Malnazidos

Valley of the Dead: Set during Spanish Civil War this is a Zombie film very much in the Z Nation style but there's enough dark stuff to make the laughs choke in your throat at times. SS members of the Condor Legion (Fighting for Franco) create zombies through experiments on the dead and dying. Naturally the experiment gets out of control. These Undead spring back into action, eating people alive before thy can turn, one charging along on his stumps like the Knight from Monty Python, there's a great shot of a Zombie horde on the skyline. Francoites link up with Republicans against the common enemy. Everything from a partisan band, to ordinary fascists, a Nun (with a big gun), a young woman called Priest Killer, atheists, communists and muslims unite to do battle with the walking dead. The squabbling between the assorted characters gets a tad tiresome at times, maybe ten minutes of this excised from the movie would have made it a better film. Still, the individual characters are interesting, especially Priest Killer and Brodsky who identifies as a Russian (he reckons he was brought to Spain as a baby). Homage is paid to Night of the Living Dead with a Zombie attack on a farmhouse and a train scene which is straight out of Train to Busan. Along with other Undead epics. A dark comedy Zombie thriller which delivers the goods. Directed by Javier Ruiz Caldera and Alberto de Toro. Written by Jaime Marques Olarreaga, Alberto Fernández Arregui and Cristian Conti. On Netflix. 7/10.

A zombie movie, set during The Spanish civil war, a film dogged by Covid 19 production problems, sounds like a recipe for disaster, right?

Well, it should have been one of those 2 star movies, where everyone says we've had a million zombie movies, and this is just another, but....this was an absolute riot, definitely worth the wait, it seemed at one stage that it would never hit our screens, but I'm so glad it has.

The first thing you'll notice, the fantastic production values, a lot of time and money has gone into this, it looks incredible. It has a strain of humour, and some decent spills and thrills.

Don't just assume that this is yet another zombie movie, this really does have something to offer. The story is pretty wild, bit this really was ninety minutes of zombie entertainment.

8/10.

Turning on Netflix today, I noticed this new addition, and as a lover of all things zombie & gore it was a natural viewing choice for me.

While there are certainly some plot holes, and some fairly implausible situations, without thinking too hard about such things makes this quite an enjoyable watch. As with most of my reviews, I won't comment on the plot, as the summary takes care of that. What I will comment on is the film itself. Short and sweet.

A Spanish film (ie from Spain), the production value is pretty top notch. The acting was good, the camera work was technically well above average (and professional), and fabulous scenery in some lesser known areas of Spain - beautiful panoramas, lush green forests, and an overall treat for the eyes.

Re: content Just like any zombie movie, there is a ton of bloodshed delivered via gunshots to the head. There are several bloody "bites" throughout the film, as well as severed limbs and death, literally everywhere. What the film is NOT, is gory. While I love zombie movies with excessive gore, this was not one of them. Lesser "experienced" viewers might consider some scenes to be gory, but if you're watching this solely for the gore, it likely won't measure up. That said, there was just enough to keep things interesting without being gratuitously nasty - a little bit of a bummer, but not so much that made viewing less enjoyable.

Lots of profanity, in Spanish, some issues re: racial equality, and no nudity.

One aspect that some might overlook is that there is a red thread of dark comedy from start to finish. All examples are very subtle and mostly tongue in cheek, not to mention "dead pan." I LOVED this aspect, even as a non-Spanish speaker. The writing in combination with the acting made me laugh out loud a couple of times. I truly appreciated this aspect of subtlety.

All in all, it's a fun watch! Nothing ground breaking or terribly new for the genre, but adventure, horror, and zombie fans should get a good kick out of it. By the end of the film I was shocked at how quickly 1 hour & 40 minutes went. That's always a good sign to me.

Definitely worth a watch, especially if you're a fan of the genres I mentioned above!

Although that's a very low bar to clear. The movie does have game-like stages. Good writing although probably more rewarding to Spanish speakers. And also there're a few deus-ex conveniences and you can pretty much guess who'll make it to the end bar one but that one person is for the usual wokeness brigade/cancel culture.

High production value given how cheap the last RE movie that costs 20 million dollars (after tax break) looks. Although the stretching of the budget is visible now and then. And Frank Darabont won't be happy with the zombie make-up but hey who cares, the movie is fast-paced and will end before you know it. That's entertainment!

Overall it's a decent watch and all of us zombie-genre lovers can breathe easier that this is not junk.

And please avoid the new Netflix Resident Evil series. 8 hours of my life I never get back.

Sure, you've seen dozens, maybe hundreds, of zombie movies, but have you seen a zombie movie set during the Spanish Civil War?

The first thing you're likely to notice about this movie is that it looks competently made. Sadly, this is a rarity among horror movies on Netflix, so it's worth mentioning.

The movie is a little more lighthearted than I would have expected given the subject matter, but it never quite becomes a horror comedy. It also doesn't take strong sides on the Spanish Civil War. There are protagonists and antagonists from both sides of the conflict, and Nazis are portrayed as the true villains.

This is probably one of the better aspects of the movie. The characters spend much more time fighting zombies than ranting at each other. Quite a few arguments ended with pistols being drawn, of course, but I remember most scenes being more like civil debate than the traditional screaming matches you find in low budget zombie movies.

Unfortunately, we have to get past the tedious "that's not your father any more" and "aim for the head!" scenes before the action really starts. Once it starts, though, it's pretty good. They really, really loved their blood sprays. There are squibs exploding all over the place. Besides that, though, there weren't a large amount of really showy special effects. Gore was fairly minimal for a zombie movie.

If you don't have high expectations, and you're looking for an action movie that will pass the time, this is a good choice. The characters are likeable, the dubbing was quite good, and the movie rarely gets bogged down in exposition at the cost of action.