Months after bloody combats leave behind thousands of dead in the trenches. Jan Lozano, Captain of the Fifth Brigade has fallen prisoner by an opponent's platoon along with a young driver wh... Read allMonths after bloody combats leave behind thousands of dead in the trenches. Jan Lozano, Captain of the Fifth Brigade has fallen prisoner by an opponent's platoon along with a young driver while carrying out a mission that has been entrusted to him. The possibility of dying execut... Read allMonths after bloody combats leave behind thousands of dead in the trenches. Jan Lozano, Captain of the Fifth Brigade has fallen prisoner by an opponent's platoon along with a young driver while carrying out a mission that has been entrusted to him. The possibility of dying executed will soon be overtaken when a new unknown enemy arises. Both rival sides must unite and... Read all
- Awards
- 4 nominations total
- Montoya
- (as José Pérez Ocaña)
Featured reviews
While there are certainly some plot holes, and some fairly implausible situations, without thinking too hard about such things makes this quite an enjoyable watch. As with most of my reviews, I won't comment on the plot, as the summary takes care of that. What I will comment on is the film itself. Short and sweet.
A Spanish film (ie from Spain), the production value is pretty top notch. The acting was good, the camera work was technically well above average (and professional), and fabulous scenery in some lesser known areas of Spain - beautiful panoramas, lush green forests, and an overall treat for the eyes.
Re: content Just like any zombie movie, there is a ton of bloodshed delivered via gunshots to the head. There are several bloody "bites" throughout the film, as well as severed limbs and death, literally everywhere. What the film is NOT, is gory. While I love zombie movies with excessive gore, this was not one of them. Lesser "experienced" viewers might consider some scenes to be gory, but if you're watching this solely for the gore, it likely won't measure up. That said, there was just enough to keep things interesting without being gratuitously nasty - a little bit of a bummer, but not so much that made viewing less enjoyable.
Lots of profanity, in Spanish, some issues re: racial equality, and no nudity.
One aspect that some might overlook is that there is a red thread of dark comedy from start to finish. All examples are very subtle and mostly tongue in cheek, not to mention "dead pan." I LOVED this aspect, even as a non-Spanish speaker. The writing in combination with the acting made me laugh out loud a couple of times. I truly appreciated this aspect of subtlety.
All in all, it's a fun watch! Nothing ground breaking or terribly new for the genre, but adventure, horror, and zombie fans should get a good kick out of it. By the end of the film I was shocked at how quickly 1 hour & 40 minutes went. That's always a good sign to me.
Definitely worth a watch, especially if you're a fan of the genres I mentioned above!
Cons: Bit long, lack of plot and I had to fast forward many times.
I give it a 7 as I just wanted to relax for before going to bed.
The first thing you're likely to notice about this movie is that it looks competently made. Sadly, this is a rarity among horror movies on Netflix, so it's worth mentioning.
The movie is a little more lighthearted than I would have expected given the subject matter, but it never quite becomes a horror comedy. It also doesn't take strong sides on the Spanish Civil War. There are protagonists and antagonists from both sides of the conflict, and Nazis are portrayed as the true villains.
This is probably one of the better aspects of the movie. The characters spend much more time fighting zombies than ranting at each other. Quite a few arguments ended with pistols being drawn, of course, but I remember most scenes being more like civil debate than the traditional screaming matches you find in low budget zombie movies.
Unfortunately, we have to get past the tedious "that's not your father any more" and "aim for the head!" scenes before the action really starts. Once it starts, though, it's pretty good. They really, really loved their blood sprays. There are squibs exploding all over the place. Besides that, though, there weren't a large amount of really showy special effects. Gore was fairly minimal for a zombie movie.
If you don't have high expectations, and you're looking for an action movie that will pass the time, this is a good choice. The characters are likeable, the dubbing was quite good, and the movie rarely gets bogged down in exposition at the cost of action.
Did you know
- TriviaWilhelm scream: at the 1:22:02 mark.
- GoofsDuring the scene in the safehouse, the radio plays My Prayer by The Ink Spots. The song was released on 18th September, 1939, five months after the end of the Spanish Civil War.
- Crazy creditsThere is a brief mid-credit scene.
- ConnectionsReferences Zombie : Le Crépuscule des morts-vivants (1978)
- How long is Valley of the Dead?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Gross worldwide
- $1,133,841
- Runtime1 hour 41 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1