I've been working my way through the entire David A. Prior catalog over the past month. He's mostly famous for his action/exploitation films in the late 80s/early 90s. Zombie Wars was one of 2 films he made in 2007 after a 8 year hiatus. If you're reading this review just to get info on a zombie film you've never heard of then quit reading now.
This film is primarily going to be of interest to David A. Prior fans and not zombie-movie fans. That said, it is a solid Prior movie and bears many of the hallmarks of his action films from decades earlier (gun play, pretty girls, dudes on a mission). Much has been toned down--stunt work is scaled back, big action scenes (e.g. firefights) are absent BUT there's still enough action to satisfy. Although this film contains some CGI it primarily utilizes practical FX which is refreshing. I have no complaints as it pertains to FX.
Aside of the abject weirdness of the zombie plot, the script is actually pretty solid. Motivations are clear, things that are set-up in the script have pay-offs, the dialogue is good. Look, this isn't Citizen Kane...it's a direct-to-video B-movie capitalizing on the zombie trend in 2007.
Like most Prior films from the 80s, the acting in this film ranges from good, to adequate, to bad. As in most Prior films, the leads do pretty well whereas the secondary players are all over the map. Prior (or his casting agent) actually had a pretty good eye for talent and often found leads that elevate his movies--this trait is certainly on display in Zombie Wars.
I honestly had very low expectations for this film. I figured that given his long absence from directing that his return would be more akin to the poor schlock of that era as opposed to the GREAT schlock that he was so skilled at producing in the 80s & 90s. This isn't a "great" film by any definition--it's not even a "great" David A. Prior film--but it's a decent David A. Prior film and definitely watchable. RIP David A. Prior.
