Outpost: Rise of the Spetsnaz

The original "Outpost", released in 2008, was a modestly successful hit, but the sequels are - like often the case, sadly - passable and inferior. At least "Rise of the Spetsnaz" is a vast improvement over "Black Sun", which I only watched a couple of months ago and already can't remember anything about. The third reaches the same level of nauseating warfare violence as the first but lacks the element of surprise and the good cast.

During the last months of WWII, a squad of the notorious Russian mercenary group known as the Spetsnaz stumbles upon a remote and uncharted Nazi lair where seemingly mysterious experiments take place. Although the Spetsnaz are lot tougher than any other opponents, they're not prepared to battle against outrageous and unstoppable soldiers that were brought back from the dead.

"Rise of the Spetsnaz" sneakily copies the exact same elements that made the original "Outpost" worthwhile, namely the isolated setting, a cast full of "heroes" that are already and difficult to sympathize with, showing the Nazi zombies as little and as late as possible in the film, and depicting the Nazi superiors as short-sized but loathsome and arrogant little cowards. What's new here, maybe, is that the Nazis don't restrict their experimental zombie army to former soldiers alone. There's a memorable sequence recognizable by the quote "bring in the child murderer!", and it features a creep who looks exactly like Madman Marz from "Madman" or Buddy Bacon from "Slaugherhouse". In any case, "Outpost III" is full enough of extreme violence and bloodshed to remain enjoyable, but not much more than that.

The first 'Outpost' film was a classic (well... a classic in the B-movie horror genre). However, the second part was totally unnecessary and not even worth trying to watch. Here we have the third instalment of the franchise. And it's a prequel/origins movie. But don't worry if you haven't seen parts 1 or 2. It also works as a stand-alone affair.

It's set in 1944 on the 'Eastern Front' where Russian commandos are raiding German bases. While doing so, they only go and discover that those dastardly Nazis are trying to resurrect the dead and turn them into 'super soldiers.' Naturally, the Nazis don't plan on letting this little secret get out and capture our Vodka-swigging heroes, leaving them to escape from the undead-ridden facility.

Okay, so the plot isn't going to blow your mind, but then the film isn't either. It's average. There's not much else to say, but, if you need reasons, I'll mention that the you won't care too much for the characters. The Russian heroes are tough, grunting macho men with no real depth, therefore you can hardly really relate to them. The Nazi commander of the base is a little too campy for the role. It's a gritty and serious film and he comes across like a cackling Bond villain.

Nothing much happens in the first twenty-five minutes, but, if you stick with it, at least you're rewarded with some violence and zombie-killing fun. Its strengths are that it's suitably violent and well-shot so as to make the most of the bleak and gloomy setting. And it's not that long either, so, once the twenty-five minutes are over, it moves swiftly for the rest of the duration.

But, ultimately, it's nothing new. And that's its major flaw. You've probably seen plenty of zombie movies. And many of them are better. Therefore, do you really need to watch another one? If you think the 'Nazi element' may make it different, just stick to Outpost (1) which is head and shoulders more fun than this. Or, if you can put up with subtitles and a lighter tone, try Dead Snow for a really gory and light-hearted approach to killing dead Nazis. Outpost 3 is just too little too late. You probably won't hate it, but you probably won't remember it by this time next week.

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I like science fiction, horror, thriller, I dislike bad science fiction, horror, thriller - and I hate being cheated by reviews and hype. I bought Outpost III having read some good reviews. Hopefully this review will stop you making the same mistake. I should have learned my lesson with Outpost I, low budget, bad script, bad acting, bad direction. I skipped Outpost II and tripped up on III. The review I read said that it was a definite boost to the franchise, fine acting, fine camera work, script, etc., etc. In my opinion all of those do not apply. Imagine Outpost I and effectively you have Outpost III. This is lazy film-making. When a Nazi quotes Shakespeare expect the worst and you will not be disappointed. When someone says Bryan Larkin puts in a fine performance ask - in which scene? When Nazi soldiers attack like retards and start filling up the corridors with their stupid dead bodies and you think - is this it, is this the movie? Answer yes and find something else to do. I am generous giving this 3 stars out of 10.

The original Outpost (2007) spawned a new era full of Nazi zombie flicks let be so far Dead Snow (2009) be the best one. I was never really into the Outpost franchise and the second entry Outpost Black Sun (2012) was for me almost a reason to leave the franchise. But seen the trailer of this prequel I thought that it could deliver something new.

Kieran Parker makes his directorial debut here but he of course new the stuff because he was producer and even story writer of the franchise so far. So we go back in time but still the Nazi's are mixing elements of the supernatural and the techniques of the day to create a new super soldier. But this time they are hunted down by the red army. But things go wrong and some Russians are being captured for experiment. From there on we meet the typical zombies again. It isn't that gory at all although it has some bloody shots here and there. This time it's more of an escape from prison flick. But it do deliver for the fans of the Nazi zombie genre.

The acting was rather good this time especially by Bryan Larkin (Dolokhov) and Michael McKell (Strasser) but the grey overtone in the colours doesn't add to the viewing. By making the zombies some kind of super soldiers it also of course will make horror buffs move away from the Outpost franchise.

You can easily watch it as a stand alone a thing you couldn't do with the boring Black Sun. I'm more looking forward to the next installment of Dead Snow then Outpost. Not that it was bad but I'm missing something.

Gore 1/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 3/5 Story 3/5 Comedy 0/5

Honestly, don't know why it got 4.2 in my opinion the movie at least deserves 5.0-6.0 yes it is a cheesy sci-fi plot, but I think it is well executed. The thing I love about Outpost movies is the atmosphere and even though I think that the film took an odd turn by going back to WW2 to have an origin story it was still well done. But we can all see that the budget of the movie isn't completely as good as the first Outpost. The acting is decent and the action is good. Plot and the story maybe little bit too cheesy, but it's a Nazi zombie sci-fi flick so what do you expect? god father? I'm actually surprised with the stern treatment Outpost movies receive. Not to mention when people call ''Dead Snow'' good it's just eerie. Even Frankenstein's army has 5.0 than this considering the fact that it is not as good. War of the dead has 4.0 even though it's not an awful disaster. This one actually had some cameos and references from the previous films including the Beethoven song that starts randomly playing once in a while in all three films (very good touch in my opinion) as far as I am concerned the movie is definitely a 5.0 - 6.0/10. It wouldn't hurt to let the logic fly out and enjoy a cheesy flick that can grant you certain entertainment.

IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes logic: if it's not a masterpiece, it's bad. Even though IMDb is a saint compared to Rotten Tomatoes. Hopefully, when more people vote it'll at least get the rating of 5.0