Undead (2003)

[Quorthon]

Undead
Zombie Horror/Science Fiction
2003
Color
MPAA Rating: R
Directed by: Michael Spierig & Peter Spierig
Australia

I first heard about this film well over a year ago, and it seems to have taken absolutely forever to find it's way to DVD in America. Finally, it showed up at Blockbuster while I was busy wishing Blockbuster carried true gore/horror classics like anything by Argento because I have yet to see many of his masterpieces. Well, once again, I find myself diving headlong into more zombie horror. But this film... Holy hell, this film is really something else...

A small Australian town gets a nice shower from a comet that wastes little time in turning the inhabitants into blood-thirsty zombies. So, the film is off to a really good start. A few people are on their way out of the town when the comet's fragments begin boring holes in people--so they aren't affected. Eventually they run into a farmer fella with a penchant for action-film stunts and, apparently, all the remaining guns in Australia. The comet brings with it some nasty acid rain as well, which is believed to also have the ability to zombify someone. Eventually they head back to the town only to find a gigantic wall built around it....


Here’s the breakdown:

The Good:
--It's a zombie film, and number one on the list is almost always this: The gore is quite good. Not great, but pretty good.
--Unique and interesting zombies. They're nothing completely new, but at least they have their own look for this film.
--Decent acting, overall.
--Nice sets, especially the farmer's house. Very interesting...
--Bizarre and unique story. Really. It starts off as a pretty average zombie film, then, POW! The plot careens off in directions you never thought you'd see! I'll leave that up to you, fellow gore-hound, to find out for yourself!

Didn’t Hurt It, Didn’t Help:
--The entire film seems to be a throwback to 1950's era Science Fiction/Horror. From the wacky story to the retro opening credits and unfortunately one-dimensional characters. Overall, it's done really well, and only occasionally has that classic 50's horror/sci-fi feel. Some people, like me for instance, will like it--others won't.
--Most of the really good gore is relegated to the first half of the movie--after that it's wacky story all the way.
--Pretty good special effects, nothing spectacular, but for the most part it all works out pretty well.
--Occasionally, really cheesy. But loads of fun.

The Bad:
--One-dimensional characters. This film is a lot of fun, sure, but it suffers from this. One of the things that made "Shaun of the Dead" so much fun and so enjoyable was the great characters and vibrant personalities. I compare it to "Shaun" because, like that film, this one is also a fairly humerous and zany zombie flick--though less inspired directly by Romero's brand of flesh-eating corpses. Our introduction to the characters comes in the form of seeing several of them briefly--many on the phone--in the opening few minutes of the film. Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of growth from that point on.
--Some of the CG gore isn't very good. Overall, the film seems to have had a modest budget, so there's really no reason for the dip in quality.

The Ugly:
--Some people may be annoyed that there are some "zombie rules" broken. For instance, one corpse is split in two, but the bottom half keeps going--despite being obviously seperated from the brain. Minor problem, though.
--One otherwise really cool, really gory scene ruined by those poor CG effects. Zombie pulled into an airplane's propeller? Sounds great, right? Unfortunately, no. It was kind of disappointing.

Memorable Scene:
--Aliens? Who said anything about aliens...?


Acting: 7/10
Story: 10/10
Atmosphere: 8/10
Cinematography: 8/10
Character Development: 4/10
Special Effects/Make-up: 7/10
Nudity/Sexuality: 0/10
Violence/Gore: 7/10
Sets/Backgrounds: 8/10
Dialogue: 7/10
Music: 7/10
Writing: 8/10
Direction: 8/10

Cheesiness: 5/10
Crappiness: 0/10

Overall: 7/10

Overall, a pretty wacky zombie horror film. Very creative and weird story with some minor set-backs keeping it from being a truly great film. Inferior to "Shaun of the Dead," but not bad. Fun and entertaining. Recommended to all zombie horror fans, horror fans, and to fans of 50's horror/sci-fi cheesefests. Probably too weird for casual moviegoers.

