, Jensen and Dave.
25	* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: Jimmy and Lindsay aren't perfectly compatible, but both try to reach each other quickly after the zombie apocalypse despite being broken up. [[PlayingWith once they get together they again they have a fight, but ultimately they get back together]].
26	* AxCrazy: Kyle has a very short temper and can shoot a gun well.
27	* BackToBackBadasses: Jimmy and Lindsey fight back while back-to-back after being surrounded in the school gym.
28	* BadassInANiceSuit: Jimmy fights zombies in his prom tuxedo.
29	* BaitAndSwitch: It initially looks like the Sci-Fi club is well-attended, and not just by nerds, but then it turns out most of the attendees thought they were at an Amnesty International meeting and leave.
30	* BatterUp: Jimmy's weapon of choice, which gets an upgrade when he drives a few nails into the bat.
31	* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Downplayed. Jennifer is shown obsessing over being prom queen for the first third of the movie, and while she gets that wish, zombies end up attacking the prom. Jennifer becoming Prom Queen is incidental to the zombies attacking, and she does survive by hiding in the bathroom, but by the end of the movie she admits that being Prom Queen now feels more meaningless.
32	* BehindTheBlack: Jimmy, Lindsey, Steven, Jules, George, Gwen and Kyle discover a body lying on an examination table in the basement/morgue of the funeral home. As Kyle prepares to load his gun, the camera moves to focus on Kyle's actions, but when it returns to show the table, the body is nowhere to be seen.
33	** Also, when the zombies enter the grocery store, the clerk looks down one aisle, where the perspective then switches to his point of view, showing a group of zombies devouring a customer. [[JumpScare Cue a random zombie jumping up in front of him]], which would have otherwise been impossible for the clerk to not notice.
34	* BetaCouple: Jimmy and Lindsay are the main couple, break up, and try to patch things up, while Stephen is flirting with Gwen and trying to win her affections as the secondary romance. While he does succeed, his wooing efforts don't go as smoothly and seamlessly as most {{Beta Couple}}s have it.
35	* BettyAndVeronica: [[PlayingWith Played with]] for two separate triangles.
36	** Well-groomed, student council president Mitch presents himself as The Betty for Lindsay, implying that Jimmy's bad attitude and constant smell of pizza make him a Veronica type, although [[BettyAndVeronicaSwitch the opposite is arguably true]] given that Jimmy is her long-term boyfriend, and a humbler character than the superficially charming Mitch.
37	** LovableNerd Steven is the Betty towards Gwen, while garage band leader Nash is the Veronica. Nash doesn't show that much interest in Gwen though, something she quickly realizes, although she does seem a little too happy for Steven's taste when they find out that Nash and his band survived.
38	* BigGuyFatalitySyndrome: [[spoiler: Kyle]] is the best fighter in the early zombie scenes but dies at the funeral home.
39	* BloodSplatteredInnocents: Pretty much every hero is splattered with blood by the time they get out of the funeral home.
40	* TheBully: Kyle is a burly boy who picks on the nerds at times.
41	* ButForMeItWasTuesday: George and Jules have suffered a lot of bullying at the hands of Kyle, although he has difficulty remembering a lot of it when they prompt him.
42	* CarFu: An accidental version, when Lindsay runs over a couple zombies chasing the sci-fi club at the beginning. Later Gwen runs over several zombies when bringing the hearse around [[ApologeticAttacker and says she's sorry each time]].
43	* TheCaretaker: The one from the cemetery who shows up periodically throughout the film.
44	* ChekhovsSkill: Gwen uses her cheerleading aerobics and running speed to get to the hearse and swing around to pick everyone up at the front door.
45	* ClassPrincess: Jennifer the prom queen is horrified by all of the deaths during the zombie rampage rather than just being relieved by her own survival. She also isn't embarrassed to admit that she has some geeky beliefs and interests. Her one {{Jerkass}} moment is only in a DeletedScene and is more of a JerkassHasAPoint moment.
