Outpost: Rise of the Spetsnaz

The original "Outpost", released in 2008, was a modestly successful hit, but the sequels are - like often the case, sadly - passable and inferior. At least "Rise of the Spetsnaz" is a vast improvement over "Black Sun", which I only watched a couple of months ago and already can't remember anything about. The third reaches the same level of nauseating warfare violence as the first but lacks the element of surprise and the good cast.

During the last months of WWII, a squad of the notorious Russian mercenary group known as the Spetsnaz stumbles upon a remote and uncharted Nazi lair where seemingly mysterious experiments take place. Although the Spetsnaz are lot tougher than any other opponents, they're not prepared to battle against outrageous and unstoppable soldiers that were brought back from the dead.

"Rise of the Spetsnaz" sneakily copies the exact same elements that made the original "Outpost" worthwhile, namely the isolated setting, a cast full of "heroes" that are already and difficult to sympathize with, showing the Nazi zombies as little and as late as possible in the film, and depicting the Nazi superiors as short-sized but loathsome and arrogant little cowards. What's new here, maybe, is that the Nazis don't restrict their experimental zombie army to former soldiers alone. There's a memorable sequence recognizable by the quote "bring in the child murderer!", and it features a creep who looks exactly like Madman Marz from "Madman" or Buddy Bacon from "Slaugherhouse". In any case, "Outpost III" is full enough of extreme violence and bloodshed to remain enjoyable, but not much more than that.

The first 'Outpost' film was a classic (well... a classic in the B-movie horror genre). However, the second part was totally unnecessary and not even worth trying to watch. Here we have the third instalment of the franchise. And it's a prequel/origins movie. But don't worry if you haven't seen parts 1 or 2. It also works as a stand-alone affair.

It's set in 1944 on the 'Eastern Front' where Russian commandos are raiding German bases. While doing so, they only go and discover that those dastardly Nazis are trying to resurrect the dead and turn them into 'super soldiers.' Naturally, the Nazis don't plan on letting this little secret get out and capture our Vodka-swigging heroes, leaving them to escape from the undead-ridden facility.

Okay, so the plot isn't going to blow your mind, but then the film isn't either. It's average. There's not much else to say, but, if you need reasons, I'll mention that the you won't care too much for the characters. The Russian heroes are tough, grunting macho men with no real depth, therefore you can hardly really relate to them. The Nazi commander of the base is a little too campy for the role. It's a gritty and serious film and he comes across like a cackling Bond villain.

Nothing much happens in the first twenty-five minutes, but, if you stick with it, at least you're rewarded with some violence and zombie-killing fun. Its strengths are that it's suitably violent and well-shot so as to make the most of the bleak and gloomy setting. And it's not that long either, so, once the twenty-five minutes are over, it moves swiftly for the rest of the duration.

But, ultimately, it's nothing new. And that's its major flaw. You've probably seen plenty of zombie movies. And many of them are better. Therefore, do you really need to watch another one? If you think the 'Nazi element' may make it different, just stick to Outpost (1) which is head and shoulders more fun than this. Or, if you can put up with subtitles and a lighter tone, try Dead Snow for a really gory and light-hearted approach to killing dead Nazis. Outpost 3 is just too little too late. You probably won't hate it, but you probably won't remember it by this time next week.

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OK, so lets talk about this series a little: Outpost: loved it! Black sun: So-so; Rise of Spetsnaz: not your average zombie movie.

Part three was better than two, at least in my opinion. Sure, the beginning is slow, cause there is a German general who talks for like 20 minutes into the movie and he gets quite annoying at times. But luckily for us they shut him up and let the action roll. The movie is violent, quite gorish, not for them stomach weak people, some much loved kill shots, very few moments when the characters act dumb, as they usually do in horrors, so overall, an entertaining movie.

It's dark, it's sinister, well the main character puts it best: "f*cking crazy Nazis!" So, let me tell you, if you're a fan of them first 2 parts, you gonna love this. Jut bare in mind, try to get over the first 25 minutes, they kinda suck, but after those dull moments, you'll get plenty of blood, action, zombies and death!

2013 is a good year for parts 3 apparently, both Hatched 3 and Outpost managed to stand quite tall for number 2 sequels. So, there is hope after all, who knows what we're going to be looking in next, important thing is: I'm dying to see more!!

I like science fiction, horror, thriller, I dislike bad science fiction, horror, thriller - and I hate being cheated by reviews and hype. I bought Outpost III having read some good reviews. Hopefully this review will stop you making the same mistake. I should have learned my lesson with Outpost I, low budget, bad script, bad acting, bad direction. I skipped Outpost II and tripped up on III. The review I read said that it was a definite boost to the franchise, fine acting, fine camera work, script, etc., etc. In my opinion all of those do not apply. Imagine Outpost I and effectively you have Outpost III. This is lazy film-making. When a Nazi quotes Shakespeare expect the worst and you will not be disappointed. When someone says Bryan Larkin puts in a fine performance ask - in which scene? When Nazi soldiers attack like retards and start filling up the corridors with their stupid dead bodies and you think - is this it, is this the movie? Answer yes and find something else to do. I am generous giving this 3 stars out of 10.

I just rewatched the first one and the second one but had never heard about this one so I decided to watch it. While the first movie is a decent low budget horror movie, the second one is an action/horror movie and this one. This one is a pure russian wank fantasy that has nothing to do with the first movies. So if you enjoyed the first one and kinda liked the second one but wanted more? Well this movie contains nothing about what you liked from the first two, so just ignore this one. If they had called this movie just Rise of the Spetsnaz instead of Outpost and removed the whole "zombie" element it might have been a decent low budget war movie. But as it stands I'm judging the movie as a trilogy and as such it's an awful one.