''Dead Tone'' (originally released as ''7eventy 5ive'') is a 2007 American

slasher film A slasher film is a genre of horror films involving a killer stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools like knife, chainsaw, scalpel, etc. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as ...

directed and written by

Brian Hooks Brian Hooks (born July 27, 1974) is an American actor, comedian, producer and director. He is best known for his roles as protagonist Rob Douglas in the screwball comedy '' 3 Strikes'', and Nick Delaney on the UPN television sitcom '' Eve''. ...

and

Deon Taylor Deon Taylor is an American filmmaker. He is the founder of Hidden Empire Film Group. Life Deon Taylor was born in Chicago and grew up in Gary, Indiana. During high school, he with his brother and mother moved to Sacramento, California. He has ...

. It stars Hooks,

Antwon Tanner Antwon Tanner (born April 14, 1975) is an American actor. He is best known for his recurring role as Michael on the UPN sitcom ''Moesha'' (1996–97), and its spinoff ''The Parkers'' (2001) and as Antwon "Skills" Taylor on the drama series, '' On ...

Cherie Johnson Cherie Johnson (born November 21, 1975) is an American actress, writer, film producer, and author. She is known for her roles on ''Punky Brewster'' as Punky's best friend Cherie and ''Family Matters'', where she played Laura Winslow's best fri ...

Rutger Hauer Rutger Oelsen Hauer (; 23 January 1944 – 19 July 2019) was a Dutch actor. In 1999, he was named by the Dutch public as the Best Dutch Actor of the Century. Hauer's career began in 1969 with the title role in the Dutch television series ' ...

, German Legarreta,

Gwendoline Yeo Gwendoline See-Hian Yeo (; born 10 July 1977) is a Singaporean actress, musician and writer best known for her roles as Dr. Kelly Lee on '' General Hospital'', Xiao-Mei on '' Desperate Housewives'' and Sun Fu in ''Broken Trail''. She is also kno ...

and

Aimee Garcia Aimee Sandimés Garcia López de Ordóñez (born November 28, 1978) is an American actress and writer. She is known for her television roles as Veronica Palmero on the ABC sitcom ''George Lopez'', Yvonne Sanchez on the CBS period drama ''Veg ...

Plot

The film begins with a sleepover of children. They prank call people while playing the game Seventy Five. Meanwhile, their parents are in the other room having drinks. The rules of the game are that you must keep a random person on the line for 75 seconds, and they must believe what you’re saying. As the night goes on, the kids go to bed, and a man whom the kids recently called calls back, before jumping from a closet and attempting to kill one of the kids before a parent jumped in front of him. The killer goes on to killing the parents in the house with an

axe An axe ( sometimes ax in American English; see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, to harvest timber, as a weapon, and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has ma ...

. As the children hide in the bedroom, the killer opens a closet to discover some of the kids and attempts to murder them. Before he can, one of the kid’s mothers jumps on him and is then choked to death by the killer. He then hears police sirens and flees. He is never caught. Ten years later, Chuck (Josh Hammond) is murdered in his house by an unknown figure. Two detectives, Detective Anne Hastings (

) and Detective John Criton (

) discover Chuck was one of the children involved in the Waley murders 10 years previously. They begin an investigation and find more of the survivors have been murdered. Meanwhile, Brandon ( Jonathan Chase) is throwing a party at his fathers secluded mansion. Brandon invites his ex-girlfriend, Karina (Judy Taylor), so he can try to get back together with her, but she insists that her group of friends also come, including Marcus (

), Roxy (

), Shawn (

Germán Legarreta Germán Legarreta (born August 30, 1981) is a Puerto Rican actor. Biography Early life Legarreta was born Germán Legarreta Quiles in San Juan, Puerto Rico; it did not take long for him to get his first big break—a commercial when he was just ...

), Kareem (

), Scott (

Wil Horneff William Samuel "Wil" Horneff (born June 12, 1979) is an American former child actor and martial artist who won two Young Artist Awards from three nominations. After leaving his career as an actor, Horneff opened Training Grounds Jiu-Jitsu & MMA ...

