''All Souls Day'', or ''All Souls Day: Dia de los Muertos'', is a 2005 American

zombie film A zombie film is a film genre. Zombies are fictional creatures usually portrayed as reanimated corpses or virally infected human beings. They are commonly portrayed as cannibalistic in nature. While zombie films generally fall into the horror g ...

written by

Mark A. Altman Mark A. Altman is a writer, producer and actor. He is a former Los Angeles bureau chief for Cinefantastique magazine and was also a previous editor in chief of Sci-Fi Universe magazine. He has also been a writer for comic books. Credits Film ...

and directed by

Jeremy Kasten Jeremy Craig Kasten (born March 25, 1971) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and editor. Kasten is best known for his arthouse horror pieces, which range from psychological horror films such as '' The Attic Expeditions'' (20 ...

. It premiered at the 2005

Slamdance Film Festival The Slamdance Film Festival is an annual film festival focused on emerging artists. The annual week-long festival takes place in Park City, Utah, in late January and is the main event organized by the year-round Slamdance organization, which als ...

, and the

Sci Fi Channel Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Launc ...

played it on June 11, 2005. There is also an uncut version on DVD.

Plot

In a small Mexican town, Vargas Diaz uncovers a hidden Aztec temple deep in the nearby mine. Luring the townspeople in, he blows up the entrance, trapping those inside forever. In exchange for the sacrificing the townspeople, Vargas receives eternal life. Years later, a college couple vacationing in Mexico comes across the town, empty of people. After accidentally running into what appears to be a funeral procession, they uncover the deadly truth of the town's past. Every year on the

Day of the Dead The Day of the Dead ( es, Día de Muertos or ''Día de los Muertos'') is a holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2, though other days, such as October 31 or November 6, may be included depending on the locality. It is widely obser ...

a human sacrifice is presented at the local church to appease the spirits of the town's original inhabitants; however, this year the couple interferes with their sacrifice. With nothing to appease the dead, they return to kill the transgressors. Calling two of their friends for help, the four are left to fight off the growing hordes of the undead besieging their hotel, while trying to uncover the secrets hiding within the hotel's rooms.

Cast

Marisa Ramirez Marisa Maguire Ramirez (born September 15, 1977) is an American actress, known for her work on television soap operas and for her role on the American police procedural television drama series '' Blue Bloods'' as Detective Maria Baez. Early ...

as Alicia *

Travis Wester Travis Wester is an American actor. He was born on October 8, 1977, in the United States. Career An actor in American film and television, Wester's first role was in 1996's '' The Paper Brigade''. Portraying Jamie in 2004's '' EuroTrip'', Rot ...

as Joss *

Nichole Hiltz Nichole Marie Hiltz is an American actress. She has appeared in several films, made-for-TV movies, and television series. Her most recent long-running television credit is for USA Network's ''In Plain Sight'' from 2008 to 2012 in which she portra ...

as Erica *

Laz Alonso Laz or LAZ may refer to: People * Laz people of the Black Sea area **Laz language First name * Laz Alonso (born 1975), American actor * Laz Barrera (1924–1991), Cuban-born American racehorse trainer * Laz-D (born 1982), American rapper *Laz Dí ...

as Tyler *

Jeffrey Combs Jeffrey Alan Combs (born September 9, 1954) is an American actor. He is known for starring in horror films, such as ''Re-Animator'', and appearances playing a number of characters in the ''Star Trek'' and the DC animated universe television fra ...

as Thomas White *

Ellie Cornell Ellie Cornell (born December 15, 1963) is an American actress and producer. She made her film debut in the 1988 film ''Married to the Mob'' before becoming known for her roles as Rachel Carruthers Rachel Carruthers is a fictional character in ...

as Sarah White *

David Keith David Keith may refer to: * David Keith (novelist) (1906–1994), pen name of American scholar Francis Steegmuller *David Keith (actor) (born 1954), American film and TV performer and director *David Keith (physicist), Canadian-born Harvard Profess ...

as Sheriff Blanco *

Laura Harring Laura Elena, Countess von Bismarck-Schönhausen (née Martínez Herring; March 3, 1964), known professionally as Laura Harring, is a Mexican-American actress. In 1985, Harring became the first Hispanic woman crowned Miss USA. She later began her a ...

as Martia *

Danny Trejo Danny Trejo ( ; born May 16, 1944) is an American actor. He has appeared in films including ''Desperado'', ''Heat'', and the ''From Dusk Till Dawn'' film series. With frequent collaborator and his second cousin Robert Rodriguez, he portrayed ...

as Vargas Diaz

Release

''All Souls Day'' premiered at the 2005

. It aired on the

on June 11, 2005. Anchor Bay released it on DVD in the US on January 17, 2006.

Reception

Dennis Harvey of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote that it "sometimes appears to laugh at its own cliches, but mostly it's just dumb." Brad Miska of

Bloody Disgusting Bloody Disgusting is an American multi-media company, which began as a horror genre-focused news site/website specializing in information services that covered various horror medias, including: film, television, video games, comics, and music. ...

rated it 1/5 stars and called the execution "breathtakingly bad" despite the interesting premise. Joshua Siebalt of

Dread Central Dread Central is an American website founded in 2006 that is dedicated to horror news, interviews, and reviews. It covers horror films, comics, novels, and toys. Dread Central has won the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award for Best Website f ...

rated it 2.5/5 stars and wrote, "''All Souls Day'' ends up being a convoluted mess in the end that goes from mind-numbingly dull to head-spinningly confusing with nary an eye blink." Scott Weinberg of

DVD Talk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...

rated it 3/5 stars and recommended it to hardcore horror fans, who are likely to enjoy the campy aspects. David Johnson of

DVD Verdict DVD Verdict was a judicial-themed website for DVD reviews. The site was founded in 1999. The editor-in-chief was Michael Stailey, who owned the website between 2004 and 2016, and the site employed a large editorial staff of critics, whose reviews ...

wrote that the film has too many campy scenes and spends too much time attempting to explain its convoluted story.

References

External links

* * {{Amg movie, 337006, All Souls Day 2005 films 2005 horror films American supernatural horror films American zombie films Films set in Mexico Films scored by Joe Kraemer Day of the Dead films Holiday horror films 2000s English-language films Films directed by Jeremy Kasten 2000s American films