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" deftly does that high wire act between horror and comedy, never pausing to look down at all the failed attempts rotting in the canyon below. This is a terrific film delivering on the promise of its unique concept, and it thrives on the strength of some wonderful character writing.

Scott Dunn directs, and also owns his space as the film's namesake: Jay Mandao gets by on royalties from his dead dad's cereal business, taking in just enough to also support his none-too-motivated nephew. Soon Jay realizes a burgeoning skillset in the socially neglected niche of astral projection; an epiphany that sets the wonderfully honed humor into full and joyous motion.

Like the best of films in comedy and/or horror, a soul has to emerge from the inside, and Jay is in abundant possession of it. Dunn terrifically threads Jay's heartfelt connection to his old man's lineage, and sets it off by surrounding Jay with a terrific ensemble of uniquely memorable characters. "Mandao Of The Dead" is a massively entertaining film, made so by the director's expert craftsmanship in reaching for and achieving something a bit aspirational.

Living off his relative's inheritance, a man living with a loner slacker friend finds that his strange dreams are signaling the ability to astral projection, but by doing so he comes upon a ghost wanting him to perform certain actions with his powers that put them all in great danger.

For the most part, this was a rather enjoyable effort. One of it's better aspects is the rather strong and enjoyable atmosphere that creates a rather light, easy-going tone. The friendship between the two is a prime example, but the main starting point here is the revelation of his ability to astral project that provides this one with the most to like as it features some lighthearted comedic moments. With the main focus in the middle of the film coming specifically from this aspect of the film, there's a rather breezy tone that's established rather enjoyable to get through. This is mainly due to the projection sequences themselves being rather enjoyable. There's an otherworldly quality to these scenes of them interacting together in a different plane of existence, with the ethereal tone, voices and generally odd atmosphere showing them interacting with the different figures in his dreams. As these help the movie along with its main goal of helping the friend to overcome his affliction by recreating the events that killed them resulting in some madcap adventures to always right their wrongs, making for a lot to really like with this one. The film's main issue is the inability to connect with the best friend making it difficult to really sympathize with his situation. The idea of the lonely man-child in his mid-thirties who stays home, watches cartoons and does nothing all day is not funny in concept or execution, leaving the entire woe-is-me routine of the first half rather flat and lame. Thankfully, it's kept to a minimum that doesn't affect the film all that much in the end, but the idea of it still being a prominent part of how we're supposed to get on his side being a reliable friend. The other main issue here is a real lack of explanation for what's going on within the film. Not only is there no real reason for why he's suddenly able to perform this strange ability, but the idea of what it wants to do with him is also completely misguided from what the actual action is supposed to be. As well, the entire concept of suddenly being able to interact with the dead through this activity is never explained or given, leading to a real sense of confusion as for how they came into contact with each other and what he expects to occur based on their interaction with each other. These here are what hold it down somewhat.

Rated Unrated/R: Language and Violence.