Valley of the Dead

Do you like horror movies? Is blood and violence an issue? Depending on your answers, you may want to rethink wanting to watch this or not. Though to be honest, I would be surprised if you made it here and you were not sure - on the other hand: better safe than sorry! No pun intended - especially considering what the characters here have to go through.

It may not always make sense, but the movie is still more than decent. Especially considering the low budget this has. I wouldn't compare it to the Resident Evil, but if you feel that way, I fully support it. Especially if that made you have a good time with this right here :)

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.

Being set during the Spanish civil war a group of people from different sides must bound together to stop the dead from rising. This one of the few zombie movies I have see that actually show how it all starts which is the first good point. The cast were all fun and I felt the story was well directed. There isn't really much wrong with this film. Maybe just add more zombies but no really it was a fun watch and a film worthy of a sequel.

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!