Code Red

Surprisingly good. As a zombie movie fan I am constantly sifting through terrible zombie movies hoping to find one that is good, and this actually is. Watched this film with an open mind but not holding out much hope that it would be anything above par, but the acting was good, albeit with a stereotypical militant loner joint lead, locations were good, as were the effects/visuals, and i actually cared about a number of the characters. The opening sequence was filmed brilliantly and set the tone well. I do feel that the conclusion fell someone flat in relation to the rest of the film hence not giving a higher score but overall an enjoyable experience.

CODE RED is a cheap, dark, zombie war movie shot in Bulgaria although financed in the US. It lacks a proper cast and any proper name actors, but it features a wealth of low rent military action if that's your cup of tea; there's hell of a lot of shaky cam work here, sitting alongside mild gore scenes, shoot-outs, executions and more besides.

The plotting isn't very complex and half of it is delivered in amateurish exposition scenes of guys sitting around smoking cigars in offices - that kind of thing. To put it simply, a biological weapon has the power to turn people into zombies, and now a squad of soldiers must escape a war zone filled with a very different kind of enemy. CODE RED is all very low rent and lacking even the most basic characterisation, but a fast pace means I suppose it passes the time quickly if you're in the mood for trash.

I saw the trailer of the movie a few years ago. It got me excited but then I kinda forgot about it. Found the finished movie by accident recently.

The bad things first - It's not a movie that will become a cult classic or even memorable. The script is pretty usual. There is lots of cheese in both dialogues and characters. The main character, GI Joe El Macho, aka Special Forces agent John McGahey was literally made of Mozzarella and topped with Gorgonzola. FX are a bit old school and green screen is apparent in some scenes.

The plot is based on real events that happened in Bulgaria. Few years ago there was an "accident" at a weapons warehouse at Chelopechene. It was widely suspected that it was a cover up for stolen munitions. First 15 minutes(scenes of Stalingrad) are excellent. I think they were shot by a team different than the one that did the rest. Zombies are plenty. I prefer fast and agile ones(28 Days Later type), and they are in Code Red. Acting is decent. The characters were shallow but actors did a decent job to make them believable.

A note to my fellow Bulgarian viewers - The image of Bulgaria presented in the movie is cliché 90s Eastern Europe. I don't know if this is required to make the movie marketable abroad, but please don't make a fuss about it. We are either too touchy or too nihilistic about this kind of stuff. And please go and ****** buy the movie if you liked it. It's a local production with decent results. We don't get too many of them. Please support the people that managed to do it.

This is a B movie so if you are general viewer the score is 4/10. As a horror/zombie genre fan I would give it an honest 6/10. My actual score is 7/10 but that's due to sentimental reasons :)

This film, with an estimated budget of $3 million definitely punches above it's weight. The set up doesn't really matter all that much, but the use of Bulgaria is superb. There's a gas developed during WW2 that causes the dead to rise. After the war all evidence is destroyed and nothing is heard of this terror weapon until a man dies in a Bulgarian army base. This provides the excuse to get an American to Bulgaria where the action takes place.

First, those exposed to the gas turn into zombies, and then anyone attacked by the zombies turn into zombies, and you get the idea. There are lots and lots and lots of deaths as the population of the nearby town are all infected. Although not particularly gory, there's lots of blood, head shots, people ripped in two and other suitably gruesome deaths. However, the use of a very faded colour palette keeps the action viewable without the distraction of piles of red everywhere.

The opening sequence, set in Stalingrad during WW2 is very well done, apart from some very shaky camera work, and the rest of the film is at it's best during action sequences. There's a huge 8-wheel military vehicle that's used extremely well throughout the film, both as a menace to the protagonists and later as means of escape.

As you'd expect, not many make it out alive, and most of the villains get it in the neck, and the body count increases relentlessly, but the film is not without its flaws. The dialogue and acting are terrible, and the setup would have been improved with more scene setting - the action takes place on an island with a military base, but it's not made clear how isolated the island is, or how big it is, or if there is another way off the island apart from the bridge that's mentioned throughout the film.

However, the action scenes, and much of the tension generated in the film makes up for the lack of decent actors, who are just place markers for zombie attacks. It's a zombie film, so you're not expecting an intricate plot, great acting or cinematic artistry and you don't get any of these. But if you want some brainless zombie killing with at least one survivor at the end of the film, give this a watch. You won't be disappointed.

You know not every film maker starts out trying to create an Oscar award winning film. Just like you and me who go in to work they simply try to do their best with what they got. This film is not a great film but a good film. After viewing I didn't get that "oh what a waste of time" feeling. It was good. You got the feeling that everybody tried hard. Sure there are some problems with it but no matter what you Watch you will always find problems with something. This movie didn't make it an struggle to Watch to the end. you kind of want too all by yourself. So far it's got a score of what 5.7 well that sounds totally logical to me. I myself give it a 6 out of 10. To all involved Thanks for the Entertainment. Their is one thing I would like to thank everyone for especially. This film didn't feel the need to throw in bare breast to help bring more viewers. I've got nothing against bare breasts in films but too many times it is used as a ploy to get Young males to Watch. Bare breast have their place when used properly. Now I don't know if this was done intentionally or if the main actress simply refused to do it. but well done. In this movie it would have just cheapened the movie. So again Thanks to all involved.