So, I read on the cover that this was the most original zombie film in a long time. I probably should have checked closer, because it was stated by Harry Knowles, who is prone to such blanket statements of hyperbole. Sometimes I wonder if he even watches the films that he gets all worked up about, or if somebody just passes him an envelope with money and the name of their movie on it. Anyways, this movie would have been original if not for the films of Romero, the Evil Dead series, Brain Dead, Return of the Living Dead, Zombi, every zombie film ever made. This movie repeatedly pilfers from each and every one of them, primarily Evil Dead 2. Now, this will be explained away as "homage", which is a sorry attempt to rationalize unoriginal thinking. Come on, Quentin Tarantino tried it with Kill Bill, and people didn't buy it. In fact, I bet Tarantino LOVES this film. Everything about this film screams rip off. The zombies even yell "Join us" towards the beginning of the film, and there are several camera angles taken from Evil Dead 2, and the zombies even move and look like the Deadites. There's also an anti-hero with an unlimited supply of guns. Hm, sound familiar? OK, I understand this film is not intended to be taken seriously, and it was an attempt at making an Evil Dead type film blending slap-sticky elements with horror,but even a parody should be well made (See Shaun of the Dead, please). This film smacks of cheap production values. The awful CGI(just because it could be done in CGI, doesn't mean it should be), acting, cinematography, directing, screen writing(yes, saying the f word is fun!), and soundtrack (so, is this a light hearted comedy from the mid 50's?) all work together to make a really unimpressive experience. I understand the low budget, but if you're creative enough, you can make it work even within the confines of a limited money supply (again, see Shaun of the Dead, or this films inspiration, Evil Dead 2). This film isn't totally hopeless. The gore effects, a staple of the zombie genre, are done well, and the whole twist at the end is unexpected, but otherwise, you're better off seeing the better films that this one stole from.
Review of Undead
