Bullets for the Dead

I respect the filmmakers for working around budgetary limitations and crafting a film with decent production values and solid performances.

But for a zom bie western film there is very little cowboy action or zombies actually in the film, rather an abundance of overly familiar character drama which never develops into anything substantial or meaningful. After a promising start, Bullets for the Dead quickly dips into being just another forgettable horror-drama which squanders a premise ripe with potential.

Now this is not a good film – but I really liked it so bear with me. It is well written and for such an oversubscribed genre, as that of the zombie one, you do need to have something to lift your project from the usual blood and entrails boredom that has beset films of late.

Anyway our film has a gang of nasty bank robbers led by an English debutante wanna be – who knows her way around an axe – and I don't mean a Stratocaster. They cross paths with a grizzled and bescarred bounty hunter who takes 'dead or alive' as literally as possible. He soon rounds them up and then they sort of realise that there are things that not only go bump in the night but also are adept at moaning a lot and eating internal body parts – nice.

Well the rest is a bit of a trail journey with unholy alliances and a ton of offal as is de rigueur in a zombie film. To say any more runs the risk of a plot spoil but with a zombie film you sort of expect what happens so not a biggy really.

So as I said this is not high culture and it lacks a bit – the make up is a bit am dram and some of the acting is a bit shouty and the special effects are a bit clumsy. The actual story though is tremendous fun and some of the actors really do put their all into it and so this ebbed and flowed in my affections. However, I was held until the final scene and although I said 'rubbish' at the time I sort of still really like it – hence the rating; if in doubt get a few beers and switch off and there is a good watch in here.

You are not scratching an itch with this film, not ticking off any bucket list needs here. The acting is not horrendous but it's not top-tier either. Your main "protagonist" is as wooden as Pinocchio's appendages (his nose, I mean). The drama is what really weighs it down, the dialogue and discussions. The lead lady just all of a sudden pleasuring herself on a zombie-infested night is pretty classless, and her character is the most out-of-place wild west character this side of Adam Sandler. Too many examples of dumb decisions, especially between the bounty hunter and the preacher waiting one moment too long to put their loves down. It's too dark and gloomy without the poetic prose or dark art of cosmic romance. Plus, Marla (O'Rourke's dog) deserves better.