Dead Creatures

I chose "Dead Creatures" because I thought it was a zombies movie just like "28 days" or so... but not at all. It isn't even a horror movie. Nothing happens, except for a group of women that seem to have been infected by a strange virus that make her to eat human flesh in order to survive.

That plot gives rise to a series of disgusting scenes of cannibalism...

Very VERY BAD MOVIE.

*My rate: 2/10

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Title: Dead Creatures (2001)

Director: Andrew Parkinson

Cast: Antonia Bemish, Brendan Gregory, Bart Ruspoli, Anna Swift

Tagline: Not just your girls next door

Review:

Well it defeneatly was obvious from the get go that this was a low budget effort, no big recognizable hollywood stars, no big make up effects, just a very unusual and onorthodox zombie movie.

Story is about these bunch of girls who suffer from an eating disorder. They were bit by an infected person and now they have to eat human flesh in order to survive, all the while trying to continue with their pseudo normal existence.

I have a few complaints. First off, the pace of the movie was slower then one of Romeros zombies. It was very dialogue heavy and had no action whatsoever. At times it seemed like nothing was ever going to happen. Still, I told myself, this is an independent horror film. Its lack of budget forced it to focus on story and characters...so lets pay attention to that.

So I did. The story was very interesting. I liked the way that Parkinson told his story. Mainly becuase he gave us very little information at first as to what was really happening. Its not until a few minutes in the film that you noticed that "hey! Those girls are eating human flesh!....Wait! They are zombies!" And that totally cought me off guard. It felt a little like watching a film like 21Grams, where you get stuff after your allready a bit into the film. Nothing is flat out spelled out for you and that was cool about it.

The characters were likable, and it was strange to see them trying to deal with the whole flesheating thing so matter of factly. Like a regular everyday thing that they have to deal with. In many ways this film also reminded me of Near Dark because part of it has to deal with a new girl trying to learn the ropes of becoming a flesheater. I liked that and yes I agree at times the movie felt like a documentary.

One thing I didnt like was the lack of style, the camera doesnt have any movement. Everything is very stale, no interesting camera angles or takes. Im guessing this also had to do with a fast shooting scheduel and minuscule budget, so hey I let that go. Im thinking up ahead in this directors life, when he gets some recognition and money, he'll have time for style. Here in Dead Creatures style was replaced with substance, which is strange since usually its the other way around.

I did like the subplot about the father hunting down the flesheaters and questioning them in morbid ways. I liked his method of killing them too, I dont think Ive seen anything like that on any movie before.

One really good thing this movie has going for it. The gore. It was realistic. The scenes with the girls eating flesh seemed very real. In fact theres a few decapitations on this and they felt very real to me. The managed the gore here very well, its not cartoony or over the top. Its just real and it certainly makes some of the scenes on the film all the more disturbing.

In conclusion, I think this film was interesting from a story/character development point of view, but suffered from lack of style and small budget. Still, I think that this director has some talent and would defeneatly watch another of his films in the future. Ive still to see I Zombie, Im looking forward to it.

Rating: 3 out of 5

"ASTONISHING" Screams the LA Times from the front of the DVD box. They must have been referring to the fact that such a sorry piece of crap was ever released. The film revolves around a bunch of girls who have a disease which forces them to become cannibals, and murder innocent people just to stay alive. Their skin peels off throughout the film, we also see severed legs, heads etc that are about as convincing as a Halloween Fuzzy Felt set. There is an awful lot of talking b*ll**ks, a bit of human cuisine and some weird zombie hunter chap who imprisons the sufferers of said skin illness in his closet strapped to a chair, before stabbing them in the head, chopping them into bits...

You get the picture. Considering there is no acting talent on display at all, and the gore is laughably unrealistic, what is the point of this whole farrago? Again looking at the video box, the guy responsible for it is an "underground cult director". Would that be like those weird religious cults where they brainwash you into thinking one way when clearly the opposite is true? Because that's the only possible reason I can think of for anyone to derive pleasure by watching this tax write-off. Then, on the same paragraph he compares himself to Mike Leigh, Ken Loach and George Romero. HAHAHAHAHA oh stop it. Now you're just being silly.

Do you enjoy this film? Are you offended by the above opinion? If so, you must be a member of said cult. Do they pocket your wages? Do they let you see other family members? Do they force you to watch Andrew Parkinson films till you think he's the best director since A.Hitchcock? Do tell... this sounds like a Panorama special brewing to me. And say hello to the critic of the LA times when you return to your colony, will you? 0/10

Ok I will sum up this movie... A bunch of skanky British women have some disease that basically is turning them into zombies. The whole movie consists of these women talking, smoking, and rarely going out for "meat" Or humans to eat. I swear I had to MAKE myself watch this movie... UGH

Unfortunately, the realism is boring. This movie, I thought it would never end, would have been better if all the characters would have been nuked in the first five minutes. Where's Blade when you need him? While as dismal as COMBAT SHOCK, REQUIEM FOR A DREAM and as nightmarish as BOISE MOI, DEAD CREATURES isn't nearly as entertaining as any of the aforementioned bleak movies. While the gratuitous cannibalism might make the wannabe Jeffery Dalmers hearts race a little faster, it wasn't nearly as interesting as RAVENOUS. Really, I found it about as interesting as late-night infomercials, and as exciting as a trip to the dentist. If you have strong masochistic qualities, you might be able to endure this, otherwise, for no one. I was really surprised that this one wasn't made by the people at Brain Damage as that was the quality of Dead Creatures.