Collapse of the Living Dead

For a low budget production this turned out to be a pretty decent film. Essentially, "Robert Morgan" (Chris Mulkey) is a farmer who is still distraught from the death of his daughter six months ago. Additionally, his wife "Molly" (Karen Landry) is also experiencing emotional issues which weighs on his mind, the bank is trying to foreclose on his farm, his hired hand "Hank" (Mike Tweeton) just tendered his resignation and his bills are starting to stack up. It's at this point that a zombie epidemic breaks out. Hank is killed, his son "Will" (Travis Slade Reinders) is bitten and his wife narrowly escapes serious injury as well. Since he lives so far from town he has no other choice but to take matters into his own hands. At any rate, rather than spoil the film for anyone who hasn't seen it, I will just say that what I liked about this movie was that it had good suspense, above average character development, and a very good ending. Along with that, I especially liked Chris Mulkey who I thought gave an outstanding performance. Likewise, I also thought the directors (Jason Bolinger and Mike Saunders) did an excellent job with what little they had to work with. In short, if you like zombie films then I think you will probably enjoy this one as well.

Perhaps a 7 out of 10 is a little generous, but I did warm to Collapse. It's certainly a low-budget production, and it shows, but the acting, props and makeup are adequate.

The camera work is very "closed" and close-up, despite the sweeping rural and small-town setting. We get to see very little of the surroundings or countryside in which the story is happening, everything is very focused on the actors themselves. It feels a little claustrophobic at times (but not in a good, "horror" way) and I wanted the camera to just pan out for a little in some of the shots, to set the scene a little better.

One other slight issue was where the main character bludgeons to death a couple of zombies and it's obvious both times that the blows (off- camera) are not connecting with anything. The gore is quite toned down for this zombie movie, and quite a lot of the violence isn't explicitly shown.

As mentioned in other reviews, there is a major plot twist at the end, and I for one loved it, didn't see it coming at all (although I should have done), and this twist alone lifts the film from being a so-so film to a good one. Don't expect too much, forgive its flaws, and there is an enjoyable zombie film here.

Let it be said, I've seen worse movies...and sat through them because they at least kept me engaged, had some comedic elements, or were splatter-fests. This movie seriously lacks on all accounts. It plods along for the first hour or so, and there is a half-hearted effort at comedy that seems awkward and out-of-place. The gore wasn't terribly bad, but the special effects were amateurish. The zombies were the best actors in the bunch (most of them)...I had expected more from this as two of the main characters (husband and wife in real life) have been in the biz for some time and even won some awards...either they were having a bad day, or they were saved by previous scripts...the man has the same expression for virtually the first hour and the woman 'cries' dry tears. At least the son has an excuse...this is his first (and probably last)film. The zombie makeup was decent...as I've said, I've seen appreciably worse. Besides the shuffling zombies (Romero-style, like they SHOULD be), the only other thing I liked was the eerie music...very 'Goblin-esque' (a band with more than a few classic zombie movie themes under their belt, including the original 'Dawn of the Dead' from 1978). All-in-all, only for hard-core zombiephiles (like me).

Maybe I'm being a bit gracious with a rating of 7, but I'll tell you why. Aside from overacting or most probably over directing/writing in the beginning it plays out like a higher budget film. Not to be confused, it looks like a lower budget film. The over acting/directing/writing is from dialog where one character speaks and nods and pauses giving off to much of a reaction rather than a more normal reaction which is of course more natural. Next the problem is the writing is quite good in hiding twists and turns, but just gets a bit off here and there. Didn't care for the lighting in places.

Now for what's good about the film. Once it's rolling the acting is fairly nice. From the get- go it's apparent that something is off about both the lead male and female character. One knows something isn't right, that it's not just bad acting, but that there are wheels turning upstairs on both of them. This is key mild foreshadowing as the film plays out. The zombies are the slow footed classical kind with rather nice makeup, all a bonus if you ask me. The final plot twist is excellent. I'd say this is a directing/producing team that could do good work with studio backing.

If you're expecting Miramax or 20th Century Fox quality you're going to be disappointed. But if you're looking to be entertained with an interesting story about flawed characters and can look past the budget issues this film delivers.

This movie gets off to a good start with typical zombie fare done pretty well. It slows down a lot toward the middle of the movie (I skipped a good 10 minutes and missed nothing), but the ending made it all worthwhile. The ending was a specially well shot, and a fresh idea in this genre. For me it bumped the movie from a three out of 10 to a six out of 10, which is to say I think it is worth a look for those of you who love zombie movies but have watched every one that has ever been made me like I have. I also watched this for the lead actor who I met at a horror convention. He is in a lot of low-budget movies and was just generally nice guy so it's fun to see him take the lead: so there's my bias if you wanted to know!