It Stains the Sands Red

Amazingly well shot, with a consistent vision and look through out, this is one of the few standout Zombie flicks of the last decade - maybe not as good as Zombieland, but at least the equal of 'The Girl with all the Gifts'. The characters are consistent where needed, and the evolution of Molly follows a realistic path of growth. The pacing from start to finish is just about perfect, it never drags and it never feels rushed You'll be rooting for the Zombies, especially 'Smalls', several times as events unfold. There's a couple of film makers goofs, but it'll take other film makers to spot them. A must-see for Zombie fans, and a good watch for everyone else.

Brittany (Jigsaw, What keeps you alive) Allen, manages yet another, brutal performance here, as a coke-addled newly single hoe on the run, who decides to befriend a zombie, and, ultimately re-mother her child in the wake of a zombie-takeover invasion. This is equal parts 'Fido', meets 'Single White Female', lost in a haze of bright, contrasty colors of the desert that will have you wondering if this is more 'Tank Girl', or 'I Spit On Your Grave'. It has the momentum of a 90s movie, until the logic of the plot wears thin. Then out of nowhere there is the ending, which is kind of becoming a modern cliche. Just don't accidentally burn the popcorn.

First off, this is worth a watch, and it's far better than the 2-3 stars some reviewers are awarding.

Woman takes an unplanned "walking holiday" in the Nevada desert and picks up an unwanted follower in the form of a slow but relentless Zombie, is a great premise.

Brittany Allen as Molly does a perfectly acceptable job in the lead playing a character who has to deal with increasingly grim situations with nothing but steely determination 5 grams of cocaine to see her through.

In the last act the film lost it's clarity but still just about kept it together.

6 out of ten, could have been a 7 with a tighter ending.

I just stumbled across this on one of the premium networks, and frankly expected more of the same - just another zombie retelling, which is kind of old, at this point. Boy, was I wrong. This story is so clever, and at times hilarious. The two main actors - Brittany Allen, as a coke-addicted stripper stranded in the desert, and Juan Riedinger a zombie in not-so-hot pursuit - are absolutely dead on. So to speak. I could see where zombie purists might not like it, simply because it's so unconventional, but I think it's a hidden gem.

A stripper-mom fleeing a zombie apocalypse finds herself alone and stranded in the desert as one of the creatures stalks her ...

Good concept with an interesting twist and energetic climax. Plenty of style, with fine cinematography and a few big-bucks effects. This is from the writer/director/producer team behind Grave Encounters, so you might expect a bleak and harrowing story, but it's surprisingly big hearted if not quite optimistic.

But surprise surprise - this experienced team allow a lot of niggles to interrupt the story, with constant lapses in plausibility and logic. For example, in the opening scene the getaway car digs its rear wheel into the sand and won't budge - instantly I thought of a way to dislodge it, but the characters didn't even begin to think - even for the comedy effect. Later, there are plenty opportunities to exploit the creature's weakness, but the heroine doesn't have the wit to even try. A safe-haven house appears and disappears for no reason. The story is peppered with these problems, which kept dragging me out but are easily fixable. It undermined the humour and pathos the story was aiming for, so that's frustrating.

The final act has a serious change of tack, which kinda works. It does deliver on character and emotion, but its awkwardness might have been less if the earlier story had flowed more smoothly. So there's plenty to enjoy in this movie, but the script was just a bit off.

The landscapes are gorgeous, and there's a good car-shot with a face in the wing mirror, plus a fire-lit reveal of the monster creeping up from behind. Also plenty of gore and skin.

Lead actress does well, with a great squeal & scarper when trying to confront the zombie. And the zombie's movements are well done, and he even generated sympathy. Was the chemistry believable? Would have helped to have better dialogue.

Enjoyed the music. And the title comes from a gross-out snack.

Overall: Quality, but sloppy.