) and Jody (

). As the group arrive and the party starts, Brandon and his friend Cal (Austin Basis) show everyone around, revealing that the house is filled with cameras which can be monitored on screens in the monitoring room, due to the house previously being used as a reality show set. While the party is happening, Criton and Hastings are looking for the children from the Waley murders. They locate Melissa to find that she has been killed and later find out that a male has also been killed in a different scene. After a few hours of partying, Marcus suggests a game of Seventy Five. Various people take part, until one caller murders someone for the group to hear. They all decide to not answer the phone and continue with their night. As the party finishes and most people leave, Karina and Brandon reconcile. Becky ( Ellen Woglom) and Julie (Soraya Kelley) stay up partying with two boys. However, the killer soon arrives at the house and decapitates Becky, before killing the boys and Julie. The killer proceeds to decapitate a boy in the hot tub before drowning his girlfriend. Kareem sees the bodies in the pool and rounds up Roxy, Marcus and Anna (Denyce Lawton) to leave. The group split up to warn the others. Marcus and Anna find Jody and Cal, however they are soon attacked by the killer who murders Anna, while the others flee into Brandon and Karina's room. After Kareem and Roxy arrive with an unconscious Scott, who Kareem accidentally knocked out, the group lock themselves in the room. Brandon blames Marcus for the murders, causing a fight to break out. After a while of waiting, Brandon and Karina leave to retrieve keys for Brandon's car, while Marcus and Kareem search for Shawn. The killer soon attacks Brandon and Karina, and Brandon is eventually axed in the back, killing him. The killer then throws Karina off the balcony, however she survives and runs into the monitor room to hide. Marcus and Kareem hear someone calling for help and return to the room only to find Scott with a dead Roxy. Meanwhile, Cal goes outside to try and hot wire a car. As he succeeds, the killer appears and beats him to death, although he does manage to summon help to the house. Marcus and Kareem manage to overpower the killer and pin him to the ground. As Kareem urges Scott to kill him, he instead murders Kareem. After confronting Scott and then being attacked by Scott, Marcus hides in the monitor room with Karina, watching in horror as Jody and then Shawn are murdered. Scott soon comes to the monitoring room, with his accomplice (

Kyle Turley Kyle John Turley (born September 24, 1975) is a former American football offensive tackle who played nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Selected 7th overall in the 1998 NFL draft, Turley played five seasons for the New Orleans ...

), who is revealed to be an inmate from the mental hospital they both recently escaped from. He goes on to reveal that he is, in fact, Scott's twin brother, William, and that he murdered Scott before they left for the party. William tells Marcus he blames him for the deaths of his parents all those years ago as he was the one that wanted to play Seventy Five. William then turns on his accomplice, stabbing him, before a fight breaks out between him, Karina and Marcus. Eventually, William stabs Karina to death. While Marcus swings the axe to kill William, Detectives Anne and John arrive and shoot Marcus, believing he is the killer. As Anne and John comfort William, the accomplice rises with an axe and swings it towards the detectives.

Cast

as Marcus *

as Kareem *

as Roxy *

as Jody Walters *

Jud Tylor Jud Tylor (born March 24, 1979) is a Canadian television and film actress. She has had recurring roles in a number of television programs including ''That '70s Show'' and '' Edgemont''. Career Tylor was born on March 24, 1979 in Vancouver, Briti ...

as Karina *

as Scott * Jonathan Chase as Brandon O'Connell * German Legarreta as Shawn *

Austin Basis Austin Lee Basis (born September 14, 1976) is an American actor. Early life and education Basis was born in Brooklyn, New York, where he attended Mark Twain Intermediate School 239 and Midwood High School. While majoring in theatre at Bingha ...

as Lucius 'Crazy Cal' Dupree *

as Detective John Criton *

as Detective Ann Hastings * Ellen Woglom as Becky * Derek Rook as William * Denyce Lawton as Anna *

as Accomplice * Josh Hammond as Chuck Newton * Soraya Kelley as Julie * Holly Boyd as Marcus's mother (opening scene)

Production

The film was produced by Magic Johnson's production company. Producers, Lisa Diane Washington. Associate Producers, Anita M. Cal and Tony Moore.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by Vincent Gillioz and featured songs from

Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean (; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, musician, and actor. At the age of nine, Jean immigrated to the United States with his family. He first achieved fame as a member of the New Jersey hip hop group the Fugees, a ...

and Unset.

Release

The film was shot in May 2005 but remained unreleased for nearly two years. It had its world premiere on 16 May 2007 as part of the Cannes Film Market and its US debut was on July 23, 2007 at the Sacramento Film Festival. The DVD was released on February 9, 2010 from Screen Media.New Trailer for Deon Taylor's Dead Tone
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References

External links

* * {{Deon Taylor 2007 films 2007 directorial debut films 2007 horror films 2007 psychological thriller films American slasher films American horror thriller films Films directed by Deon Taylor Films shot in California Prank calling Films about telephony 2000s English-language films 2000s American films