Nothing Else Matters This Weekend Besides ‘Dead 7’

By Lea Palmieri @littleleap
Published April 1, 2016, 10:30 a.m. ET

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Dead 7

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The Dead 7 movie premieres tonight and it might be the most important film of our time. It’s not a Marvel movie, Meryl Streep is nowhere to be found, and it’s debuting on basic cable, not thousands of movie theater screens — but it matters. Big time.

Dead 7 is a post-apocalyptic zombie-western adventure, and while that might sound like a lot, that’s not even what makes this movie revolutionary. This is a unique event due to its stars: members of every major boy band of the early 2000’s. That’s right, Dead 7 is proof that pop music rivalries can be put aside once and for all in the name of defeating zombies in the desert.

Representing for *NSYNC is Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpatrick; Jeff Timmons from 98 Degrees is there, plus all current O-Town members (Dan Miller, Trevor Penick, Jacob Underwood, and Erik-Michael Estrada), and Backstreet Boys are making their mark in a big way: Howie Dorough and A.J. McLean star alongside Nick Carter (who also wrote the script and cast his wife Lauren Kitt Carter as well!). That’s the most amount of boy band members we’ve seen in one place since the 2000 Teen Choice Awards.

Oh, but it’s not just boy bands. If IMDB is to be believed, we’ll also be graced with appearances by Jon Secada (?), Art Alexakis of Everclear, “Shifty Shellshock” of Crazy Town fame, and American Idol’s Frenchie Davis. So we’ve got a time capsule from the last 15 years on our hands…only everything in it is wearing chaps.

You can expect the same shtick as the Sharknado movies as they share the same producers, but instead of flying sea life we’re dealing with the blood and guts of the living dead, and perhaps some tumbleweed. There’s probably a plot, but not one of too much consequence. Let’s go ahead and guess this film and its performances won’t be racking up shelves of awards. Not that it matters; The real award is for the fans. It’s a great excuse to stay home on a Friday night to watch a movie featuring the men whose pictures hung on our teen bedroom walls, toting pistols and strutting around the Wild West. And honestly? If we get a duel in the desert between Joey Fatone and A.J. McLean (the respective “bad boys” of their groups), everything will be worth it.

Dead 7 is a tequila shot of nostalgia: at first you’ll feel the urge to make a funny face, but within moments life just gets a little better. So get ready to party.

Dead 7 premieres tonight at 8/7c on Syfy.