Condemned

This is a very well shot horror comedy with a nice sense of the absurd. The cinematography is far above average. The story is standard zombie pap, but delivered with an atmosphere that catches a certain fancy, rewards attention to detail, and reminded me of "Rec" (the original Spanish version 2007,) and Dan O'Bannon's "The Return of the Living Dead " (1985.)

I didn't realize, until I checked out the IMDb page after watching the movie, that the lead girl was Sean Penn's daughter. She was pretty impressive... attractive in a tough sort of way... kind of ugly-cute like her father. She most certainly grasped my attention and delivered a compelling performance.

This is not a bad film.(Of course, it's not a great film,) But it is well worth a watch. It has a definite grounded attitude, sense of the absurd, and a cool, (but admittedly gross,) visual style. It well deserves at least double the 3.5 rating in its IDMB main page.

Johnny Messner killed it. And that's the best thing i can say about the movie. I guess this movie is a vehicle for Sean Penn's daughter, Dylan Penn.

Shes a blond with a huge rack. And thats the second best thing i can say about the movie.

Dylan plays a spoiled brat from the suburbs that has had enough of her parents domestic arguments.

So she takes the train to NY to meet her loser boyfriend who squats with 3 friends in a condemned building that is occupied by 2 junkies, a Chinese meth cook. Johnny Messner (sexualy humiliating a gimp bodybuilder) a crazy black guy, a Jewish pimp and his black transsexual call girl/boy.

All of these people get exposed to some bad drugs and begin to get sick and from there everybody loses their minds and begin attacking each other

I believe that Roger Ebert had it right. Evaluate the movie based on how well they made it fit the genre. As such, this one is okay. You need to see more than REC or Quarantine as progenitors. This one involved some New York type filmmakers/actors. They did a very good job on sets, costumes, lighting,etc. I don't look for total character coherence in a flick in which everyone is going mad. Even, before they went mad, they were marginally mad or disturbed to begin with. The movie was pretty well made for a low budget effort. The only thing that looked fake was some of the CGI blood spatter and one projectile vomiting scene. You can also see Johnny Messner playing against type. I didn't realize it was him until I realized that he had almost the same hairdo that he wore in Tears of the Sun.There were also a bunch of faces that look familiar but whose names always escape you.

This movie did not remind me of REC or Quarantine, as much as some say. They were also derivative. Yes, there were many similar elements that appeared in those films and Condemned.But if anything, this story was absolutely most like a New York based film that predated those two.

If you liked Condemned then see Mulberry Street (2006), a film with very close themes and development. This connection jumped to mind after the first few minutes or so of watching Condemned. The writer/star of Mulberry St. is Nick Damici who has a small cameo in Condemned. So see Mulberry St. and if you liked that then watch Stakeland, Damici's take on vampires. In it you will see scenes, sets, and situations that although not wholly original, look like they might be one of the proximate inspirations for The Walking Dead.

This movie has a subtle message. Through the grimy pipes, spewing pus and cringing stomachs something stands out. It's not aloof or pretentious but still worthy. "Sapere Aude" says the crimson typeface splattered above the pee stained floor; naivety seeks the all knowing book. Words and thoughts of more than the gruesome torture of the mundane. The grimy existence of outcasts an appealing escape. Stories told through a network of interconnected pipes that echo with the ugliness shown behind closed doors. Teetering on the edge of insanity is the mind left to roam. Running only delays the inevitable. Isolation once sacred becomes helplessness anew. Is not entertainment without art?

This horror film takes place in New York where a condemned building is actually home to junkies, cookers and all kinds of wonderful people who want to be off the grid and not pay rent. Something isn't right in this building as we see toxic waste being dumped into the sewers from the guy making drugs as well as all other disgusting fluids being added in the pipes from contributing tenants. The result of these combinations are creating tumors at first then things get worse.

At first you think you're watching a drama about really screwed up people living together under the rug so to speak. It then takes a 180 turn when people full of pus oozing sores and yellow goop running out their mouths start killing each other because once they are infected it takes a bit to kill them. You start to see the Troma inspired Toxie as well as a Slime City (1988) feel in this one but really well done. One scene has a junkie girl trying to put her boyfriends entrails back in so they can go back upstairs to get high. If you can handle projectile vomits and people melting from the inside out you'll like this one.

Nothing really new here just some so toxic fun so watch what you put down your drain.