After Effect

This is a pretty good zombie-type film.

So, this college student is a bit low on cash. She normally does three jobs to make ends meet, and then spots a way to earn some extra dough...medical research!!

We've all heard about it, loads of cash, some have placebo's, some have the real thing, and you can earn loads of cash.

But in this case, it turns out not to be a good investment plan. I know some have labelled it to be like 28 days later, but It's not, as they all sign up to be tested on. Things obviously turn for the worse, and I try not to give anything away, but it has a pretty good storyline, who knows who will become the next infected one, and who will survive.

The US army wants a new biological weapon and they are testing it on volunteer students who want to make a quick thousand dollars. Once a group is selected they are put into the facility equipped with cameras, then gassed which is how the drug is administered. They sit back and watch the results.

The drug makes them bleed from all orifices, then gives them a surge of energy making them incredibly strong wanting just to kill. They look like demon zombies. The difference in this film is that the infected people can be killed like how anybody could be. They don't take 50 bullets and keep going.

My only complaint is the overplayed premise and Daniel Baldwin's presence.

No spoilers: Three of these turd movies about the same crap came out the same year. The Facility, Blood Work and this. This was the worst of the three. I couldn't rate any of them over a 3. This one is the worst. If you make it pass the classroom scene you might make it to the end.

After Effect otherwise known as The Removed, otherwise known as Patient Z: The Infected is a bit of an under the radar horror film and I can more than slightly see why.

It tells the story of a bunch of students in need of cash who join one of those dodgy medical testing thingies. Needless to say things don't go well for them in this feature zombie movie.

Wait, zombie!? Yes that's what it's advertised as but is it? This is more a 28 Days Later (2002) affair, I say this because zombie have rules and some people are quite stringent on that (Me included).

Truth be told going in I expected worse, I expected a hyper low budget zombie affair but it simply isn't. The movie looks great, on par with plenty of fairly high budget undead themed films I've seen lately so it certainly has that on its side. Character development? Also one for the win column, good job on that front.

Flip-side time, it just fails to come together. It lacks new ideas, though the setting is great what happens within it is generic, cliched and just not all that good. It's not bad, it's just that if you're a fan of the sub-genre you'll be seven steps ahead of the film itself.

Then there is the obligatory Baldwin brother, on this occasion Daniel. Have you noticed how some older/veteran/lazy actors have been having parts in films but don't liaise with any of the other cast at all? As if they never came onto the set a single time and was filmed separately? I've seen it a lot lately and that is what you have here again so certainly don't watch this for the Baldwin as he's not a big part of this movie.

If you're a big zombie fan you might find enjoyment (If you don't care about the zombie rules) but you'll have seen it all before.

The Good:

Looks decent

Great character development

The Bad:

Some of the films logistics are beyond dumb

Not zombies

Weak finale

You can tell it is low budget from the look right away, but it's not the worse I have seen. Made for TV level quality. The first 30 minutes or so are incredibly boring with pacing problems too, but once it picks up. It has some interesting things going on. The first 30 minutes are so dull I did actually almost switch off.

The set up is students signing up for a medical study, and they're being experimented on. They're locked up in a hospital, which actually is a great way to do this on a lower budget.

The first "zombie turning" was well done from a horror point of view. They're a bit different to "traditional zombies" but I think indies that play with ideas are pretty great.

The acting is extremely average. Again I've seen a lot worse. Like if the first 30 minutes wouldn't have been so dry it would have been a much more decent watch, but I did enjoy it after things got moving.