Jay Mandao (Scott Dunn) may not be rich, but he’s living comfortably off of his late father’s cereal royalties. He just wants to be left alone, but has to take care of his adult nephew-in-law, Jackson (Sean McBride). Now with Halloween close, Jay has been suffering from strange dreams and learning that he can project his spirit astrally. And then, the ghost of a not dead yet friend lets Jay know that he has moments to live, as a vampiric ex-girlfriend is ready to murder him.

I really found myself liking this movie. While many have compared it to Shaun of the Dead, I found it to be much closer to John Dies at the End. That’s not a bad thing. There’s a fun repartee between the main characters and I really enjoyed their cab driver, Fer (Gina Gomez).

Written and directed by star Scott Dunn, this movie practically flies by. At times, it feels like you’ve been dropped into a story in the middle of it already happening. And then it feels like you’ve been friends with these characters for a long time.

Another bonus is that despite its budget, unlike so many direct to streaming releases, it doesn’t look cheap.

Mandao of the Dead is available exclusively on Amazon Instant Video and will be released on iTunes in February 2019. A sequel, Mandao of the Damned, is in production.

DISCLAIMER: The production team sent me a copy of this film, but it didn’t impact my review.