Last Rites of the Dead

This movie screams "Student film project", which someone thought was good enough to make a quick buck off of and distribute into DVD.

Not that bad of a film, it implies that a "Night of the Living Dead" type virus has hit that resurrects the recently dead, who still retain most of their mental faculties. THey try to go into a satire of modern life and discrimination, but they really don't quite pull it off. It follows the adventures of Angela, a girl killed by her abusive boyfriend, finding herself resurrected as one of the undead, and coming under discrimination in her new incarnation. Meanwhile, her ex-boyfriend has joined an anti-zombie hate group that hunts them down and kills them. Too many images of American flags, as though they want to equate America with intolerance, but hey, that's probably the kind of crap being taught at film schools today.

Some of the scenes come off as amateur special effects guys showing their stuff with the undead makeup and the simulated (not very convincing) gore of people being eaten by zombies.

Worth a rental? Yeah, if you're bored and want a good laugh.

If you ever get tired of the same old, traditional Zombie flicks like Dawn Of The Dead, and pretty much anything from the criminally overrated George Romero, I'd suggest giving up the mainstream stuff indefinitely, because you're not gonna find it there. If you're looking for an original Zombie flick, and you don't mind a low budget. you've found it. This is Zombies Anonymous!

Nowadays, when you die, your soul no longer leaves your body. Harsh, but true. A chick named Angela is right in the middle of a fight with her boyfriend, is hoping this hotheaded young man doesn't go off and shoot her, because she's really not into the whole living dead thing. Because if she doesn't survive, this new lifestyle will most definitely be in her future... So, anyway. now that Angela's undead, she's stuck in a world that's afraid of her. A world that hates her. A world that gives her very few options. For example, getting/holding a job will be almost impossible. And there's this whole thing where Angela feels incredible pain if she goes long enough without eating human flesh. She can pretend to be a regular person all she wants. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but without Human flesh, functioning is almost impossible.

While being over-the-top, gruesome, and dark-humored, Zombies Anonymous has quite a deep, semi-touching story, which seems to be about adapting to a new way of life. Well, that and discrimination. Reflecting how people fear, and ultimately hate what they don't understand. If you end up diggin' Zombies Anomymous, I'd highly recommend a film from the same director, called Strange Things Happen At Sundown. One Of The Best Vampire flicks I've come across. This Marc Fratto guy is one of the few bright spots in B-cinema over the last decade, and I look forward to anything else he comes up with. In case you've ever heard about a micro-budget, shot-on-video from the 90's called Shatter Dead, Zombies Anonymous is basically a ripoff of that one. at least the basic idea is. Ultimately, this one blows Shatter Dead away, gore-wise, creativity-wise, & entertainment-wise. you can't compare the two. However, I'd recommend you check out both of them. Zombies Anonymous obviously isn't the traditional Zombie story. And I hardly see that as a bad thing. 8/10

After being killed by her boyfriend, a woman finds that she has been turned into a zombie with the rest of the world starting to turn on the creatures for their condition and eventually joins a zombie's freedom group to keep her rights together that she's earned.

There wasn't a whole lot to like about this one. Among the best features here is the fact that it's got a really unique and novel idea that actually seems to be quite inventive, and with nothing at all clichéd about this instead it comes off as being new and original which is what's needed in these kinds of films. This even makes for some really nice scenes that couldn't have come from any other style of film, as there's the rather unique tortures that are inflicted upon them from the abuse on the streets to the treatment in the restaurants and how they're affected on the job-market, there's a lot in here that are solely responsible for being in this kind of film. Even the main scenes here of them sitting around like a support group here are only possible because of this storyline, and these here make this one completely unique and original. There's also the film's rather nice amount of blood and gore, which isn't all that much but does work nicely when it really wants to, and there's a couple of decent shots with it. The last big plus is the few action scenes it has, which are really good. There's a couple of zombie beat-downs near the beginning which are rather nice in a really weird way, the first fight in the park is really great, the raids on the zombie homes are fun and brutal, and bloodshed and the ending just feels right and is the best part of the film. Along with the other factors, these make the film watchable as this one here was somewhat problematic. The main one here is that the film decides to change around the very way that zombies behave, and it might be enough to put off some of the more hardcore fans. This one here gives them the ability to be cognizant of their death-like status, complete with their ability to reason, talk and the really weird subplot about them forming a support group to inform each other and talk about their problems, which is a nice idea but all it does is take away every single thing that made them fearful in the first place. By having them form a group to deal with it makes them seem like big losers, and there's nothing that makes them instantly- nonthreatening compared to others out there. Lastly, it has the other factor of making the beginning of this one incredibly boring since it's really just a rash of scenes that just serve as fodder in the group's talks, and that's hardly anything that can make the film interesting. None of these scenes are all that exciting, and are overall just plain dull, and are then made even worse through the need to play into the support group slot. These here are the biggest problems in the film.

Rated R: Graphic Language and Graphic Violence.

I watch a lot of bad horror movies. This is not a cinematic masterpiece. But it is better than a lot of low budget indie horror flicks. I mean, it is what it is and you know that going in - a low budget zombie movie. But it took what it had and did it well.

The acting by the female lead - Gina Ramsden - was actually good. I think that is the first time I have EVER said that about any low budget horror movie I've ever watched. She's cute too, so that helps.

There was an actual plot and characters - granted it was about zombies, but it took the zombie idea and did something new and interesting. Basically the zombie outbreak has happened - when people die, no matter the cause, they turn into zombies. These zombies now are trying to integrate themselves into society at large, and many people don't like that. They can talk and think, but they are dead and their bodies show this. These are not the zombies of the Romero cannon, which will probably anger the fan-boys - but who cares, where talking about zombies here, and until the Zombie apocalypse actually does occur in the real world, it will only help to speculate on the nature of all possible types of zombies. That is what the fan of Romero Zombies must keep in mind when watching this film (or 28 Days/Weeks later for that matter you morons).

Now the ending did drag out, a lot, and got a little confusing. But the various groups (Humans who hate zombies, zombies who just want to "live" and be left alone, zombies who discover their hunger for human flesh) provide some interesting dynamics as the plot develops and our intrepid heroine, Angela, feels conflicted about the various groups especially because her ex-boyfriend is part of the living who wants to kill the zombies.

Note to other low-budget horror film makers: Tight shots of your actors and sets when you have a low budget (and lighting) really is a good idea. So is having an actual plot arc.

First off let me say that this film should be examined within the confines of low budget horror films. Does it stack up against Dawn of the Dead or 28 Days Later? No. Those are examples of both realms of monetary breathing room, Dawn of the Dead- High, and 28 Days Later- medium. Zombie Anonymous or Last rites of the Dead had much less to work with. Having said that, this film was both innovative and thought provoking. Two things that money can't buy. the director Marc Fratto used some very interesting tools in his vision of life after death (meaning Zombification) Think Racism or something like it, also, think AA or something like it. Two concepts that have only been captured in a few other Zombie films. The acting is good for the most part, there are a few people who are in the peripheral cast that didn't quite cut it but this is to be expected for such an independent film. I only have two complaints, 1 the portrayal of ZA is nothing like AA or NA but more like group therapy, though, It fits when the movie shows the "darkside" of being a Zombie. 2 the action sequences seemed to draw on a little. The only reason I say that is because the story line and the concepts the director plays with were so interesting, I felt myself wanting more philosophy and well brain food (haha)

As previously stated this film was thought provoking, I would like to thank the director Marc Fratto for a new idea in a hurting genre, see diary of the dead, and also congratulate him and his cast on a job well done.

I found this movie at blockbuster of all places, Its a must see for anyone who enjoys the Zombie scene.