State of Emergency - review

2011 (USA)

2012 Signature Entertainment Blu-ray R(B/2)

Contains mild spoilers.

State of Emergency has its faults but writer and director Turner Clay, and brother and producer John Will Clay should be immensely proud of their low budget 28 Days Later inspired little zombie opus. Relying a lot on character interaction / development, and long moody shot construction, for a film of an hour and a half not a lot actually happens; yet as a complete work throughout it was utterly gripping and genuinely provocative. While I can understand some of the criticism this film has received, personally I feel the slower pace and more artistic direction lends the film its ever present atmosphere of foreboding, and makes the moments of action and horror far more terrifying for it.

State of Emergency has a very clear and cohesive identity. The Clays dramatize the down-time; with focus on the relationships and needs of those lucky enough to find themselves still alive in a sanctuary that appears to offer them some semblance of the safety of the old world. Then there's outside; outside the shelter means death. The world has gone to hell, the people they once called neighbour are now savage, deranged, and mean to kill and eat them. Inside the feeling is closest synonymised with that feeling as a child that all is safe with the covers pulled high and as long as you can't see the monsters they can't see you. The dichotomy the Clay's have produced is convincing and tangible and it makes the later infringements more disturbing. It's that play with binary conditions and inherent contradiction that also lies at the heart of the zombie concept; that is something that is neither alive or dead. We humans like one thing or another, clear lines, and when they cross the result is uncomfortable.

Fear works when the unpleasant inevitability is postponed. We know the monster WILL jump out, all the cues are there; one finds oneself wishing they would just get it over with. State of Emergency is a masterclass not only in building and maintaining heart pounding suspense but actually making good the promise of delivery. Are they zombies though? At this juncture I think it's quite naïve to demand actual physical deadness from the being that's now clearly no longer the being they were before. The people of Montgomery County exposed and not immune to the fallout from the explosion at the bio-chemical facility might not be physically dead but they're the perfect encapsulation of inhuman, unpredictable and uncomfortable. It's the monsters from 28 Days Later somehow made to seem more savage, more scary when juxtaposed against the frailties and vulnerabilities of real people who really are terrified of them. Like their confusion, their fear transfers through the screen, genuinely becoming palpable to the viewer.

This playing with deliberate vagueness and ambiguity, whether narratively or stylistically lies at the heart of the film. Like the survivors one doesn't ever feel in control of knowing what's going on. Obviously there's going to be a bit of confusion when faced with a county wide viral pandemic that's turning the vast majority of the population into primal homicidal cannibals; but here's its more. The Clay's deliberately embrace the notion that less can be more. There's no laboured exposition, past stories are handled with well-paced flashbacks, no need to fully dissect the zombie identity with long drawn out contrived sequence. We're there, we know as much as they do, yes there's lots of holes but its this that's driving the tension and maintaining the atmosphere.

Tense, gripping and enthralling throughout, this small claustrophobic horror placed a huge burden on a small cast who delivered tight authentic performances that matched the great direction and production. Special mention must also be made for the sound; whether it faint distant sporadic gun fire, close intimidating thunder or smothering silences matching compliment the vision and narrative beautifully.

State of Emergency is a zombie film that's more than the sum of its parts. While it could be argued by some its more style over substance it’s this very deliberate decision and vision that enables it to work the way it does; there's a very clear identity and a confidence to stick it out, and this has to be respected. The apocalyptic world the Clay's have constructed is both cohesive and coherent, and to be honest I'd have loved to have seen a second instalment, with slightly bigger budget to enable them more room to play with their undoubted vision and style, and this says a lot. Recommended - 7/10.

Steven@WTD.

Bio Zombie - review

1998 (Hong Kong)

2000 Tokyo Shock DVD R(1)

Contains spoilers

Bio zombie is pretty much everything you'd want from a comedy zombie film. Witty dialogue, dark and dirty zombies and carnage, a delightful buddy pairing in Jordan Chan as Woody (Invincible as he's credited) and Sam Lee as (Crazy) Bee who are helped to shine by interesting complementary characters, and a director who clearly understand pacing and delivers when called upon. Honestly if you think Shaun and Ed (Simon and Nick) mixed with Dead Alive (Braindead) staged like Dawn of the Dead given a bit of video-game touch up, you'd be on the right track. Add that it's not doing any of these zombie 'A' list films a disservice by association and you'll get an idea how good I think this forgotten and overlooked gem is. Okay, if we're picky one could say it does take a good hour to really get going, and I would possibly have to own up, that should I watch it again I'd probably fast forward much of the dialogue heavy pre-action; but once dialled up, it really does deliver.