46	* ControlFreak: Lindsay is fairly likable, but does get irritated when someone spells the prom poster and tries to take charge of boarding up the windows to the point where George argues with her over it.
47	* CowardlyLion:
48	** Tough guy Kyle is introduced cowering and crying after a zombie attack but quickly gets over it (a bit defensively) and breaks out his gun to fight zombies with.
49	** Gwen is also willing to bravely step up a few times despite seeming creeped out at others.
50	* CreepyMortician: The zombie-fighting gravedigger is a fairly heroic version.
51	* DarkIsNotEvil: Nash is clad in black, a bit brooding, and kind of coarse when Gwen asks him out, but is ultimately fairly heroic.
52	* DamnedByFaintPraise: An accidental version. While they're surrounded by zombies, when Gwen finds out Steven had wanted to go to prom with her before learning she wanted to ask Nash, she tells him that he should have asked anyway. Steven says that she would have said no and Gwen replies (with an earnest smile) that if it was a choice between being at prom with him and being chased by zombies, she would have chose him.
53	* DateRape: Avertee. Mitch drives Lindsay to the cemetery before the dance, gives her a beer, and starts groping her, trying to calm her down when she protests before finally telling her to 'shut up'. Fortunately for her, he's dragged out of the car by zombies before it can go any further.
54	* TheDeadCanDance: Downplayed, but the zombies do slow dance a little whenever they hear Nash, Jensen and Dave's music.
55	* DecapitationPresentation: The zombies rip Mitch's head off and thrust it up against the car window, freaking out Lindsay.
56	* DelinquentHair: Kyle and his mohawk definitely count, and Dave the Drummer's hair is fairly wild as well.
57	* DevouredByTheHorde: When trying to escape the school, [[spoiler: Jensen, one of the band members,]] gets caught by a horde of zombies and gets devoured by them just before almost making it to the next classroom.
58	* DistractedFromDeath: A storekeeper reading a magazine fails to notice several zombies coming inside.
59	* TheDogBitesBack: Or rather the dissected frog in biology class rises from the dead and attacks the biology teacher while he's alone in the classroom.
60	* DumbBlonde: Gwen. Even before she opens her mouth: she decides to go for a jog instead of going to prom, and isn't seen again until Jimmy and Kyle are fighting zombies in the street...where she is still jogging as if nothing has happened.
61	--> '''Gwen''': ''(To Coach Keel)'' "I don't know how to shoot a machete."
62	* DumbassHasAPoint: DumbBlonde Gwen delivers this gem.
63	--> Um, Jimmy, he just got bit. So shouldn't we, like, leave?
64	** Earlier, she notes that they'll need years of therapy after fighting zombies.
65	* EntitledToHaveYou: Mitch displays some of arrogant possessiveness towards Lindsay.
66	* EverythingsDeaderWithZombies
67	* EyeScream: After tripping over and ripping her prom dress while fleeing from a zombie, Lindsey removes her shoe and stabs it in the eye with the heel
68	* {{Foreshadowing}}: At the start of the film, Nash says that he senses something bad in the air, relating to the power plant spewing chemicals into the atmosphere and creating zombies.
69	* FormerlyFit: Coach Keel is still somewhat buff, but notes that "this shit was a lot easier when I was twenty pounds lighter."
70	* FriendToAllLivingThings: Gwen, who is uncomfortable dissecting frogs in biology class, stating that she likes frogs.
71	* GirlPosse: Jennifer the prom queen has a couple of girl sidekicks credited as BFF's 1 and 2, although they don't seem to bully or look down on anyone and just campaign for her to be prom queen.
72	* {{Gorn}}: Occurs a few times in the film, most notably when Jimmy and Kyle are fighting against the zombies in the street.
73	** Also when [[spoiler: Jensen]] is torn apart by the zombies at the school.
74	* GoshDangItToHeck: Lindsay tends to avoid saying Fuck and tell people to "get the Off out of the way."
