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What initially introduces itself as a classic Shaw Brothers revenge style film quickly deviates from that to become something altogether different in a way that's unexpectedly good.

I'll start by saying that this movie is wuxia through and through and though, so if you don't know the genre, it's extremely confusing. However, that's not to say most people who do know the genre would be able to call it all the way through, as even though the broad strokes are familiar, the execution is unique; and while it initially feels like a film made after they had everyone together for another film to reuse actors and sets and costumes, there's enough to keep it interesting all the way through.

The overall tone of the film is pulpy and comedic in a way that's just short of being actually funny without being so committed that it offends you when it fails and so it's instead charming, like someone giving you a badly made gift that obviously somehow shows more obvious skill and effort than if it were "well made."

Great things about it: -Predictable but in a comforting way -Most powerful martial artist in the film's world is a woman (very forward!) -Passes the Bechdel test (kinda) -Bright colors and weird, characters -Doesn't take itself seriously -Despite being filmed in shots that are obviously constrained to specific sets and lighting, this ends up adding excellent variety with distinct feel in each spot.

Bad things about it: -Story dead ends some characters yet they still stick around -Some of the characters don't have clear motivations as to why they do anything -Features a wide variety of martial arts sects but they all act and fight the same way -Special effects budget is essentially the whole budget -Abuse of wires

Weird things about it that are so bad it's good: -They spent way too much money on exactly 2 skeletons and so they reuse them again and again, even to the point where one of the bad guys goes, "HAHAHA, GRAB THE BONES!" as an obvious inside joke.

-The director and writer knew their tropes well enough that they openly and hilariously subvert tropes regarding "magic" and "vampires" and "dual cultivation," etc.

-The tone of the film shifts wildly from the open all the way to the close.

-Certain characters show up and are introduced as if they'd fill certain roles only for those roles to be completely changed in hilarious ways.

Overall, the film feels almost like you suddenly landed half way in a series with no formal prequel or sequel but is rich enough that it's still enjoyable, like being handed a slice of cake with something written on it and being unsure if it's for a birthday, holiday, retirement, or professional event but still enjoying it because it's surprisingly good cake. Just like that cake, I'd recommend this as a fun watch, especially if you have friends to riff on the film with at home.

I hope that you, poor reader, and anyone else you know who might be thinking of this film allows it to die the death it should.

I strongly suspect that a massive number of reviews on this film we're by people involved in the film or those who were more in love with the idea of the film than the film itself.

Rampant tries to sell itself as a great Joseon period film about turmoil and zombies and heroism. It squeezes in some decent action sequences and good makeup with known actors; but just like how a production without any of those things can still end up with a great film, Rampant takes all of those blessings and squanders them by haphazardly jamming all of the nuts and bolts of a decent film into a mess totally different from what the trailers promise.

The backbone of the film is not a horror in and of itself, but a jingoistic period piece based on soggy appeals to nationalism and ham fisted attempts at court intrigue. The shift in tone and pacing from the opening to the introduction of the main cast is jarring and uneven, and the rules of the world and actual resolution of struggles is frustratingly vague.

It would not surprise me if half the people who wrote the film couldn't agree on how zombies even work. Death by heart or head? But people can just slash at them and they fall? They're slow and jerky but also run and scream? Why can some think and even encourage or threaten people but others are totally animalistic and mindless? They burn in the sun but can walk in light shadow or on cloudy days? Are they even zombies or are they, as the film calls them, a dually demons?

The people who worked on this should be ashamed of Rampant, as characters are horrible. As an action film, the level of skill people show ranges from crouching tiger to basic floundering. There's a few chunks of attempted characterization, but most of the characters are flat and could easily have a number of their roles reversed without any real effect on the story. Too much time is spent on panning close-ups of emotional reactions and signalling rather than actual meaningful interactions. Occasionally it feels as if the cast we're unsure if they were pausing for dramatic music as if it were a series or if they should have been delivering lines. This weakness gets worse as the film goes on as they don't seem to get closer or have more faith in each other at all. It wouldn't surprise me if it later came out that the actors all hated each other or that significant portions of the film's were rewritten to either include people the studio decided to shoehorn in or cover people dropping from the production.

The subplots are half baked and poorly explored or explained. Many of the actions taken by characters to either save themselves or stop the zombies is utterly bewildering and nonsensical to the point where even the suspension of disbelief for the zombies feels like a stretch to cover the supposedly understood motivations of the cast. The plans are simplistic and the numbers and ideas thrown about don't seem to hold water as ideas constantly shift as if the director were allowing the actors to adlib something close to a third of the film.

Save your time. Don't watch this film. No matter how much the trailer promised, it's nowhere near half as good as the trailer.

For fans of The Witch, this will be another fantastic piece. While there are slight issues with continuity and motivation of some parts of the plot, this film offers mystery, action gore (even if a bit outdated), and wonderful composition, all while developing a narrative that pulls you in and invests in the well earned climax.

The artistry is absolutely the best when it comes to the beauty of the shots and the musical score which lends heavily to the mood.

The subplots seem to be disjointed and I can't honestly say they all finally join in a way that'll satisfy everyone, but they definitely add up in an overall world building/background developing kind of way, especially with some of the more subversive undertones for those who appreciate the slightly deeper meaning to some of the parts.

A few of the characters are one note, and you kind of wonder if you'd be better than them in the same situation, but it doesn't hamper the film and they work together relatively well.

Bottom line? Not a scary film, but somewhat creepy and blossoming with macabre beauty.