Woody and Bee remind me of Bill and Ted, yet slightly more rounded and authentic for two down and out chancers interested only in booze, drugs and getting laid; this due in part by not being restrained by any PG film rating requirement. When not ripping young geeks off, harangue local traders and female shoppers and generally larking about causing mischief, the two scallywags pretend to run a small video store in the New Trend Plaza shopping arcade for their boss. Now, it was on one such errand for their boss, the minor manner of collecting his car from the garage that they also became responsible for the rather more serious disruption that's the focus of the film.

Now I say they're responsible; but really, following the tried and tested zombie outbreak trope that contrives to deliver the actual highly secret and dangerous compound or toxin; and ultimate seed of universal armageddon into the hands of ignorant and usually quite naïve and curious passers-by, I'm not sure quite sure how much responsibility they should take. I mean covertly trading the bio-zombie bio-weapon in a Lucozade bottle with minimal security in a warehouse close to a residential and retail centre, alongside a test subject who's gotten rather aggressive and hungry, is kind of asking for trouble. Again though, Woody and Bee did choose to take the fleeing dying soldier to the mall, force feed him the soda then forget about him so they could play video games; then realising their error not raise the alarm on finding a zombie cocoon, missing body and hearing a monstrous moan, so maybe they should shoulder some of blame for the consequent death, carnage and mayhem.

Director and co-script writer Wilson Yip's pacing if a little slow to get going, is nigh on perfect once zombie-soldier man turns into zombie soldier and zombie-police man, then into zombie-soldier, zombie-police man and zombie-sushi man ad infinitum. The initial undead encounters which tie the main characters, whom we've already bonded with, together are full of charm and laughs; the subsequent ramp up of danger is legitimate and measured, understanding the zombie threat's need to develop and grow in parallel to the survivors' ability to deal with it. And though there are moments of poignancy and seriousness, especially the final ten minutes or so, where you find yourself feeling uncomfortably challenged waiting for a punchline that doesn't seem to be coming, Yip still understands that he's putting together something that wants to play with the absurdity of an enemy that's neither alive or dead. Once on the scene there's no contrivance and pretence to explain what they are; we know what they are, Woody, Bee and Rolls (Angela Ying-Ying Tong) know what they are and we're all together in understanding their strengths and their shortcomings.

Obviously taking their influence from Dawn of the Dead the blue tinted zombies stumble and groan between each new and tasty meal. Though slightly more frenetic than their Romero cousins, it's still all about an enemy that relies on maths to eventually win; the lone zombie easily circumvented or dispatched with a satisfactory amount of blood and ingenuity. Yip also allows himself a little more licence than Romero to play, allowing for zombies to demonstrate certain amounts of self-awareness and recall, either to aid the narrative or just for the lols; for example, the security guard knows to hit a switch to close the main shutter doors removing our heroes one perceived exit, and Sushi Boy / Loi (Emotion Cheung) who retaining his crush for Rolls, as an obvious Warm Bodies influence, tries to distract other zombies from her by serving them actual finger-finger-rolls.

Overflowing with energy and confidence Bio zombie is also a very human film, full of warmth for characters you do quite quickly invest in and care for. Yip may provide the perfect canvas but Jordan and Sam (Woody and Bee) had still to deliver, and do so with a genuine killer buddy performance that's pretty much as good as it gets. As said once in full swing it's all the bit the great relentless zombie gore fest, yet it's the first hour with it's witty, sharp script, top delivery and deep character development that sets it all up to be so good and as such shouldn't be so dismissed. A Hong-Kong pop-subculture horror / comedy / action mash-up, Bio zombie is an overlooked zombie great - 8/10.

Steven@WTD. 

Lust of the Dead - review

 

2012 (Japan)

2013 Tokyo Shock DVD R(1)

Contains spoilers.

You know what you're going to get when you watch a Japanese film titled Lust of the Dead or in full, Zombie Rape: Lust of the Dead; well at least I hope you do. Amateur effects, sets and acting, an inconsistent story that unravels into farce, and enough low budget and totally inappropriate sleaze that it leaves you walking away wanting to wash your eyes out with bleach. And yet; somehow, there's always the chance that the crass and vulgar will make you laugh, the absurd and ridiculous will entertain and the fan service will either titillate or be shrugged off as harmless. It's a tall ask though, as the for every Zombie Ass: Toilet of theDead or Troma flick that's at its brazen best, there are scores of titles that fall so low that merely uttering their names leaves one feeling unclean.