75	* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Blonde-haired Gwen is a PomPomGirl and FriendToAllLivingThings who is friendly with the geeky students even before they end up fighting zombies alongside of each other.
76	* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: Jimmy and Kyle rip one zombie in half, and the lower half os seen still running around.
77	* HeadphonesEqualIsolation: Gwen is jogging with her earbuds in and doesn't notice the zombies for a while.
78	* HeroOfAnotherStory: The Gravedigger. The opening of the movie has him carting around a wheelbarrow full of zombified hands, meaning the zombie problem has been going on for some time. By the end of the movie when the survivors drive away from the school, he walks toward it with a weary sigh, complaining about having to clean it up.
79	* HiddenDepths: When Jennifer finds out that Jules and George are from the Sci-Fi club, she actually gets a little excited at this and confides that she saw a UFO once.
80	* HorrorDoesntSettleForSimpleTuesday: Prom
81	* IDontWantToDie: Gwen admits this [[spoiler: after being bitten]].
82	* IdiotBall: After discovering that Gwen was bitten, Steven knows. that he shouldn't be standing in the same cubicle as her, that he should probably put her out of her misery before she turns, and that he definitely should not let her hug him...but he still decides to make out with her [[spoiler: ...and it costs him his life]].
83	* ImColdSoCold: An infected [[spoiler: Gwen]] says this.
84	* InformedJudaism: Jules mentions that he is Jewish, but this is only to make him seem JewishAndNerdy and does nothing to affect the plot.
85	* InnocentlyInsensitive: Steven and Gwen both get a moment of this at the expense of each other early on: Steven takes pleasure in dissecting the frog even as Gwen is grossed out by it, while Gwen doesn't get that Steven is asking her out and asks his opinion on whether or not she should ask Nash to go with her.
86	* InsufferableGenius: Jules runs the sci-fi club and occasionally struggles not to remind some of the other characters that he knows more than they do.
87	* ItCanThink: Two zombies carjack Jimmy's pizza van while he is arguing with Kyle. Also, one of the zombies at the prom still manages to spike the punch.
88	* {{Jerkass}}: A few of the characters can be quite rude and aggressive: Jules, Mitch, Kyle, Coach Keel and Mr. Hammond the science teacher are the main ones.
89	* JerkassHasAPoint:
90	** Mr. Hammond has a point about Jimmy fooling around with his frog and Steven using his camera during class. Subverted when he quickly crosses the line by forcing Gwen to dissect her frog.
91	** In the deleted scene where Jennifer and her friends reject Jimmy's asking them to prom. While they might have been a bit rude about, him asking them to prom the day of is pretty ridiculous. The fact he asks them all in a row at the same time doesn't help.
92	* JerkassWithAHeartOfGold: Turns out, Coach Keel really was just trying to help Jimmy.
93	* JerkWithAHeartOfJerk: Mitch initially comes across as shallow and trying to steal Jimmy's girlfriend, but perhaps being right that he doesn't respect her enough. Then we find out that he doesn't respect her either and is just making empty noises that make it sound like he does while trying to sleep with her and [[DateRape not stopping when she doesn't want to]].
94	* JoggersFindDeath: In a sense, Gwen wanders across a fight with zombies while jogging.
95	* JumpScare: The film definitely tries pulling a few of these early on.
96	* KissOfDeath: [[spoiler: Gwen turns into a zombie whilst making out with Steven in the toilet cubicle, turning him into a zombie too]].
97	* LifeSavingMisfortune: Jimmy and Lindsay's break up kept them from going to the prom, where they likely would have been infected with almost everyone else. The same could be said about Nash and his bandmates failing their audition to play for the prom, Gwen's original date getting sick and Nash refusing to go with her, and Steven's failure to get a date.
98	* LosingYourHead: What happens to Mitch after a zombie pulls him from his car while trying to [[spoiler: rape Lindsey]].
99	* LovableNerd: Steven.
