Zombie Massacre 2: Reich of the Dead

Yes, I am a sucker for all things zombie, and more than often that fascination leads me to watch some very questionable movies. Questionable even though the DVD cover makes the movie seem a lot more interesting than it actually turned out to be. And "Zombie Massacre 2: Reich of the Dead" was no exception.

This movie was a drag to get through, especially because it was unfathomably slow paced. You are more than 30 minutes into the movie before the first zombie rears its ugly head. Ugly head indeed. Especially because all zombies were outfitted with what could best be described as latex masks bought at a local Halloween vendor. But hey, points for trying at least. And hand on heart, then a fake latex mask still is better than just some poor gray make-up on the face.

But the movie is slow paced and very little of any interest happens throughout the entire movie, and there is not even enough action throughout the movie to make up for the lack of speed and progress. And a storyline so simple that even an actual dead person can keep up with it is insulting to the audience. There are no surprises, no twists, no turns, no nothing here to be had. I suffered through the movie so you don't have to.

The story is about a small group of American soldiers trapped behind enemy lines in Nazi Germany during World War II. Trapped and pinned down by enemy fire, they seek shelter in an abandoned Nazi compound. But some foul and sinister secret broods in the musky old Building.

Right. Well, the storyline was straight forward, I will say that much. But way too simple to be entertaining. And the make-up and special effects were just downright bad. Not bad enough to actually be funny and entertaining because they are bad. Just plain bad.

The acting in "Zombie Massacre 2: Reich of the Dead" was adequate for a movie such as this. I have seen much worse acting in low budget zombie movies because, so at least the movie had that working in its favor.

And the atmosphere of the movie was also working well in favor of the movie, because there was a good sense of the movie actually taking place during World War II. And it is always a plus in my book when Germans actually do speak German in war movies. So a rotten thumb up for that as well. Oh, and also the props and costume department should get some credit, because they added some authenticity to the movie as well with what they managed to put together.

However, the overall movie was just a stinker. Pardon the pun. If you enjoy zombie movies, then "Zombie Massacre 2: Reich of the Dead" is not a good choice for a night's worth of entertainment, as there are far better movies available.

Another zero-budget zombie film, from the Italian team who made the poor EATERS. The good news is that Reich of the Dead is a lot better than that film, although still not particularly good; the problem is that the story plays things out very predictably on a tight budget, so there's no room for anything memorable or original. FRANKENSTEIN'S ARMY this isn't!

Instead, what we get are a couple of characters wandering around some gloomy locations and occasionally encountering some zombies that shuffle around. The zombie threat is zero as is the horror content, although this is definite a bad taste vibe going on in the way the zombies are all dressed in concentration camp uniforms - they were former prisoners experimented upon by a mad surgeon.

The one thing Reich of the Dead has going for it is some surprisingly decent direction; no shaky-cam work here, just solid cinematography which makes the most of the dreary and drab setting. It's probably the best direction I've seen in a low budget zombie flick, so it's a shame it was wasted on such a non-starter of a story. Too much of the slender running time is padded out with boring conversations on the nature of war and B-movie veteran Dan van Husen barely gets a look in.

After the events of Zombie Massacre (2013), you would imagine that this film would be a sequel. You are mistaken. This film is not even a prequel.

Zombie Massacre 2: Reich of the Dead (2015) details an independent story set in WWII. A small group of American soldiers finds shelter in an apparently abandoned building as they try to call for help.

We know that things are going to get worse. And the film does a good job of keeping the tension going. I was waiting for a zombie to appear at any moment, but the tension continued and continued. And continued. And continued ...

When you get to the first zombie action, you've already watched a third of the movie. This is not bad, but the zombie encounter is disappointing. Disappointing enough that you label this movie "stalled." And you are correct: the film is really stalled.

In the film's setting, I assume that "zombie knowledge" is not a common thing. Still, it seems that the story tries to explore the concept that a bite will turn you into a zombie, which I think doesn't make sense for the time portrayed in the film.

The performance is acceptable, but it is still weak.

The story as a whole does not present anything interesting. The ending tries to make everything mysterious and sinister, but I thought it was too confusing.

I would not recommend this film to any ordinary viewer, just for fans of zombie movies.

What a waste of time. Really not worth viewing. Bad acting should have warned me. When I saw "dead" Charlie blinking in the background, I should have known this wasn't worth My time. I kept hoping for improvement but this is One of the worst movies I have ever seen.

I can' remember the last time I was so bored watching a movie, even just few minutes till the end I was considering turning it off just because there just wasn't anything keeping me interested. If you're looking for a full action-packed, gore movie you will be very disappointed, the titular zombies are not only are extremely dull (like the rest of the movie) and predictable, they don't pose much threat besides what characters themselves manage to bring upon themselves. Also, the zombies don't show up until halfway through the movie, so there's that.

There isn't a lot in the movie that deserves a praise, maybe not-awful soundtrack (guess that's where the 2nd star came from). The dialogues are beyond awful and so is the writing in general, the characters are people you'll wish to never see again and there is no humor beyond the irony of how bad they managed to make this movie.

Zombie Massacre 2 is a movie that tries to be too serious and too smart but has neither the budget nor talent to back up its ideas. You'll not find any exciting scenes here, the ones that come close are ALL included in the trailer, so do yourself a favor and watch that.