Code Red

To review 'Code Red' I really should just type 'Just watch Outpost' about twenty times and leave it at that. If you're looking for a zombie film with Nazis in it (and you don't want to watch the subtitled 'Dead Snow') then just watch – the original – 'Outpost' movie (the sequels leave a little to be desired).

Code Red is similar in principal, i.e. World War II zombies, only it's not half as good. I know it's a low budget affair and I don't mind that. What got me was the acting. Yes, I know it's a B-movie and I wasn't expecting Oscar-worthy performances, however the acting really is pretty hard to watch.

There's no major gore to speak of, just the obligatory headshots to zombies here and there. Plus the first half of the film is way too light on action and tension.

Ultimately, like I said, if you like World War II zombies etc, just watch the original Outpost for action and mayhem. Then, if you want comedy added to the mix, enjoy the subtitled Dead Snow.

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CODE RED is a cheap, dark, zombie war movie shot in Bulgaria although financed in the US. It lacks a proper cast and any proper name actors, but it features a wealth of low rent military action if that's your cup of tea; there's hell of a lot of shaky cam work here, sitting alongside mild gore scenes, shoot-outs, executions and more besides.

The plotting isn't very complex and half of it is delivered in amateurish exposition scenes of guys sitting around smoking cigars in offices - that kind of thing. To put it simply, a biological weapon has the power to turn people into zombies, and now a squad of soldiers must escape a war zone filled with a very different kind of enemy. CODE RED is all very low rent and lacking even the most basic characterisation, but a fast pace means I suppose it passes the time quickly if you're in the mood for trash.

OK so first lets get the bad things out of the way...some rather dubious and clichéd dialogue,some rather clichéd and dubious actions by the 'good guy' towards the end of the film and a rather odd feeling that something is missing....IMDb lists the run time as 118 minutes but the UK DVD runs for 90 minutes??? and at points in the film it feels like some stuff has been cut away.now the good news.decent acting,plot although not original,good production value and fx and some pretty cool zombies.lots of old school fx work and blood squibs.think planet terror meets doomsday meets lenzi nightmare city.well worth a watch for zombie fans.real world it's 2/10 but in the horror direct to video world it's a solid 7/10.

Surprisingly good. As a zombie movie fan I am constantly sifting through terrible zombie movies hoping to find one that is good, and this actually is. Watched this film with an open mind but not holding out much hope that it would be anything above par, but the acting was good, albeit with a stereotypical militant loner joint lead, locations were good, as were the effects/visuals, and i actually cared about a number of the characters. The opening sequence was filmed brilliantly and set the tone well. I do feel that the conclusion fell someone flat in relation to the rest of the film hence not giving a higher score but overall an enjoyable experience.

I'm not gonna say that this one is a low budget movie done right, nor am I gonna praise it and recommend it to everybody, but I will say that I was relatively impressed. Why? It doesn't look cheap, doesn't act like that either, the make-up is acceptable, the story works, not too thin, not too complex, and the acting, except the main character, is OK.

Not much to say about "Code Red", a simple, and maybe, effective zombie movie, does not act like a tryhard, and most definitely not like a gore fest. It is an OK movie, one of the few that actually managed to make a positive impression, so, will I recommend it? Well it's not as bad as "Zombex" but not quite as good as "Outpost: Rise of the Spetsnaz", somewhere in between, therefore, you have a reference point, so you'll know what you'll be up against.

Overall, "Code Red" shows that an effort was put into it, and that somebody wanted to make something, a zombie movie, with a small budget, that won't be a laughing stock as so many are. I say it succeed!