I would like to point out before starting this review that I love Zombie films. I am the kind of person who appreciates the subtleties of this genre and am prepared to give most things like poor plots or bad special effects a fair chance. In many cases 'B' grade Zombie movies can be as good as 'A' grade ones in their ability to provide amusement as well as insightful social commentary. e.g. conformity vs. deviance etc, what it means to be human etc.
Having said all this, the Australian film 'Undead' would have to be one of the WORST Zombie films ever made. It is one of those few films that are so bad, you cannot even enjoy making fun of it. Its plotline is incredibly poorly put together, matched only by appalling performances given by the majority of the cast (perhaps with the exception of the female lead). The characters are as annoying and as they are unbelievable. displaying inconsistent behaviour right throughout the film. There is very little suspense offered to the audience which is made worse only by the obviously repeated special effects sequences. There is absolutely no clever social commentary made about Australian society or about even people in general. It was also difficult to empathise with the characters, which really limited the enjoyment factor of the movie.
The film does have a few good points, like the style of weapon the hero used and his overall combat proficiency (even though he was repeatedly stepped on by other characters in the film). The special effects were reasonably well done with plenty of gore in some parts. There were three notably funny scenes: one of a severely injured Zombie still walking around, another scene involving a zombie with a shovel, and a third entailing a discussion between two extraterrestrials. Other than that, the movie was utterly humourless. The heroine was smart, sexy and confident, but her good performance was regrettably drowned out by the horde of bad actors surrounding her.
Although the good points may seem promising, the film fails to 'live' up to its potential. Regrettably this movie does not have enough going for it to warrant seeing it at the cinema or even on video/DVD. I am fairly certain that even the most self respecting of Zombies would cringe at the production values of this film.
Having said all this, the Australian film 'Undead' would have to be one of the WORST Zombie films ever made. It is one of those few films that are so bad, you cannot even enjoy making fun of it. Its plotline is incredibly poorly put together, matched only by appalling performances given by the majority of the cast (perhaps with the exception of the female lead). The characters are as annoying and as they are unbelievable. displaying inconsistent behaviour right throughout the film. There is very little suspense offered to the audience which is made worse only by the obviously repeated special effects sequences. There is absolutely no clever social commentary made about Australian society or about even people in general. It was also difficult to empathise with the characters, which really limited the enjoyment factor of the movie.
The film does have a few good points, like the style of weapon the hero used and his overall combat proficiency (even though he was repeatedly stepped on by other characters in the film). The special effects were reasonably well done with plenty of gore in some parts. There were three notably funny scenes: one of a severely injured Zombie still walking around, another scene involving a zombie with a shovel, and a third entailing a discussion between two extraterrestrials. Other than that, the movie was utterly humourless. The heroine was smart, sexy and confident, but her good performance was regrettably drowned out by the horde of bad actors surrounding her.
Although the good points may seem promising, the film fails to 'live' up to its potential. Regrettably this movie does not have enough going for it to warrant seeing it at the cinema or even on video/DVD. I am fairly certain that even the most self respecting of Zombies would cringe at the production values of this film.