As probably imagined, I really want to throw Lust of the Dead with its rape agenda, its dangerously age inappropriate nudity and its penchant for the systematic objectification of all women, firmly in the latter pile; and for a good hour I was definitely planning on doing just that. Then somehow, it managed  the impossible. Somehow despite the good hour of obsessive breast focus and panty flash and the umpteenth gratuitously shot brutal rape or gang-rape, all I believe totally justified by director and co-screen writer Naoyuki Tomomatsu's ludicrous testosterone fuelled zombie origin narrative, it managed to demonstrate that tiniest spark of self-awareness; like it could actually, maybe, be more than it was.

Don't get me wrong. It didn't try too hard and by elevate itself I'm talking a 3 not a 1. I mean listening to Kanae (Asami Sugiuri) shouting 'Women are not sex slaves for men!' while battling the hordes of horny undead all managing to pull at her kimono until her breasts were free for audience to ogle and the extras to grope, even if she does manage the last word by blasting them all to kingdom come, is, if as a last minute attempt to redress the balance, woefully missing the point. Yet it could be argued it is at least trying, and the five minutes or so of high octane OneChanbara-esque fighting preceding it was head and shoulders better than the sporadic and quite lame scuffles that had come before.

It's normally at this part of the review I start delving into the pertinent zombie origin story, though here I don't know quite where to begin. The Ozone hole, GM crops, space radiation, the Shinto Japanese myth cycle are all cited along with some stuff about bacteria, the origins of oxygen based life and the need for constant evolution. What we do know though, is, dokyun men (think high testosterone, sports, naturally rapey) have all turned into insatiable sex mad zombies driven solely to strip, grope and rape women. I say dokyun men, as the seemingly only alternative is otaku or stay-at-home manga / anime loner men who say they are happy to remain sexless though as we find out the slightest provocation and these guys too turn. So it's kind of all men and as stressed in one of the laboured TV cut-in debate interludes maybe what's wrong with rape anyway as it would begin to redress not just an imagined gender imbalance but all societal, wealth, nature and power imbalances as well; so why differentiate one man from another, we're all as bad or all as entitled...

Lust for the Dead is soft porn pretending to be a zombie film pretending to be soft porn; not only just managing to stay the wrong side of appropriate throughout but on occasion really stepping over by playing that creepy, last seen in Attack Girls Swim vs The Undead, scene that suggests that the those on the receiving end of a right good rape might in some way be grateful for the sexual stimulation. Yet, for all I've just said, it did just enough in its final few throes to stop me from totally hating both it and myself for buying it. Once the North Korea death nuke hits, the zombies suddenly become more interesting in the sense they're really probably quite dead now, even finally looking the part. Also the surviving female companions appear to have found some sudden depth, maybe on screen for more than having their blouse hang open, or to have a clumsy lesbian make-out with a new best friend.

The cityscape they find themselves in too, suddenly has a beautiful yet eerie post-apocalyptic vibe, giving the film an expansiveness not felt in the first hour or so that had them stuck in the same four walls nostalgically flashing back to pre-zombie sexual inappropriateness. I'll whisper this final bit, but the final scene had almost a Zombie Flesh Eaters (Zombi 2) feel; also it would be hard not to mention David Cronenberg's Shivers which too played with the idea of non-dead sexually charged men and women who are so driven their higher self begins to deteriorate though in that instance in with entirely different style, substance, skill and subtlety.

Overall, Lust of the Dead is distasteful misogynistic fantasy; playing with rape and sexpolitation in a really creepy way that not only feels uncomfortable while thinking about the characters but spills over into thinking about the young actresses who had to work with the myriad of older Japanese men who seemed more than comfortable simulating gang-rape, and squeezing and jiggling their breasts at every opportunity. It's a film that some will really enjoy, as gore, zombies, fun and boobies can make a good mix, yet for me, despite thinking it was poking both genders, it's just not enough and I'm left feeling like I need a brain bleach, though I better hold off as there's parts 2, 3 and heaven help us, 4 too - 3/10.

Steven@WTD.