[Bartwald]

I've heard and read so many bad things about this that I decided to avoid it - even though I do love zombie films. Having second thoughts now...

[Quorthon]

It's a weird little movie, but not without it's charm. Like I said, really cheesy and really strange, but fun.

One of the best 50's sci-fi/horror throwbacks I've ever seen. A far cry above "Strange Invaders," "Invaders from Mars 1986," and slightly more serious than "Mars Attacks!"

[slayrrr666]

"Undead" is one of the most creative and original zombie films around.

**SPOILERS**

As a stream of meteorites land in Berkeley, Australia, wannabe actress Rene, (Felicity Mason) cancels her trip home when she is attacked by flesh-eating zombies. Seeking shelter with Marion, (Mungo McKay) along with survivors Sallyanne, (Lisa Cunningham) Wayne, (Rob Jenkins) Molly, (Emma Randall) and Harrison, (Dirk Hunter) in his hideout, and are forced to deal with the fact that the zombie attacks are extraterrestrial. Fending off swarm after swarm of the creatures, they make a dash for safety. Determined to fight off the aliens in charge of the events, they make one last stand to turn them back.

The Good News: This was quite an original and fun film. The whole premise is one of the most ingenious ones around. Melding a zombie romp with a science fiction alien invasion is quite clever and really original. It's been hinted at before, but the fact that here it's determined that it is their handiwork makes it all the better. The best part of the film is the high gore quotient. We get lots of splatter, with a meteor going through one's chest, bodies ripped in half at the waist, a slew of decapitations, a shovel in the head, a face ripped off, severed arms, knives in the head, guts tumbling out and a large number of bullet hits. This is one equally well-deserved gore film, and the fact that it's all shown is nice enough. It starts well enough, and it wastes no time in getting to the juicy stuff. The zombies themselves are really well-designed, with sullen, sunken eye sockets and piercing blue eyes. It should've been used to greater effect than what's in here, and that really is good. There too much like everyday people, which works for the film. Their ability to withstand bullets in the wrong spot also delivers some really meaty scare scenes, especially when they do it in unison and look in a single direction with the glowing eyes. It also cunningly uses the plot device of acid rain in order to get the cast to strip down, and to provide a novel threat. It's another example of the ingenuity of the film. This extends into the final half hour, which isn't that great but is a shining example of the amount of ingenuity on display. The maddening pace also works for the film's favor, starting out with the invasion in the opening five minutes. Almost immediately, it's exposed and out there, and that allows for some really exciting scenes and helps to make it a really upbeat and exciting experience. It's rarely boring or slow, and that isn't a bad thing.

The Bad News: There's a couple of grievances about the film. The film is sometimes too silly to really be taken seriously, and that robs of the film's ability to scare, which it should've done with the plot-line. They play a large part in the film really not being even remotely close to be scary. All of these could be forgiven, though, if the film weren't a total mess. We never get to know what these beams from the sky really are and how they differ from the alien beams that are shot out occasionally. It's also never said what the real purpose of the aliens on Earth is about and how everything shown is connected. It's a hard time figuring out what the story is all about. The switch from offbeat the cartoon-ish gore to sci-fi epic can be really jarring. The effects-laden climax just plods on and on, ending mildly satisfactory but still incredibly confusing. As most of it is dialog-less, there's a real strain to figure everything out and make sense of the film. One of the biggest joys in the film really should've been the scene where they discover how to kill zombies the right way, but it's ruined when they continue to fire into the chests of the undead even after they discover what will stop them for good. It's found out in the right way, but to watch the survivors continually do what was done before hand that never worked when the proper knowledge of what could be done was discovered. These are the factors that didn't work in the film.

The Final Verdict: Had it kept it's true intentions intact and delivered a real wall-to-wall zombie film, then it would've been a really well-rounded film, but the fact that too many different factors are added in sink this one lower than it should. It's still a fun experience, so those with huge love of zombie films or those that want to see something a little different are advised to seek it out.

Rated R: Graphic Language, Graphic Violence and Brief male rear Nudity