Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		1.5
Audio		2.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		1.5

Dead Man on Campus Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman June 28, 2021

School is supposed to be deadly serious business but for more than a few students it's an opportunity for booze and babes rather than books and baccalaureate. That's certainly the story of Dead Man on Campus, Director Alan Cohn's hit-and-miss Comedy about the importance of receiving, not earning, good grades in order to hold onto the opportunity to continue doing everything college has to offer but leaning. It's a decent premise but within a larger movie that languishes during its second half, struggling to hold interest during a wash-rinse-repeat stretch of sequences that only test the viewer's patience rather than fine-tune the experience once it reaches what should be its main draw.

Josh Miller (Tom Everett Scott) has worked his way to earning a good scholarship at college. He wants to study and earn good grades, unlike his roommate, Cooper (Mark-Paul Gosselaar), who has no interest in school work or earning good grades or even going to class: he's in it for the parties. They butt heads but when Josh finally has sex, he comes to realize that maybe Cooper's views on life and school aren't so hairbrained after all. Josh's grades begin to slide and eventually plummet. When he flunks all of his courses and learns that he has to maintain a B+ average to keep his scholarship, he panics. And when Cooper's dad finally threatens to cut him off for good, he also panics. The boys learn about an ancient school bylaw that says if their roommate commits suicide, they will be given straight-A's. They set out to find the most high strung and suicidal student on campus to room with them and kill himself before their next report cards are due.

Dead Man on Campus is all about the college experience, about living it to the fullest, but for that to happen, someone's just going to have to die. It's an interesting premise, one that's about finding that ancient "out" clause for a couple of roomies to save their skin by saving their grades in the guise of mourning over a dead roommate. It's actually pretty morbid, viewing a human being as an expendable sacrifice, essentially, to the college gods who will grant a consolation prize to anyone who shows up at the dean's office with a corpse in tow. The film does its best to make a Comedy out of the premise, which it does well enough in the first half when the roommates are at odds with one another, when Josh is trying to study but the wheels keep falling off because of Cooper's distractions. Then Josh has sex and comes to appreciate the college scene and all it has to offer, his grades be damned. That's where the story shifts, when the roommates concoct the plot to drive a fellow student to suicide. It begins to feel repetitive, even as they parade different "victims" around with them, each of them with a unique personality and mental deterioration. Try as it might, though, Dead Man on Campus can't find much life in these scenes the roommates obviously hope will lead to death. There are some funny bits but they drag more than they sing and the film's resolution isn't much to write home about, either.

The movie's technical merits are...bare bones, essentially. Alan Cohn is obviously not working with a big budget, big stars, a great script, or anything along those lines, and he crafts the movie adequately (though it's hard to tell on this pathetic Blu-ray) in order to frame action and story in a way that is not difficult on the senses. Otherwise, it's mostly up to the cast to carry the movie, and it does so well enough. Gosselaar and Scott share adequate chemistry as clashing personalities who gradually drift together in order to achieve a common goal but do little to elevate their characters, mostly because there's nowhere to elevate the material to. Their work is fine, contextually, and nothing more. Ditto the supporting cast. Lochlyn Munro and Randy Pearlstein play the crazy-slash-suicidal students with a decent bit of flair but again there's no nuance; it's all over the top but, eh, their work plays well enough even in the movie's lesser half.

Dead Man on Campus Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Maybe it's time to retract the praise for Paramount from the Head of State review. Well, there's certainly truth to "Paramount is hitting home runs with most every release" but, Dead Man on Campus is the reason for the word "most." This is a terrible presentation. It's almost impossible to describe. Most generally speaking, the image looks like it's being seen through a mesh filter. It sort of looks like watching a movie on the PlayStation VR, but worse. It looks very low-res, grossly over processed to where grain is not at all organic, details are flat and lacking more than even simple structural definition, and colors languish in tepid output. There's only basic visible texture to faces, allowing viewers to see the big picture crudeness but experience absolutely no feel for even the slightest detail. Forget facial pores and lines, fine detail in dorm rooms or clothes, and textures around campus. Its all nonexistent. As mentioned, colors are severely wanting. They're dim and disappointing. Black levels are decent, at least (see a nighttime scene at the 21-minute mark), but skin tones are pasty and flat. There are some signs of print wear and tear as well. This is a terrible presentation. What a shame because the movie isn't half bad, at least in its first half.

Dead Man on Campus Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

In contrast to the video presentation, the audio track at least rates as "serviceable." While the track is best described as "flat" there's at least a modicum of life about it. Surrounds are used sparingly but width is fine and clarity meets a baseline acceptable level. Listeners will never feel immersed and engaged in the film's soundscape, though, keeping them at arm's length with a track that is proficient with the basics but fails to deliver anything more advanced. That's partly due to the straightforward sound design but the track could certainly stand a little more pure clarity and definition to all of its moving parts. Music is acceptably detailed and wide but lacking lifelike output. Campus environmental sounds come across as stifled rather than lively. Dialogue is at least workably clear and centered but the track, overall, is wanting for significantly more dynamism, more expression. What's here works in context (particularly paired with a so-so movie and a horrible video presentation) but there's much room for improvement as it is.

Dead Man on Campus Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of Dead Man on Campus includes one extra: the film's Theatrical Trailer (1080p, 2:20). No DVD or digital copies are included with purchase. This release does not ship with a slipcover.

Dead Man on Campus Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Dead Man on Campus posits an interesting premise but struggles to hold interest as the roommates go about the process of selecting their victim. It's repetitious and tiresome, a shame because at its heart is a decently funny movie about clashing college personalities and the lengths they will go to in order to fulfill their own selfish interests. Adding insult to injury is a horrible Blu-ray, easily one of the worst Paramount has released in some time. Horrifically processed video, a flat lossless soundtrack, and no extras beyond a trailer make this a disc well worth avoiding.