The Ghoul - review

1933 (UK)

2010 Included on Ultimate Horror Classics SD Blu-ray R(All)

Contains spoilers.

The story of The Ghoul's release, preservation and eventual VHS / DVD release is perhaps as interesting as the film itself. After the film's theatre release in the UK in 1933, the US in 1934, then one final reissue in 1938, the film was for all intents and purposes lost. Not even a trailer existed. In 1969 a virtually inaudible but subtitled version was uncovered in Czechoslovakia, and though it was missing eight minutes of what would have been considered at the time, excessive brutal savagery, it allowed fans to actually get to see Boris Karloff strutting about in his prime. Finally in the early 1980s behind a forgotten Shepperton Studios door a perfect negative was found, The British Film Institute was able to make a clean new print and we're all now able to appreciate this 1933 gothic horror in all its glory.

Director T. Hayes Hunter's The Ghoul is a low budget film of its era. The story is hokey, full of cliché and a little convoluted, the acting stilted, with dialogue on more than one occasion forced and exaggerated. Scene by scene it would be easy to pick holes, yet as whole entity The Ghoul still today, in all its black and white glory, oozes atmosphere and style, with a narrative that stays remarkably on point, pacing that feels unforced and at ease, unlike many horrors of the day, and the myriad of twists and turns does keep the film feeling fresh and interesting.

It's all about The Eternal Light™. Esteemed Egyptologist and soon to be dead Prof. Henry Morlant (Boris Karloff) wanted it, his solicitor Broughton (Cedric Hardwicke) when he discovers how much he paid for it, wants it, Egyptian Sheik Aga Ben Dragore (Harold Huth) wants it back, Ralph Morlant (Anthony Bushell) and cousin Betty Harlon (Dorothy Hyson) want to inherit it, Nigel Hartley (Ralph Richardson) wants to steal it; heck, even the police know about it and want to return it. The thing is servant and most trusted confidant, Laing (Ernest Thesiger) has it and the person this has most annoyed died earlier that day.

It maybe tries a little too hard with the ambitious number of characters all vying for control, and okay, the film does labour a bit over the first thirty or so minutes as it contrives to fill the back story, introduce and give reason to get all the interested parties to Morlant's late night Egyptian slumber party right on time. But once in attendance, and with Morlant ready to make his grand after-death appearance the film flows, with characters and action bouncing off each with spirit and finesse; and it's the perfect vehicle for Karloff to once again work his screen presence.

Morlant wants The Eternal Light™ because he believes it will ultimately grant him eternal life. On his death bed he instructs Laing to wrap the gold-gem-broach-thing to his hand ready for him to be buried in his newly constructed faux-Egyptian tomb where, when the next full moon's light reaches the door, the hand of the nearby statue of Anubis will, if he's done well, clasp it and transfer immortality. Should however The Eternal Light™ be missing he informs him, he will come back to kill! Morlant may be a heathen and a bit self-centred, spending all his inheritance unscrupulously acquiring  the light, but he is at least a man of his word.

Now Morlant wasn't looking great before he died. With heavy eyes, broken deteriorated skin he certainly possessed the right zombie face to immediately fit straight in should there have been a sudden modern outbreak. Up and about, he appears angry, desperate and increasingly gruesome with both deteriorating body and mind. Now, it is suggested near the end that rather than actually being returned from the dead (back to life is a term never mentioned) he was in fact suffering from catalepsy. Whether or not right, there's still a lot of ambiguity. Morlant on returning never speaks, his cognitive functioning appears to be degrading and he appears to possess unnatural strength. His compulsion to reacquire the Light is also all consuming with parallels to the Draugr / Revenant mythology; undead creatures returned from the dead to protect their ill-gotten treasure. Yes he's not the Romero or modern zombie, with memory, and ability to function and interact with the world, but he's not the Morlant that died in bed demonstrable and absolute.

A middle quarter aside that rather drags out and convolutes the set-up, The Ghoul is tight claustrophobic death house gothic horror that remarkably, some 80 years after being made still retains charm, style, atmosphere, and the ability to surprise. Egypt and curses is a trope that's been done to death, but here there's a real early play with the ambiguity of the zombie, or the walking-dead; a play with the life-death dissonance that resonates uncomfortableness on the viewer. Surround this in a solid crime drama with interesting characters all vying to win the prize, and even a bit of light comedy, with the eccentric and exaggerated Kaney (Kathleen Harrison) and the film is a very solid early horror treat that should be sought out. Whether Morlant is a zombie or not, that'll have to be up to you, 7/10.

