Deader Living Through Chemistry

A tight circle of four drug users is forced into an awkward moral debate when their friend Macy starts showing clear signs of turning into a zombie. Instead of an immediate collapse into chaos, the group holds late-night meetings, arguing over whether to help her, hide her, or hand her off, while their own addictions and loyalties make any decision messy. The film focuses on their conversations, small betrayals, and occasional bursts of dark humor as they try improvised remedies and reminisce about better times, keeping the emphasis on damaged relationships and survival instincts rather than big set-piece scares.

Deader Living Through Chemistry was directed by Kern Saxton and released in 2008 as a low-budget independent horror-comedy, featuring Rachel Federoff, Isidora Goreshter, Mara Marini, and Paul B. Germain.

The movie had only a limited release and no widely reported box office figures, so it reached most viewers through festival showings and niche distribution rather than mainstream theatrical runs.

It never broke into mainstream pop culture, but the film has a small niche audience among microbudget zombie aficionados who appreciate offbeat, dialogue-driven entries in the genre. It hasn’t produced a memorable cult quote or iconic scene, but it turns up occasionally in lists of obscure indie zombie films.

Reception was mostly unfavorable, reflected in a low user score, 3.0 out of 10. Critics and viewers who disliked it pointed to patchy production values, uneven pacing, and inconsistent performances, while a few reviewers found value in its grim humor and its attempts to link the zombie premise to themes of addiction, friendship, and the erosion of trust within a small group.