The Dead

This is a zombie movie in Africa which contains old school, slow walking zombies. The lead characters are people with families who are just trying to get home or find their loved ones. They are not trying to solve the mystery of the outbreak, which makes it a simple, but very entertaining piece of film.

There is a huge difference in picture quality; Sometimes you are looking at dark images with too much artificial grain, at other times you are seeing beautiful African scenery with some nifty shots. Meanwhile, the undead are never far away. This resulted in the best feature of the whole movie; you never felt safe EVER. The threat of slow zombies always shambling towards the main characters gave me that freaky feeling only Romero delivered. It worked.

This movie doesn't really excel at anything, but it is still very enjoyable. It has some minor continuity flaws (like cleaning a blood smeared face with just a dry cloth) but it doesn't get in the way. It doesn't deliver perfect acting, but it isn't terrible to watch either. It lacks a film score but there's still enough tension without it. Even with these minor flaws, I feel The Dead was a welcome change in the zombie genre and I would recommend it to any zombie fan.

This is the best zombie movie I've seen in a long time. The film is dead serious (no pun intended), there are no attempts at humor (voluntary or otherwise) whatsoever. That alone sets it apart from about 90% of all recent zombie films. The 2 protagonists (the American looks a bit like Billy Bob Thornton at times) do a fine job delivering their (few) lines). The whole movie is rather bleak, and even though you see a lot of zombies and victims it is not overly gory. The effects are very good and there is no crappy CGI blood (or if there is any I didn't notice it). There are many zombies missing limbs (arms and legs) and I had read a while back that they even used real amputees, which is a nice touch. The other thing that sets it apart from all other zombie films is the setting. All of the movie takes place in the African savanna (from what I saw in the credits it was shot in Ghana and Burkina Faso), which leads to some gorgeous vistas while the characters try to reach their destination. And finally, it was shot on film, not on video or digital video, which I hate even more than CGI blood.

The Dead is a stunningly shot zombie movie with some notable differences. The most obvious is the African setting, but that's not all. The zombies themselves are haunting and macabre: many were played by locals, some of whom were amputees. They seldom make any noise but are present throughout almost all of the film, often seen in the distance wandering in somnambulistic trances without any of the over-acting that's usually associated with these films. They are understated, and scarily so. However, once they get close they are as gruesome as anything in a Romero film.

At times the feel of the film reminded me of Zombie Flesh-Eaters. Some of that was down to the edits - none of that "blink and you'll miss it" MTV generation editing here. This had the epic feel of late 60s and early 70s movies (think the original "Planet of the Apes"). The vastness of Africa was captured wonderfully, and this only added to the typical zombie existentialist theme of there being no exit: no one ever gets out alive (or do they?)

Rob Freeman does a great job in the central role and there were some terrific supporting actors. The only slight gripe I had with this film was the dialogue. Mercifully there wasn't much of it, but such lines as we got to hear were rather stilted. The characters were used more as "talking heads" to explain things to the audience, and were always weakest when speaking.

It's hard to believe this was shot on a low budget. The directors have done a great job generating remorseless tension (another slight issue is that there is no lightness in the film - it piles tension upon tension and never lets go; it's not an easy ride). The cinematography is first rate and the soundtrack is haunting, evocative, and never obtrusive.

As a zombie movie, this is right up there with the 2005 Dawn of the Dead and the excellent Quarantine. One of the best zombie films I've seen, and (dialogue aside) up there with the TV series, The Walking Dead.

The dead are returning to life and attacking the living. After surviving a plane crash American Air Force Engineer Lieutenant Brian Murphy teams up with a local army Sgt. Daniel Dembele and they try to stay alive in dead infested war-torn Africa.

It's well filmed with the competent naturalistic visual style reminiscent of Monsters, less is also more in The Dead's case. Imran Ahmad's music score complements the on screen deeds and while not particularly memorable it is subtle and effective enough.

The African setting is a welcomed change, the on location shoot gives it an eerie real feel. The costume design appears authentic. Dan Rickard's special effects and Max Van De Banks' makeup are first rate, bones sticking out of legs, wounds, bites and the dead getting hit and shot at are executed perfectly. The traditional shambling sluggish dead are creepy enough and retain an air of menace.

The zombie/virus market has been saturated with countless sub-par films. There have been a few welcomed additions arguably - the Dawn of the Dead remake, cross genre Australian film Undead, 28 Days virus flicks, comedies including Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland and actioner Le Horde, Eaters, Mutant to name a few. I personally I like sober zombie films and The Dead is probably the most grounded undead film since Romero's original trilogy. Director and writer team Howard and Jonathan Ford manage to give their zombie offering scope, emotion and anxiety that arguably lacked in Land and Survival of the Dead respectively.

Due to the constraints of the story there's little dialogue. That said, what there is rings true and the characters are given time to develop. The acting all round is of a high standard, with fitting performances from both leads Rob Freeman and Prince David Oseia.

My only grumble is that there's been so many zombie films lately it mars the freshness that The Dead delivers. Intentional or unintentional as with Romero's films there is indeed a social commentary running though The Dead and the African setting is debatably no accident. The Dead may lack comradely wordplay but it doesn't try to reinvent the wheel.

Overall, The Dead gives the viewer a much needed solid piece of realistic zombie entertainment. Recommend.

I love me a good zombie flick, and I try to support independent cinema whenever I can. But I'll be the first to admit that the words "independent low-budget horror" can send me running for the hills. But after hearing some of the good buzz around this one, I thought I'd give it a shot at a midnight screening last night. I'm really glad I checked it out. The co-director was in attendance for last night's screening, where he spoke of his adoration of the early Romero films, and that influence shows. It's an endless stream of slow-walking, omnipresent zombies. It's the opposite of the hyper-stylized, fast-cut, fast walking zombie movies of recent years. Most of the action takes place during daylight hours in wide open spaces. Africa can be a harsh and brutal place without zombies, so you can imagine the difficulties that the survivors must endure. I thought the pacing was decent, and the acting was very solid. There are some really nice stylized shots in places. I'll remember that striking final scene years from now. I thought the sound design and the minimal score were very effective. Because the survivors are mostly out in the wild, there's this constant chatter of insects throughout. It's like a buzzing fluorescent bulb that always keeps you a little off- kilter. A refreshingly stark entry into the sometimes crowded zombie genre. Highly recommended.