When a terrorist bomb explodes in the centre of a busy city, the country is plunged into chaos. With bodies lining the streets and the hospitals overwhelmed. Desperate survivor, Sarah (King), is forced to race her dying father to a rural evacuation facility. However, when she finally arrives, things are no better and as an overworked doctor tries in vain to save her fathers life, the exhausted Sarah slips into unconsciousness. Hours pass, and when Sarah finally returns to wakefulness, the true horror of the terrorist plot is unveiled. The bomb was a biological weapon and the dead are now walking.
Still oblivious to her fathers fate, Sarah joins forces with paramedic Steve (Thomas) and fellow survivor Jay (Tearse) to escape the labyrinthine building and the undead hordes that are now swarming the endless maze of corridors and passageways. Picking up uninfected survivors as they go, the group is forced to fight for their lives as they attempt to escape from the locked down facility, meeting with wave after wave of zombies as they go.
Make no mistake, Zombie Undead was filmed on a shoestring budget and its limitations show. Likewise, its an unashamed love letter to the genre and designed solely for fans of all things undead. But if youre part of that target audience, and can peer past its humble production values; you might find something to enjoy here.
First things first; the filmmakers are clearly well versed in all things zombie, but with that education comes both good and bad. The good is that while it is at times derivative, Zombie Undead dispenses with some of the more tired conventions of the genre. Theres little in the way of humanity being its own worst enemy here, the zombies remaining the only real threat throughout and the narrative reined back to a simple escape scenario. Likewise, the film rarely bogs itself down with exposition and explanatory exchanges. A brief opening scene addressing a terrorist attack and a quick revisit of the rules of infection are deftly dealt with, giving us all the lore we really need.
Sadly, theres a lot of bad here too. Re-treading well-worn avenues, Zombie Undead is at times too content with recycling whats gone before. The plot-friendly spell of unconsciousness that befalls its heroine is convenient enough, but lacks any effectiveness. The direction itself also stalls now and then, with some jarring camera angles and techniques thrown in with little purpose. The visuals are most effective at their simplest, and potential suspense is often lost to a quirky placing of the camera.
The cast of unknowns are all decent enough in their roles, with Kris Tearses Jay particularly enjoyable. Unfortunately some clunky dialogue upsets the apple-cart now and again, leaving us with naturalistic performances one minute and fluffed exposition the next. Having said that, theres little time to dwell on the dialogue thanks to bucket loads of gore and some imaginative make-up and set pieces that are bound to hit the spot for those in it for the crimson.
Overall Verdict: Breaking no new ground whatsoever, Zombie Undead might still hold some appeal to the die-hard zombie enthusiast out there, but its near non-existent budget and threadbare script will alienate everybody else.
Special Features:
None
Reviewer: David Steele