Dead Trigger

Film Thumbnail

***Dead Trigger*** is a 2019 American animated action horror film made using Plotagon by Sammy Knight. It is the second animated Plotagon film Knight has made, following *Cosmopolis*. The films starred the Plotagon zombie expert duo Tara Conlan and Buck Andrews, who make an effort to stop a zombie apocalypse from occuring in Plotapaulis.

The film premiered on YouTube October 24, 2019 to a positive reception and allowed for Knight's growing success as a Plotagon filmmaker alongside DBG Channel and Jackster Does Plotagon. A sequel, titled *Dead Trigger II,* was premiered on YouTube October 3 the following year to critical success.

## Plot

In the streets of Plotapaulis, high school teenager Jessica Dimps finds herself stuck in a puddle of toxic waste. She was brought into the hospital where she is found unable to sustain her normal heart rate and may be on the verge of dying. The following day, she mysteriously disappears from her hospital bed and the search for her begins. At the high school Jessica attends, principal Pete Harlem wants the builder Simon Nils to straighten a leg on the coffe table for a staff meeting about the missing student. While Nils was doing his job, he gets infected by Zombie Jessica and attacks Harlem when he comes in the room to check on him.

Harlem manages to snap a photo of Zombie Nils and shows it to Dr. Gregory Drake, who works at the hospital Jessica was taken to. A town meeting is then held by President Richard Winkler, who addresses the zombie issue and suggests the police and doctors find Zombie Nils to experiment on him. Detective Pablo Conroy finds the zombie at Joe's Bar and knocks him out with a beer bottle. He then meets a zombie expert named Buck Andrews, who accompanies the doctors to the science lab so Nils can be experimented on. Buck calls on his partner Tara Conlan to assist in finding Zombie Jessica.

They first go to Dada's Diner and find that the manager, Miguel Cabrera, is under attack by the zombie. Tara knocks her out using a small plate on the counter. Then she and Buck go outside to call in the police squadron. During this time, Zombie Jessica wakes up and infects the manager, which Tara and Buck are quick to find out once they go back inside. They rush back to the lab, where they find police chief Henry Cervantes waiting for them and Simon Nils, who is cured of the zombie infection. It is decided that the zombie must be contained in an enclosure with no food for twelve hours in order to be cured and the three go back out to find Zombie Jessica.

They are lead to Bentley's Pizzeria and Grill, where Carla Red is finishing her shift. They knock out Zombie Jessica and Tara stays behind to try and knock Nils out as well. While Cervantes and Buck are dragging Jessica across the street, she awakens and drags Buck down to the ground, killing him. Cervantes attempts a call for backup, but Tara has already made the call and soon knocks out Nils. Cervantes baits Jessica to the restaurant and knocks her out just as well. Both zombies are contained and cured, Cervantes and Tara are honored for their efforts, and Buck is memorialized as a major hero in Plotapaulis.

## Characters

**MAIN CAST**

Tara Conlan - Zombie expert and partner of Buck Andrews

Buck Andrews - Zombie expert and partner of Tara Conlan

Henry Cervantes - Police Chief of Plotapaulis

Richard Winkler - President of Plotapaulis

Jessica Dimps - High school student and first victim of the zombie virus

Dr. Drake - Doctor at the hospital Jessica was brought into

Simon Nils - A fixerman who gets infected by Zombie Jessica

Miguel Cabrera - Manager of Dada's Diner

**SUPPORTING CAST**

Pablo Conroy - Plotapaulis detective

Carla Red - Employee at Bentley's Pizzeria and Grill

Benjamin Sharma (The Hunk) - Bartender of Joe's Bar

Sophie Kennedy (Crazy Cat Lady) - President Winkler's secretary and mother of Jessica Dimps

**STOCK CHARACTERS**

Lizzie, Scott, Samir, Dr. Lee, Mr. Hernandez, Plumber, Jack, Damien

(Most of these stock characters only appear in one scene)

The two zombies represent those who were infected by the virus. Sammy Knight does the vocal performance for the zombies.

## Reception

### Critical response

Critical reception for the film upon release was positive. Based on 44 assessments on the like-to-dislike ratio system, 93% of assessments were positive (41 likes and 3 dislikes).

At the end of the live chat during the premiere, DBG Channel declared "Looks like we have got a third player in the Plotagon film game, and he’s a experienced one!" This third player he was referring to was Knight, alongside DBG himself and Jackster Does Plotagon, who once recounted, "I am genuinely impressed with this. Good animation, solid voice acting, and gripping action, there's a lot to like about this movie." TheNinjaGuy Studios had this to say, "I've just finished watching the movie And I love it! Awesome film making! My man! And I like how the credits song is thriller"

### Accolades

 Best Picture
 Best Actor
 Best Actress
 Best Supporting Actor
 Best Screen Combo

## Sequel

On October 3, 2020, Knight released a sequel, titled *Dead Trigger II*, which received a highly positive response.