Let me put the number on the board first, because that's what we do here: 6.7. Consider it an early read, not a final ruling — and I want to be transparent about why. "Deadlocked: Dad of the Dead" arrives on Screamify July 1, 2026 with a critical paper trail thin enough to read a newspaper through. Rotten Tomatoes has no critic score yet. The IMDb user number sits around 5.5/10, but it's drawn from a vote count tiny enough that one motivated film club could swing it a full point in either direction. So I'm grading the assets against the unknowns, and weighing them honestly.

Start with what's verifiable and genuinely promising: the cast. For an 84-minute, not-rated, single-location zombie comedy, writer-director Casey Jackson assembled a lineup that punches well above the budget. Derek Theler (ABC's "Baby Daddy," also an executive producer here) leads as Iverson, an accountant who heads out on a routine work errand with his daughter and ends up trapped in a public restroom mid-outbreak, forced to find his nerve to protect his child. Hayley Law ("Riverdale") plays Bri, Melissa Peterman ("Reba") turns her role into a "Baby Daddy" reunion as Carla, and — this is the one that raises the eyebrow — Oscar nominee Eric Roberts shows up as Walter. Add Kausha Campbell, Stephen Conrad Moore, John Omohundro, and Taylor Tunes, and you have a recognizable ensemble doing the kind of work that doesn't usually land on a movie this size.

The hook is the other column in the plus ledger. Accountant and kid on an errand, the dead start walking, and they're locked in a bathroom with strangers who have to stop being strangers fast. It's clean, it's contained, it's exactly the kind of premise that lets a small budget feel intentional rather than apologetic. And 84 minutes is the right runtime for it — long enough to escalate, short enough that a one-room concept can't overstay its welcome. Theler framed the effort plainly: "We put a lot of sweat and blood into it, literally."

Now the debits. The lone published review I can confirm — from True Hollywood Talk — was a positive 4 out of 5, which is encouraging but is, again, a single data point. One enthusiastic review and one soft user score do not make a consensus. The honest risk with contained zombie comedies is tonal whiplash: when the gags land they land, and when they don't, the single room turns into a cage for the audience too.

For the record on what July 1 actually is — this isn't a premiere. The film already hit VOD and DVD on May 12, 2026 via Prime and Fandango/Vudu. What changes next week is the subscription-streaming debut: it lands exclusively on Screamify starting July 1, the first time it's available without a rental or a purchase.

So here's the verdict, stated plainly. A 6.7 says the cast and the hook carry this past the average micro-budget genre drop, while the missing critical data keeps me from going higher. If the comedy clicks, this score climbs. Either way, at 84 minutes streaming exclusively on Screamify, it's a cheap bet to settle for yourself.