Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead (2009)

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

This movie is so confusing and weird The plot: about the Vampire named Theo went into a theater and killed a woman there, even this film turned to the character of Justin a director and playboy who likes to change girlfriends .... This movie is so boring, weird, and not funny .. Although this movie is labeled comedy genre but not funny at all ... Too much drama .. I thought this was a horror movie .. Ohhh wasted my time ... Do not watch this movie and do not waste your time .... If not yes you just watch this movie to feel its strangeness

I should have known, but curiosity got the better of me. A movie titled like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Undead is something irresistible to me, much like Rugsuckers from Outer Space or Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead. Whether or not the movie itself is very good always remains to be seen. The film purports itself to be clever just by its title- a take off on Tom Stoppard's play which itself was a take-off on the classic Shakespeare tale. It could perhaps even work as a Troma movie. But what it turns out to be is a, ahem, romantic comedy with vampires and a weak, limp-noodle screenplay by first-time feature-filmmaker Jordan Galland, who writes stuff that should be clever but isn't clever enough by half.I'm sure some will find the dialog witty and spot-on for the tone Galland is after, which I suppose is something of a cross between straight-up horror and romantic comedy. The story follows an unlikeable theater director, Julian Marsh (played with equally lame and dull screen presence by Jake Hoffman), who responds to an ad looking for a director to helm an upcoming off-off-off Broadway production of Hamlet. Turns out the ad was really looking for a director who could "easily be controlled", this being Theo (John Ventimiglia, who all but steals Robert Downey Jr's persona for the performance), who is in fact a vampire but hides it oh-so-not conspicuously... except, of course, from Julian, who thinks this re-vamp (no pun intended) of Hamlet called Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead and is a take-off on the classic, is just dandy.That is, alas, until several things happen, which include his best friend and actor Vince (funny but not really that funny played by Kris Lemiche) is bitten by Theo the vampire and his two 'girls', and Julian's friend-girl (not quite girlfriend due to his philandering) is cast as Ophelia and, also, turned into a vampire, AND that he gets an instructional video from a society that is looking to get a Holy Grail Theo has that he will use to kill the whole cast and the audience opening night. As all of this goes on, we see scenes and dialog roll along that are, at best, amusing. There are few laughs to be had in some scenes, such as the actors playing Rosencrantz and Guildenstern suggesting some changes to their characters (albeit one of them becoming a running gag that turns less funny as the film goes along), and it's also a pleasant surprise to see Jeremy Sisto appear as a detective, however in only a few precious scenes where he can only do so much.I can't say how this will do with audiences. Some will come to already knowing that they'll enjoy it, or perhaps their sense of humor goes for the more obvious than mine does. I love over the top horror and bad puns and jokes, but the problems in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead all come back to a few key things: the script is full of lame running gags and one-liners, the characters save on occasion for Ventimiglia's Downey-like vampire or Aoki's sexy girl-turned vamp, aren't interesting, and the lead character (and actor) are not convincing as a protagonist. In fact, the script takes itself a little too high on itself as a meta-work to really be a crazy over-the-top horror comedy, and when it could be a good horror movie, save for the first time we see Theo and his girls sucking the blood out of a guy in an alley, it's not scary or much atmospheric.Some laughs pick up in the climax, when things start to turn around and Hamlet finally appears (!), but by then it's a little too late to save the rest of the movie. No one has dimension enough to care about them and to take it seriously, and it's not funny enough to be a funny-crazy-bloody comedy. I really came in hoping for the best, and it's been given a nice little grass-roots promotional campaign (outside the theater in NYC there was a guy with a full poster hanging around his neck and with fliers and discount beer at the local bar et all), but the film itself was just... weak. It needed more teeth gnashed at the viewer, or a sense of 'screw it all' and go for broke, instead of such clever insights like, say, title cards with "Long Day's Journey into Fright." Ho-Hum.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Undead is quite 'brilliant' cleverly written & directed by Jordan Galland with the exceptionally beautiful musical score by Sean Lennon which seems to breathe life and color to the story and the players ,they have successfully brought new life to Shakespeares characters , not an easy feat by any means.Everything in this film works seamlessly ,the players the direction , the musical score I have always thought 'arthouse' was the most pure and authentic of all film making, it is from here that some of the best films ever made have been born.Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Undead will certainly live on.If you are really really "lucky" you get the opportunity to share in something truly special such is the experience of seeing the work of a brilliant young film maker , Jordan has sealed his place in the world of film making with this iconic production ,and as he continues to write and produce other works he will join the list of outstanding film makers

I sometimes wonder if I am watching the same film as some of the major reviewers. Reuters,The NY Times,and many others have slammed this delightful indie film that is finally getting a release(it was shot in 2007).The quirky horror comedy with a NY Off-Off Broadway Theatre backdrop held my attention from the moment it started and when it was over I wanted to watch it again! The "True" story of HAMLET is finally to be told, and it involves vampires(having seen so many groups try to update/improve Shakespeare, by placing JULIUS CAESAR in space for example, the idea of a group having a bloodsucking Gloomy Dane seemed less far fetched to me!).The cast is wonderful (kudos Hoffman,Ventimiglia,Zien,and Lemche ), the jokes actually work, and the technical aspects are slick but not overly flashy (no quick cuts to make the film seem more exciting than it is ). As a working union actor and a long time horror fan(including working on SCARLET THE FILM MAGAZINE),I think I can offer an informed opinion to how well the film works as a satire on theatre and the ever-growing fright genre. Recommended to anyone who likes quirky original well acted cinema.