State of Emergency

Although low-budget zombie movies are ten a penny these days and, it's fair to say, the majority of them are absolute rubbish, STATE OF EMERGENCY offers something a little different. For a start, it looks like a professional, well-made movie despite the low budget; it has great production values and it avoids being cheesy for the most part.

Of course, there's a flip side to this coin, and the main detraction with the film is that it's incredibly slow. There are lots and lots of long, drawn-out sequences where the protagonist just barricades himself inside a building and waits...and waits...and waits. Some viewers might find this off-putting, although I found that the tension levels were high, which kept me watching.

The acting isn't bad, and pretty good for a B-movie, and as mentioned the technical values are decent. The zombies themselves are fast-moving and ultra-aggressive, much like the ones in 28 DAYS LATER, and the scare sequences are well handled. STATE OF EMERGENCY is far from perfect, and one of the disappointments is that the ending just fizzles out instead of bangs, but in a sea of trash watching it is a nice surprise.

This is not a blockbuster and there isn't a lot of zombie action, however this is an interesting movie with character and plot development. I started watching this movie while my spouse was at work, but when he got home he immediately got interested in the plot, even though he normally disregards "those zombie crap movies" I watch. He also liked, The Horde, World War Z, The Night Eats the World, and Overlord. So, I'm slowly but surely converting him over to be a zombie movie fan.

"State of Emergency" is not your average zombie movie. The movie starts out with a fairly good and interesting introduction to the main character, Jim (played by Jay Hayden). However, the movie is fairly slow in pace, and sadly never really picks up and gets into gear.

Now, don't get me wrong, because the movie is not all bad or an entire waste of time. What works out well in favor for the movie is the characters and the way that it manages to build up the relations to the four characters of which the movie revolves.

However, if you are looking for a zombie-fest or gore-show, then "State of Emergency" is a wrong bet to put your money on. As with "The Walking Dead", then "State of Emergency" is a character-driven story, although it just never gets anywhere near "The Walking Dead" effects-wise. I will say that all four people hired for the four main characters did good jobs with their given roles.

As much as I enjoy zombie movies, then I have always had a problem with agile and running zombies, which is what they have in this movie. And why do zombies in low-budget movies always have to make growling sounds like predatory big cats? It is just so stupid.

For a low-budget movie, then "State of Emergency" did a good enough job with what was available, and what they did use worked well enough in favor for the movie. However, it doesn't score high on the zombie ladder in regards of entertainment and enjoyment. There are far worse zombie movies available on the market.

"State of Emergency" is good is you have 85 minutes to spare and got nothing better to watch.

Another reviewer wrote "don't expect a zombie movie". I think that is a thing of perception. What is a zombie movie to you? What do you combine with it and what expectations do you have when you watch one where zombies are involved? Because yes this is not that action orientated and yes it is laying a lot of weight and attention on the living rather than the (un)dead.

That doesn't mean they are not a big part of the movie and the issues of the characterts involved here. You get cliches and running zombies here - so bear with those if you can. This is low budget but still quite nicely done overall. There are worse outputs out there and this is really slow burning too ...

If you come into this expecting something like the Walking Dead, or any of the other hundreds of Zombie movies out there, you will be disappointed. This movie is actually more about the characters and the personalities and what they are experiencing and going through emotionally, than it is about Zombies.

Taking it for what it is, this movie is okay. It's not fantastic, but it is okay. If anything, the Zombies almost get in the way of the actual story itself, at least what little of them there are.

The movie is a wee bit confused in that it is trying to cater to multiple audiences by being a dramatic tale with some conservatively added violence, guns and gore. Doesn't quite work, but I don't think it completely fails either.