Steven@WTD.

Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead - review

2014 (Norway)

2015 Entertainment One Blu-ray R(B/2)

Contains spoilers.

Dead Snow was a brilliant film, but it was also a bit of a confusing one. Not confusing in terms of plot and story; the way it told the derivative cabin in the woods cum Friday 13th albeit with Nazi zombies not Jason pick em off slasher was entirely gettable. But confusing in terms of identity, starting all dark with jumpy horror and switching half way through to full on Bruce Campbell at his audacious zany best. I reviewed it very early for the blog and this was enough to see it relatively down marked. It's the one review that has always sat heavy on me though. While confident to go against the crowd I couldn't help but notice it's appearance on many greatest zombie film lists, so with more (hopefully) insight with the genre I decided to use this look at Dead Snow 2 as an excuse to watch it again.

I ended up re-rating the film coming to the opinion that while there was still a spot of stylistic schizophrenia, if one was pull the whimsy and humour from the second half into the first rather than what I did last time being disappointed that the tension and fear was so eagerly brushed aside then the film held up far better. Go read my review but it's safe to say I'm now rather fond of the film. Anyway...

What of Dead Snow 2? Well, first off it doesn't make these mistakes. In fact Dead Snow 2 doesn't really make any mistakes at all. Cementing itself purely as a black comedy it continues the manic adventures that concluded Dead Snow, dials it up to max and is quite frankly nigh on perfect, and easily one of the best zombie films ever made. In fact, and I may get some criticism for this, in my opinion it perhaps more perfectly than most also captures the look and feel of Evil Dead since Campbell fought the Army of Darkness than any other film since.

Ørjan Gamst is back as Nazi commander Standartenführer (Oberst) Herzog, a Draugr (aptrganga or aptrgangr transl. again-walker) aka Revenant; an undead creature from Norse mythology up and about to protect his ill-gotten treasure. Except with the Nazi gold reclaimed (Dead Snow), and for a narrative excuse for him to expand his remit from just the barren tundra near Øksfjord, Norway into the town itself, he recalls Hitler's last order to raze the place and its population to the ground in a petty act of revenge for their acts of sabotage some, now seventy years ago.

Cue, death, destruction, blood, intestines, tanks blowing up babies and a general lack of any taste and decency and one of the best laughs I've had in years. Now cut from the shackles of the early part of the first film to at least attempt to stay sensible and rational, Director (and also one of the writers) Tommy WirkolaIt is free to indulge any and all ideas, however absurd or non-canon, and not break the film's overall coherence. Herzog is now the slightly more cognizant, talkative and able commander, the brainless zombie horde under his control has been expanded to include exaggerated comic roles such as a medic, tank driver and navigator, and his opposition have been heavily upgraded from traditional cabin-in-the-woods / Friday 13th sent to die trope.

Vegar Hoel is Martin, sole survivor from the first. Beaten, bloody, and now armed with not just his new found extreme zombie survival skills, but Herzog's arm, is the new Bruce Campbell. Armed with all the same quirks and qualities, though maybe not quite the charm, he's manic, desperate, slightly insane from all he's experienced, and most importantly, he's up for the fight. Switch chainsaw for magic arm, with the ability to raise the dead, he now also has the same iconic tools and mentality to challenge a foe which on first appearance was unchallengeable. Demonstrating real flare, vision and imagination WirkolaIt Martin isn't left alone for the task, soon picking up an assortment of companions, from the Zombie Squad™, three young US geeks with a love of all things Z, an out of his depth, introverted WW2 museum curator and the new Bub, who's bound to be a cult favourite: Sidekick Zombie (Kristoffer Joner). Their interaction is witty, natural, and despite being caricatures, their addition is a welcome addition opening up avenues to daft scenes and jokes that are masterfully taken, while never exploited.

Dead Snow 2 isn't a film, it's more an experience. A riotous explosion of guts, blood and fun; it's perfectly paced, perfectly formed and oozes style and imagination from a director and team that clearly understand how to approach the absurdness and inherent contradiction that lies at the heart of zombie cinema. With never a dull moment, never a distraction WirkolaIt, like Raimi, has managed that illusionist trick of presenting a world and story that is both laughable and preposterous in a way that is both coherent and tangible. Easily one of the top zombie films ever made we also finally have a worthy successor to Campbell, who now surely has entwined himself in such a way as a third without him would feel bereft. Dead Snow 2 is everything you'd want from an absurd splatter horror comedy. It's the best Evil Dead / Dead Alive (Brain Dead) film we've had in quite some time, and it's 10/10.

