Last Rites

Gangs of the Dead (2006)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Also known as LAST RITES, this film was re-titled and thrown on DVD and is yet another stab at the NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD line with some ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 thrown in for good measure. A group of homeless people are standing around when a meteor crashes on them and turns them into flesh eating zombies. A black gang and a Latino gang, rivals, take shelter in a warehouse with two white cops. The mixed group not only must battle the zombies but also each other. There's some nice stuff here but in the end I couldn't help but be bored by this because we've seen the zombie side of things so many times. I did think it was interesting seeing the two rival gangs having to deal with one another but this stuff didn't work as well as it could have because the screenplay mostly has them shouting things at one another and calling each other the "B" word. The performances aren't Oscar-worthy but all the actors fill their roles fine and deliver the type of performances you'd expect. The CGI effects are all rather obvious and that includes all the fake blood and guts being thrown around. Zombie fans might be attracted to the (new) title but they've pretty much seen everything here in much better movies.

The plot: Different groups of inner city L.A. stereotypes collide in a warehouse during a zombie attack.

The film is very low budget, and the filmmakers were not particularly resourceful, creative, disturbing, or weird. Instead, they fall back to clichés, stereotypes, and hack writing, then insert hints of social criticism. I'm not really impressed. As a horror fan, I have a certain degree of tolerance for bad acting, bad effects, and poor writing. Low budgets really don't bother me. However, this film has very little to recommend it, besides the fact that Reggie Bannister has a cameo. If you've seen Night of the Living Dead, Street Trash, Assault on Precinct 13, or Reservoir Dogs, I think you'll be pretty bored by this retread. There's no reason why low budget B films can't be trailblazers despite their limitations. However, this film slavishly follows all the rules, endlessly homages/rips off its influences, and has no surprises for veteran horror fans. Its like a Troma film, but without all the over-the-top aspects that make those awful films enjoyable.

It's not a total waste, though. Some of the gore, special effects, and stunts are passable. It's got a rare starring role for Noel G., but he unsurprisingly plays yet another obnoxious Latino gangster. There's some clichéd social criticism, but they really missed out on an opportunity to make some intelligent and insightful statements on racism, police brutality, intolerance, and violence. Instead, it settles on the same clichéd elements as every other direct-to-video zombie film, where stereotypes bicker and shout at each other for 90 minutes while occasionally being eaten by zombies.

Watchable for zombie fans -- but not recommended. Instead, try a French horror film called La Horde, which rose above its stereotypes and clichés to be a gory, fun, and memorable B movie with some interesting things to say about racism and police brutality... amid zombie carnage.

From the opening scene its clear that LAST RITES (a.k.a GANGS OF THE DEAD) is a really low budget film but it has its upsides, the acting is decent the storyline is competently done and the direction is better than average for a film of this standard.

The downside is this film is nothing groundbreaking and obviously won't sell a record breaking number of DVD's and because many people prefer bigger budget films, this one here might put people off, it doesn't have major production values and the sound is sometimes very poor, but despite all that the film is overall competently executed.

If you're a zombie fan give it shot, I recommend though that you set your expectations low, like I said its a competent film but the films low budget certainly shows.

I saw movie called 48 weeks later, why have I never heard of this movie before?, So picked up thinking it was a sequel to 28 Days later and it even says on the DVD what happens after 28 days later which is a massive lie. As this movie is also called Gangs of the dead and like it says above Last Rites, if i knew that was same movie, I would never have picked up (What the hell did it give a different name in the UK.)I can believe i have wasted a hour and half of life on this pieces of rubbish that is called a horror movie.

The plot A meteor hit a place and then two gangs come to the same place and go to warn and then the people who should have died are backing attacking the humans.

The zombies are not scary at all and the make up effect are really bad and have zombie have no idea how act like a zombie and the acting from whole cast was horrendous. Some of gory stuff in this movie looked so fake.

Please avoid this movie.

So, initially I got this one thinking it might've been a 2rd entry to the 13 franchise. Of course, with the 2rd Hood of the Dead film now due for release in 2025, I learned that this wasn't an official sequel, but the title sort of gave that away as it didn't look like it was apart of the 13 franchise anyway.

In Los Angeles, a meteor bringing some sort of disease falls on a group of street gangs & turn them into flesh eater zombies. Meanwhile, black gangs are dealing drugs with an intermediary in an old house without knowing that there is a stake out of the LAPD of the whole operation. But just as the Police make a move, so do the zombies & from there it is all out carnage.

Hood of the Dead coming soon on 2025.