Malnazidos - Nella valle della morte

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!

Good script, high production value in war setting involved with the Civil War between the reds and farcists with German Nazis as protagonists. Enough tension, drama, action, comedy, heroism and logic to earn a high 8 rating to signal this movie is worth watching. Good job. Bravas!

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.

I am quite surprised with this little Nazi Zombie movie. English dubbing is the best I've ever seen.

Some things could have been done better, but not sure with this budget though.

Dialogues are well written, acting is enjoyable. Interesting characters, easy to remember. It's almost a dark comedy but carefuly done so it never really goes into a real comedy or parody. It just makes it light-hearted enough, like there is a bit of Belini/Felini influence there. Definitely worth a watch, especially if you are tired of same old hollywood zombie movies. Oh and if you are tired of partisan/nationalists post-war tension going into the 21st century, you will find this movie quite enjoyable, like a third "possible" outcome of the war. Cute.

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.