Steven@WTD.

The Battery - review

2012 (USA)

2014 Metrodome DVD R(2)

Contains mild spoilers.

The Battery is a film that gives one the opportunity to glimpse between the cracks. It's the post-apocalyptic nightmare. Pretty much everyone is dead, or might as well be and there's the ever present chore of scavenging to survive under the cloud of an intense ever pervasive undead threat. Yet between the fights, the bloodshed, the extreme pressure situations where decisions determine who lives and who dies, there's the downtime, the monotony, the loneliness and great sadness. It's a world, that for the genre, while occasionally hinted at, is seldom allowed much focus; here though, under the direction and writing of Jeremy Gardner, we've been allowed in, and it's stark, honest and beautiful.

$6000 is all Gardner is reported to have spent. $6000. I bet Brad Pitt's shoes probably cost more than that. One thing I've said over and over is to make a budget horror, especially one with our friendly undead shamblers in, the most important thing is originality and vision. Derivative low budget amateur zombie films are ten-a-penny; heck I should know. Yes they're on occasion mildly, or even greatly entertaining for the night but they're soon forgotten. The Battery's world is derivative, the zombies look and behaviour is average, the sets are sparse and the action, and drama sporadic, humdrum and often off camera. But all this is perfect and exactly what's required; Gardner and his team know what they're doing and this is not a film that will soon be forgotten.

You see, the zombies themselves are really quite irrelevant other than being the plot tool to enable Ben (Gardner) and Mickey (Adam Cronheim), two lost, lonely and now dysfunctional ex-baseball player's relationships to play out. First there's their relationship with the new grey world. Both Ben and Mickey are numb, desensitised. They're past the initial shock, and on the weary long road that is learning to accept that there will never be any great hope, and that eating old tins of food, rummaging through dead children's belongings and occasionally having to smash an ex-persons head in is the new norm. Ben and Mickey are of course different, as is their method of coping and dealing with this everyday grief and depression, but they are a team reliant on each other for much more than food and water. And it's this dynamic, this relationship that stands at the core of the story. At heart this is more a buddy movie than a zombie or horror one.

Ben is more the pragmatist, he can fish, he can mend, he can swing a baseball bat and he copes with the new world by interacting with it. Mickey is more the intuitive type, his coping mechanism is to detach from the world, disappear into himself with some headphones on, and let Ben deal with everything. On the surface Mickey needs Ben more than, Ben needs Mickey; without Ben, you feel Mickey would just curl up into a little ball and die, yet, Ben relies just as much, by having another person to interact with. Their relationship, like each character has great depth; their motivations feel complicated, convoluted and often contradictory, and thus real. As an observer you really end up feeling for both, invested and genuinely desperate to learn what will become them. This is truly great character development, subtle and hazy.

Make-up, effects, action sequences, acting, sets, production all comes at a price and as soon as less than ideal is accepted in one area, the whole stack begins to falter. The Battery in many ways manages to sidestep these amateur film making issues because it knows what its doing, wanting the world to remain firmly in the background, at all times. When needed the zombies are there, they're mean, they're snarly, if a little slow, ponderous, and in the Romero mould, seemingly quite pathetic on their own, easily pushed about and dispatched. But it doesn't really matter as remember, they're the background. The focus is always Ben and Mickey, it's their story, the interest and thus camera focus is how they cope with each trial, and never on the instrument of the trial itself.

Deep, thought provoking, poignant, ambitious; there are many superlatives that can easily be thrown at The Battery. Yes, it's the same film we've seen before, a buddy action / comedy with two guys fighting to survive the zombie holocaust, but it dares to be different; dares to approach it from a different perspective. The script is witty and authentic, the directing brave and acting exceptional. I've read criticism over the use of several long single shot scenes that feel to some unnecessary and ponderous, but it's exactly these scenes that frame the film as a whole lending it a realness that feels tangible. Complaining about this is missing the point. The Battery is an engaging, touching and most importantly human, zombie film and a low budget triumph. And I haven't even mentioned the killer soundtrack - 8/10.

Steven@WTD.