100	* MadeOfPlasticine: The zombies are remarkably easy to tear apart. Of course, that could just be due to Coach Keel being a OneManArmy.
101	* MassOhCrap: When they realize they've taken refuge from in a funeral home, in a night where the dead are returning to life.
102	* MoralityPet: Literally, gruff Coach Keel resents the zombies for having killed his German shepherd.
103	* MustMakeAmends: [[spoiler: Kyle]] apologizes for his past actions to the others while about to turn into a zombie.
104	* MyCarHatesMe: Lindsay has trouble starting Mitch's car to escape at the cemetery.
105	* NotUsingTheZWord: Averted, as one of the characters refers to the undead as zombies at least once in the film.
106	* ObliviousToLove: Gwen doesn't get that Stephen is trying to ask her to prom when he approaches her after cheerleading practice [[InnocentlyInsensitive and asks if he thinks that Nash would want to go with her]]. Steven [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy reluctantly says that if he were Nash, he would]] but Nash isn't interested. Later, he spells it out for her, and she hints [[GiveGeeksAChance that she would have said yes]].
107	* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: Coach Keel casually mentions having had to kill his whole block after they turned into zombies.
108	* OurZombiesAreDifferent: It's unknown how exactly the power plant caused the undead to literally jump out of their graves, but they sure can run once they've set their sights on their prey.
109	** Also if you take into account that one of the frogs in the school's science lab somehow gets infected and turns into a zombie frog. It somehow manages to attack and infect the science teacher, [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse and is never seen again]].
110	* PairTheSpares: The prom queen and one of her friends get a little ShipTease with George and Jules.
111	* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: Coach Keel and Kyle both half-seriously throw around some homophobic slurs from time to time.
112	* PomPomGirl: Gwen isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer but is pretty nice and perky (bring willing to talk to the geeky Steven and ask his advice even while not returning his crush) and fairly chaste (based on her reaction to Nash turning down her invitation to prom but saying he will let her give him oral sex if she wants).
113	* PunchClockHero: The Gravedigger tries to put down zombies emerging from they're graves not necessarily out of heroism, but due to wanting to keep his job at the cemetery.
114	* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: Who else can bring an end to a zombie outbreak than the class clown, three nerds, a cheerleader, a bully with a criminal record, the head of the student council, the gym class coach, and the drummer, bassist and vocalist of a student rock band?
115	* RecklessGunUsage: When Jules gets his hand on Kyle's gun he quickly accidentally shoots the last round into the ceiling. Knowledge of this trope is implied to be why Coach Keel doesn't give any of the others guns.
116	* RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler: Kyle]], following the outbreak, starts acting less of a jerk toward Jimmy, Jules, Steven and George, going as far as saving them when they are trapped in the funeral home.
117	** In his dying breath, he apologises to Jimmy for "being a dick". [[AndThenJohnWasAZombie And then Kyle was a zombie]].
118	* RedheadInGreen: Lindsay at the start of the film wears a bright green blouse.
119	* RemovingTheHeadOrDestroyingTheBrain: The cemetery caretaker tells Jules, George and Steven that the latter is the only way to destroy the zombies.
120	* RiseFromYourGrave: When Jules, Steven and George are chased through the cemetery, the zombies can be seen literally jumping out from their graves and immediately breaking out into a run.
121	* RockTrio: Jensen, Dave and Nash are in a rock band together.
122	* RoomFullOfZombies: The school gym, where all but a handful of students have been turned into the undead, after the group arrive too little too late.
123	* SadistTeacher: Mr. Hammond the science teacher, who forces an uncomfortable Gwen into dissecting her frog during class and enjoys her disgusted reaction.
124	** A deleted scene has him physically manhandling Jimmy in the hallway out of anger at feeling disrespected.
125	* SavvyGuyEnergeticGirl: Jimmy is a BrilliantButLazy snarker, while Lindsay is the fiercely energetic student council Vide-president. Steven and Gwen also apply, to an extent.
