The film opens with some nice special effects and scenes from outer space as an object breaks off of some dark matter and enters the blue planet...the one covered with water and called "Earth." The story centers around Chris (Fabian Wolfrom) who had some sort of alien encounter as a child and is afraid of the dark. Ten years later a comet arrives and aliens once again occupy Paris. Chris goes to a party and drinks some drink laced with....who knows and then starts seeing faces melt like he took too much acid. But wait! It seems this dumb stuff is somehow real as aliens do whatever it is evil aliens do.

The film started great until someone opened their mouth then it was Oh oh. This is not dubbed very well. I don't mean 60's Italian film bad, but it was noticeable. The plot was not well developed. You had some idea about aliens, but the invading alien horde wasn't really explained and the night time scenes peaked your interest, but not excitement level. Not as entertaining as that Hitler/Nazi thing at the center of the earth, but more realistic.

Parental Guide: F-bomb, sex, nudity (Caterina Perazzi )

Scream Factory is branching out in a very big and positive way. Once known as the king of horror movie re-issues, they're starting to grab up some fine new material and broaden their horizons. If you count the Chiller Original Movies, then you know they've been heading this way for a while now. French sci-fi/ horror gem "Dead Shadows" can now be added to the list. Imagine "Night of the Comet" blended together with "The Thing" and you get an idea of what to expect from this creepy little flick.

Chris has been a recluse ever since seeing his parents die eleven years earlier on the eve of Halley's Comet's fly-over of the Earth. Deathly afraid of the dark, he keeps to himself and doesn't leave his flat very often. He decides to break his own rules to celebrate the appearance of another comet at a party with his beautiful neighbor. As the comet passes by our planet, the people around him become increasingly violent. He soon discovers there's more behind their erratic behavior than just a gravitational change or ingesting too much alcohol.

"Dead Shadows" is considered to be not rated. If put before the MPAA, it would easily earn an R rating. There are plenty of gory and disturbing sequences of violence and alien transformations. I found myself even cringing at some points. The movie contains some sexual content, nudity, and language as well.

"Dead Shadows" is one of those great "straight-and-to-the-point" movies. It doesn't take thirty minutes of your valuable time gearing up and going through the motions. It establishes characters quickly and gets to the meat, potatoes, and gore. The movie is such a thrill-ride that when the credits roll you're left begging for more. That's how you know you've just seen something unique and different. How often are you left feeling like that these days?

The bizarre "Dead Shadows" is a terrible film with a messy screenplay and awful protagonist. There is no backstory or character development explaining the weird situation. The viewer learns that a family is destroyed in the disconnected beginning of the movie without any further explanation. Eleven years later there is a comet passing close to or maybe crashing on Paris. People is celebrating the end of the world, but out of the blue, they turn into grotesque creatures. The lead actor is a strange guy that seems to have the power of attracting easy and shallow women including his gorgeous next door neighbor. The violence is free and the CGI is very poor, recalling a Sci-Fi production. The unexpected conclusion is awful and completes with golden key this forgettable mess. My vote is three.

Title (Brazil): "Sombras da Morte" ("Dead Shadows")