''The Gingerdead Man'' is a 2005 American comedy slasher film directed by

Charles Band Charles Robert Band (born December 27, 1951) is an American film producer and director, known for his work on horror comedy movies. Career Band entered film production in the 1970s with Charles Band Productions. Dissatisfied with distributo ...

Gary Busey Gary Busey (; born 1944) is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Buddy Holly in ''The Buddy Holly Story'' (1978), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor and won the National Society of Film Critics ...

stars as the titular Gingerdead Man, created from a mix of gingerbread spice mix and the ashes of deceased serial killer Millard Findlemeyer, who terrorizes a small-town bakery. The film also stars Robin Sydney, Jonathan Chase, Alexia Aleman, Margaret Blye, James Snyder, and Larry Cedar.

Plot

In a

Waco, Texas Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the st ...

diner, Cadillac Jack's, crazed killer Millard Findlemeyer opens fire on the Leigh family, killing Jeremy and James, but leaving Sarah and her mother, Betty, alive. Findlemeyer is arrested and sentenced to die in the

electric chair An electric chair is a device used to execute an individual by electrocution. When used, the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes fastened on the head and leg. This execution method, ...

. After the execution, Findlemeyer is

cremated Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre i ...

, and his ashes are sent to his mother, a

witch Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...

who mixes the ashes with a gingerbread spice mix. The Bakery, a pastry shop run by the Leighs, is in dire straits, and Betty has been reduced to a shotgun-toting alcoholic; Sarah sends her home with Bakery employee Julia. Jimmy Dean attempts to buy Sarah out, so he can knock down The Bakery, which he bemoans as an eyesore. After exchanging hostilities with Dean's daughter Lorna, Sarah defers the decision. Sarah and Brick Fields, another Bakery employee, find a mysterious gingerbread spice mix left at their doorstep by Findlemeyer's mother. They set to using the mix, but Brick cuts himself, unknowingly allowing his blood to pollute the dough. Sarah permits him to leave early so he can pursue his amateur wrestling career as The Butcher-Baker at Wrestlepalooza. She makes a large

gingerbread man A gingerbread man or a Gingerbread man cookie is a biscuit or cookie made from gingerbread, usually in the shape of a stylized form / caricature of a human being, although other shapes, especially seasonal themes (Christmas, Halloween, Easter, et ...

with the contaminated dough and puts it in an industrial oven to bake. Lorna has returned and planted a rat in The Bakery so the

health department A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their ow ...

will shut them down, but is discovered by Sarah. A fight ensues, during which Lorna hits a switch that causes a surge of electricity into the oven where the gingerbread man is cooking, animating it. Amos Cadbury, Lorna's boyfriend, who has gotten tired of waiting outside for her, arrives on the scene. Sarah removes the gingerbread man from the oven, at which point the newly dubbed "Gingerdead Man" leaps up, taunting them. They attempt to lock the living cookie in the freezer, and Sarah tries to call the police but the line is dead. Lorna calls her dad on Amos’s cell phone before the batteries go dead. Betty comes back to look for her stash of alcohol, and Julia comes back looking for Betty. Betty loses a finger and is put into the oven, while Julia is knocked out by a frying pan, encased in frosting, decorated, and left in the freezer. Amos returns to his car and retrieves a handgun. Jimmy Dean arrives to pick up Lorna. While he investigates Amos’s car, the Gingerdead Man takes Jimmy's car and, using a rolling pin to operate the accelerator, kills him by pinning him between the car and a wall. Amos and Sarah discover and rescue Julia from the freezer. Sarah tells Amos that she thinks the killer cookie is Millard. Lorna waits outside for her father, but discovers only his body sprawled over the hood of his car. She steals his ring and heads back inside, where she triggers a

tripwire A tripwire is a passive triggering mechanism. Typically, a wire or cord is attached to a device for detecting or reacting to physical movement. Military applications Such tripwires may be attached to one or more mines – especially fragm ...

that lodges a knife into her forehead, killing her. Sarah and Amos admit their feelings for one another before they find Betty and attempt to rescue her from the oven, but the Gingerdead Man locks Sarah in the oven and knocks Amos out with a hammer. Amos recovers, shoots the oven door's lock off, and saves Sarah. Brick returns to help, but the Gingerdead Man grabs Amos's pistol and opens fire. Julia and Brick manage to subdue him, and Brick eats the cookie's head. Shortly afterwards, Brick is possessed by the Gingerdead Man. He attacks Sarah before she is rescued by Amos and Julia, who push Brick into the oven and turn the heat on full, finally killing him. Several months later, Betty, Sarah, and Amos are having a bake sale to raise money for the hospital, with a little help from two nurses. Two kids ask if they have any gingerbread cookies, and one of the nurses tells them that an older lady stopped by and dropped some off. The nurse opens the box, revealing five gingerbread cookies, who open their eyes. One of the gingerbread cookies is bought by a woman, who also buys a box full of pastries and ships them to her sister in Los Angeles.

Cast

as Millard Findlemeyer / The Gingerdead Man * Robin Sydney as Sarah Leigh * Ryan Locke as Amos Cadbury * Alexia Aleman as Lorna Dean * Jonathan Chase as 'Brick' Fields * Margaret Blye as Betty Leigh * Daniela Melgoza as Julia * Newell Alexander as James Leigh * James Snyder as Jeremy Leigh * Larry Cedar as Jimmy Dean * E. Dee Biddlecome as Millard's mother * Debra Mayer as Nurse #1 * Kaycee Shank as Nurse #2

Production

In an interview with PopHorror.com, Charles Band reportedly offered Busey $25,000 to star in the film expecting him to turn it down but Busey accepted.