126	* SayYourPrayers: Lindsay does this a few times right before they head into dangerous situations, noting that "we really need it" the second time. Played for laughs earlier when minor character Jennifer is seen praying to be elected Prom Queen.
127	* SearchingTheStalls: Jennifer and a bunch of other RedShirt survivors turn up alive, hiding in the bathroom stalls.
128	* ShoeSlap: Lindsay angrily stabs a zombie who made her rip her prom dress with one of her heels.
129	* ShovelStrike: The cemetery caretaker bashes zombies zombies with his shovel without so much as blinking an eyelid.
130	** Later in the film, Steven uses a shovel from Coach Keel's garage as his weapon of choice.
131	* SkewedPriorities: Jules congratulating Jennifer on bering crowned Prom Queen after they make it out of the school, something she quickly lampshades.
132	* SoreLoser: The RockTrio refuse to attend the prom because they weren't hired to play for it. Mitch also mentions that his family motto is to never let anyone else win at anything.
133	* StealthHiBye: At the funeral home Kyle sees a zombie lying on a table, looks down to reload his gun, and when he glances back up to shoot it, finds the body gone.
134	* StuffBlowingUp: Coach Keel decides to eliminate the zombies occupying the school with a bomb.
135	* TheComicallySerious: The Gravedigger.
136	* ThisIsGonnaSuck: The principal is seen taking a sip from a flask and muttering "prom" disgustedly at the beginning of the film. Even he probably didn't realize it would be ''that'' bad though.
137	* TitleOfTheDead
138	* TogetherInDeath: Zombified [[spoiler: Steven and Gwen]]. Provide a somewhat creepy example of this, with an InterplayOfSexAndViolence as they take bites from each other.
139	* TokenReligiousTeammate: Lindsay shows aspects of this, praying at times.
140	** Kyle also expresses the belief that the zombies are a sign from an angry God.
141	* TookALevelInBadass: While a few of the characters could fit this trope, the best example would be George, [[CharacterDevelopment which is shown as the film progresses]].
142	* UncertainDoom: The zombified [[spoiler: Steven and Gwen]] are last seen in the bathroom, but would have likely been blown up with the others.
143	* UncertifiedExpert: Lampshaded. The sci-fi club has some kind of device for detecting spooky energy that they got from George's brother at MIT. The others are quick to doubt it's usefulness though, pointing out that George's brother is an accounting major.
144	* UndeadChild: When Jimmy goes to deliver his final pizza before prom, the family he encounters are all zombified, including the young daughter.
145	* UseYourHead: Kyle angrily head buttsJimmy after overhearing Jimmy make a joke that Kyle will need to take one of his sisters to prom if he wants a date. Later George whacks a zombie this way while wearing a football helmet.
146	* UnwantedAssistance: The Sci-Fi club loudly yell out for Steven to ask Gwen out right as he's awkwardly trying to deny association with them while talking to her.
147	* WhatTheHellHero: Jules takes this attitude when Lindsay suggests that, before the group go to the school, they take a moment...[[PrayerIsALastResort to say a prayer]].
148	* WrongGenreSavvy: Jimmy doesn't recognize the first zombie he sees and thinks it's just a woman having a seizure. When Jensen first sees them, he assumes that Nash and Dave laced his dope with formaldehyde and he's hallucinating.
149	* YouAreTooLate: The main cast heads out to the school to try and stop the zombies (who ewill be attracted to the noise) from turning everyone at prom, but find nearly everyone there is infected already.
150	* YourMakeupIsRunning: Jennifer's makeup is a little smeared from crying when Jimmy and the others find the survivors in the bathroom.
151	* ZombieApocalypse: Essentially what Kyle thinks is happening.
152	* ZombieInfectee: [[spoiler: Kyle]] who is upfront about it due to the visible nature of the bite and turns quickly, and later [[spoiler: Gwen]] who is scared of being killed and doesn't tell anyone, although [[spoiler: she]] does try to move away from the main group.

Context Film / DanceOfTheDead