The Supernaturals

Nichelle Nichols stars as a drill sergeant who takes some young army cadets to an isolated forest to do some training, but they run afoul of several ghosts / zombies from the Civil War. Some are good, but most of them are seeking revenge for having to walk on fields with land mines at gunpoint. A good cast is wasted in this slow moving, dull flick with poor zombie effects.

Rated R; Violence, Profanity, and a Mild Sexual Situation.

I am a huge fan of zombie movies, so, when I found this one, I jumped to the chance of renting it. And then I knew I made a bad choice.

The movie is about a group of army recruits being led into the backwoods by their head sergeant, Uhura from Star Trek. And I'll be damned if this wasn't another sequel to those Police Academy movies or something. From that marching band music, to goofy acting, to constant joking, and so on, I was really thinking this was like the 8th sequel, "Assignment in Alabama" or something. And that wasn't a good sign.

Eventually, some "supernatural" stuff starts to happen, relating back to some flashback of a kid walking through a minefield with all these Confederate soldiers, only to have all of them blown away, except for him. A very cheesy scene. There's this woman the group finds, and apparently, they have no questioning as to who she really is, or what she's doing there. She's just with them now.

I was starting to fall asleep until finally some guy got killed by two zombies in an underground bunker. Then there's that, "We've found a body, now let's find the killer" scheme until finally, that night, there is...yes...a shoot-out between zombies--which we barely ever see--and the recruits, who are getting killed left and right. But it's no bloodbath.

There's a lot of scenes with this one guy and the zombies, while Uhura and some other chick hide behind rocks with a few other survivors and shoot at zombies. It was all really lame, until the terrible ending that had nothing resembling a climax. And then it ended. We saw an equivalent of ten zombies in the whole movie, uninteresting deaths, and basically no horror. Skip this one. It's not only a bad zombie movie, it's a bad horror movie in total.

'The Supernaturals' is one of the most sinister horror films to come out of the 1980's. The location for this zombie flick is aptly used: somewhere in the 'sullen backwoods' of America. We are, at first, introduced to a regiment of Confederate soldiers who are forced, by the Union forces - the 44th - to walk across a section of woodland laced with mines. The entire regiment are blown to all four points of the compass, with the exception of Jeremy, a young boy dressed as a confederate. He, along with his mother, exhibits a seemingly unearthly power, which consequently saves his life. Fast-forward to the year 1985: a troup of U.S. soldiers - the 44th division - are on manouvers in the same backwoods. Little do they know what atrocities befell the original regiment of the 44th - until they unwittingly camp upon the same cursed ground. Radio contact fails, troops begin to disappear during their routine watch - all hell breaks loose, as the past catches up with the members of the 44th. The woods serve as an appropriate setting for this creepy horror movie, and there is - despite previous reviews - enough gore to keep the average horror fan entertained. However, what makes this film stand out from other zombie films, is the tight plot and the faultless directing. The use of the mist-shrouded woods, the 'seemingly' disused underground bunkers and the ancient stone cottage - now a haven for the long-dead - create an eerie atmosphere. The sharpened tree branches see members of the 44th staked - vampire fashion. Mawell Caulfield (Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat; The Boys Next Door; Gettysburg: Waxwork 2: Lost in Time) shines, as ever, in this horror masterpiece!

From the film-maker of "He Knows You're Alone" (1980) "and "Distortions" (1987); Director Armand Mastroianni's generic survival zombie feature "The Supernaturals" has a good concept (army recruits on a training mission in the woods of the Deep South encounter dead confederate soldiers), which isn't entirely realised. In the end it's a passable low-budget, b-grade presentation that's a little too sloppy and uneventful, but is genuinely moody and atmospheric in its backwoods setting. Mastroianni's use of lighting, shadow work and a fog machine, installs some eerie imagery and a few nasty jolts in the back-end. However it really does take its time, before its final payoff --- the characters that you spend a lot of time with aren't particularly an interesting bunch (with some abysmal dialogues too). The scratchy plot doesn't explain all that much about what's going on; it's rather unusual and vague, but this does come off rather daft and cheesy in its on going build-ups. Although it does gradually get better as it goes along. The performances are decent enough (Nichelle Nichols, a pinning Maxwell Caulfield and Talia Balsam) and look out for a cameo by one of the Bee Gees; Maurice Gibb as a Union soldier. At times lousy, ponderous but tautly constructed with some striking visuals and commendable make-up FX when on show.

In 1865, In Alabama, during the American Civil War, Confederate soldiers are held captive and forced by the 44th Union Army commander to walk through a field with landmines to blow up them. The boy Jeremy (Chad Sheets) is wearing a Confederate uniform and is also forced to make the crossing. When his mother Melanie (Margaret Shendal) runs to save him, she steps on a landmine and Jeremy uses his mysterious ability to revive her. On the present days, a rookie platoon commanded by Sgt. Leona Hawkins (Nichelle Nichols) in training in the same spot and will camp, and Pvt. Ray Ellis (Maxwell Caulfield) finds the place strange, but Sgt. Hawkins is reluctant to move. Out of the Blue, Melanie reappears and meets Ellis since he recalls her husband. During the night, a mysterious fog surrounds their camp. Soon they are attacked by a horde of zombies and Ellis finds a means to stop the aggressors. Will he succeed?

"The Supernaturals" (1986) is a lame zombie movie from the 80's. When I saw it in the 80's on VHS, maybe I did not see how bad it is. But in 2024, it is awful. Nichelle Nichols should have stayed as Uhura in the cult Star Trek. The beauty of Talia Balsam is the best this movie can offer. My vote is four.

Title (Brazil): "Os Sobrenaturais" ("The Supernaturals")