Night of the Comet - review

1984 (USA)

2014 Arrow Video Blu-ray R(2)

Contains spoilers.

Truth be told, as much as I like a good gory undead rampage, I'm also rather partial to the big grand apocalyptic event. Whether I'm just anti-social, or if we're going deep, probably acutely too social, the portrayal of such extreme sudden escapism from all social responsibility or more accurately accountability is salivating. I know it's all illusionary, and the burden of isolation in reality wouldn't be quite so appealing, I mean look at Castaway, but small fantasy interludes, offered by such films as Night of Comet do satiate some hunger that wishes everyone would, even for a just an hour or too, just bugger off. Sartre was quite right when he proclaimed 'Hell is other people.'

  

The other good thing about finding out you're truly alone in a world where electricity still works, water still flows and all the bodies, both human and animal, that would normally pile up, rot and introduce another problem all together, is the great sand box you have to play in; or more specifically shop in, especially if you have your sister by your side.

This is the new world, the valley girls, who just wanna have fun (more on the kicking eighties soundtrack later) Reg (Regina - played by Catherine Mary Stewart) and younger sister Samantha (Kelli Maroney) find themselves in. Okay, there's the initial shock and acceptance that everyone they know is now a pile of red ash, that there's the odd deranged cannibal pyscho aka zombie on the prowl, and getting a new boyfriend might be a bit of a struggle, but overall I felt they acquitted themselves to the end of the world pretty well. It also helped they were both well versed in self-defence, and had a father who wasn't shy about guns. This all isn't to say director / writer Thom Eberhardt hasn't been sensitive to the Reagan inspired eighties paranoia, that mutually assured destruction was mere moments away, just that this film wasn't going to be too serious about it. A tear may be shed for lost love but primary this is a heart-warming tale of two incredibly likeable sisters who find themselves together in an intense situation, get into a few scrapes, but try to make the best of it.

Night of the Comet is an audio and visual delight made truly stunning with this nice crisp clean HD transfer by Arrow and Eberhardt captures the look and feel of the desolate dead cityscape to perfection. Sweeping shots of early morning downtown Los Angeles, empty, deserted and shrouded in the red dust smog left behind by the doomsday comet is eerie and foreboding, yet calming and beautiful. This is not end of the world zombie or meteor collision or catastrophe, the only destruction is the human loss; this is 'Empty City'; electricity and water still runs, it's like someone just waved a wand and everyone disappeared.

Well, not quite everyone. There's Reg and Sam of course, then there's also Hector (Robert Beltran / Chakotay from Voyager), truck driver and leather-clad b-movie hero, who arrives on cue to deliver hope, that there may be other survivors, but also fear, that there is also a darker threat. Whether the antagonists he tells them of are zombies or not, for once is easily answered; Chakotay says they are, and I'm not going against Chakotay, so they are. Snarling, cannibalistic, devoid of humanity and compassion they also certainly fit the zombie bill, even if they're not actually dead, can ride motorbikes (okay this was in a dream, but I'm still using it), can talk a bit and probably wouldn't have made my cut a few years ago. They're degenerative humans exposed to the red dust, and the only shame is other than Sam's dream sequence and an early spat Reg has newly emerged from her theatre retreat, is the bulk of the girls troubles come from encounters with humans somewhere on their debilitating descent, and not with the full made up undead-alike's themselves. Whether the sociopath warehouse boys or the desert brain cult who want to harness them for their blood its the humans exposed who are demonstrating a loss of humanity, drive for self-preservation and acute deterioration both physically and mentally that provide the biggest threat.

Night of the Comet is a sumptuous dead-city post-apocalyptic piece of cinema with addictively likeable characters and a well-paced flowing narrative full of wit and heart. Eberhardt intelligently tells a story that's truly dark and menacing with enough gentle parody, that fear and the threat of menace never truly overwhelms, and yet, it neither at any point descends into infantile or farcical. Again the characters, both full of cliché and superficiality constantly hint at inner depth, and are portrayed by the main three actors triumphantly with measure and nuance. Night of the Comet wears its eighties heritage proud, with an ever upbeat synth rock/pop musical score and some even louder haircuts and costumes and it all helps cement a unique identity that stands tall against all the other end-of-the-world films. The perfect blend of tension, humour, horror, action and sisterhood, it's a film that can't help but leave a smile on your face and is now a huge personal favourite - 8/10.

Steven@WTD.