Reception

The horror website

Bloody Good Horror ''Bloody'', as an adjective or adverb, is a commonly used expletive attributive in British English, Australian English, Irish English, Indian English and a number of other Commonwealth nations. It has been used as an intensive since at leas ...

gave the film a negative review, stating "It's one of the shortest, yet hardest to watch, films. icI've ever seen." Criticisms were directed at the film's humor and it's writing. According to Horror Society this film lacks a plot and makes very little sense. The review stated the "acting was atrocious" and "insanely stupefied." Like many other Full Moon properties, the film spawned a franchise of sequels, crossovers, shorts, and comic books, as well as merchandise.

Sequels and crossover film

On October 9, 2007, it was revealed that '' Gingerdead Man 2: Passion of the Crust'' had begun shooting. It was released in 2008. It included new monsters called "Tiny Terrors" (a pun on the unreleased Puppet Master

Bobblehead A bobblehead, also known by common silly nicknames such as nodder, wobbler, or wacky wobbler, is a type of small collectible action figure. Its head is often oversized compared to its body. Instead of a solid connection, its head is connected t ...

line and an homage to the Full Moon’s many “killer toy“ properties) On July 16, 2008,

announced a third film, '' Gingerdead Man 3: Saturday Night Cleaver''. The film was slated for a 2009 release, but filming was delayed until January 2010. The film was released on September 13, 2011, and sees the Gingerdead Man travel back in time to slash his way through a Roller Disco Competition. In 2013 ''

Gingerdead Man vs. Evil Bong ''Gingerdead Man vs. Evil Bong'' is a 2013 American crossover horror comedy film produced by Full Moon Features, about a battle between the namesake characters from two other film series, ''The Gingerdead Man'' and ''Evil Bong''. The film was r ...

'' was released serving as the fourth film in the ''Gingerdead Man'' series while also being a crossover with the

Evil Bong ''Evil Bong'' is a 2006 American stoner horror comedy film directed by Charles Band about a group of stoners who smoke from a sentient, malevolent bong that traps the smoker in The Bong World, a surreal realm filled with killer strippers and othe ...

films. It follows the Gingerdead Man’s quest for vengeance on survivor Sarah Leigh. A 5th movie titled Gingerdead Man: Rebaked! was announced in a pre credits teaser in Evil Bong 666 (2017) but never got made

Prominence in the Evil Bong series

Starting with ''

'', The Gingerdead Man serves as a reoccurring antagonist, appearing in ''Evil Bong 420'' as the main antagonist and ''Evil Bong High-5!'' as a supporting character, returning in ''Evil Bong 666'' as the secondary antagonist. The character Sarah Leigh also becomes a supporting character in the Evil Bong series going forward, and is referred to in Evil Bong 666 and 777 as Faux Batty Boop. He's also the overarching antagonist of ''Evil Bong 777'' though remaining dead the entire film. He is set to return in ''Evil Bong 888: Infinity High''.

Comic books

On December 7, 2015,

Action Lab Comics Action Lab Entertainment (also known as Action Lab Comics or ALE), is an American publisher of comic books, known primarily for the publication of the all-ages fantasy title '' Princeless'', as well as a wide range of titles from all genres. The c ...

and

Full Moon Features Full Moon Features is an American motion picture production and distribution company headed by B-movie veteran Charles Band. It is known for the direct-to-video series '' Puppet Master'', ''Trancers'', and ''Subspecies'', as well as the film ''C ...

announced a new comic book series based on the cult classic films. The first issue, ''The Gingerdead Man: Baking Bad'' #1, was written by

Brockton McKinney Brockton McKinney is an American comic book writer, short story author ,and horror film director & screenwriter. McKinney is known for writing the comic book series' ''Gingerdead Man, Ehmm Theory'' ,and '' Amerikarate (comic book)'' for Action La ...

(

Ehmm Theory Ehmm Theory is a comic book series created by writer Brockton McKinney with art by Larkin Ford and published by Action Lab Comics Action Lab Entertainment (also known as Action Lab Comics or ALE), is an American publisher of comic books, known ...

, Killer Queen), with art by Sergio Rios, and variant covers by the creator of Zombie Tramp, Dan Mendoza. Issue #1 of ''The Gingerdead Man: Baking Bad'' launched on February 3, 2016. Another comic series was released on March 28, 2018, by Action Lab Comics titled ''The Gingerdead Man Meets Evil Bong'', a crossover with the

films. It is loosely inspired by the crossover film ''

''. The comic is also written by Brockton McKinney with the artwork being done by Sergio Rios. The comic series consists of only three issues. On May 30, 2018, a volume of all three issues was released.

Merchandise

Trick or Treat Studios released a full head mask of the Gingerdead Man in collaboration with

. The mask was designed by special makeup effects artist Tom Devlin. Full Moon would later release an 8.75 inch tall resin statue of the Gingerdead Man that is available for purchase on their online market place Full Moon Direct. In celebration of the release of ''

'', a limited edition cereal box was made available that depicts the titular characters on opposite sides of the box in with unique artwork. It comes with the DVD of the movie along with special features, and multi-grain cereal called "Nookie Crisp" or "Weedies" in reference to the characters.

References

External links

* * * *
The Gingerdead Man
' at

Something Awful ''Something Awful'' (SA) is an American comedy website hosting content including blog entries, Internet forum, forums, feature articles, digitally edited pictures, and humorous media reviews. It was created by Richard Kyanka, Richard "Lowtax" K ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gingerdead Man, The 2000s Christmas horror films 2005 films 2005 comedy horror films American slasher films Full Moon Features films American comedy horror films American Christmas horror films Films directed by Charles Band Films about witchcraft Puppet films American ghost films American films about revenge Slasher comedy films Supernatural slasher films Supernatural comedy films American exploitation films 2005 comedy films American splatter films Gingerdead Man (film series) 2000s English-language films 2000s American films