THE DEAD (HORROR / ZOMBIE FLICK) ***1/2 out of ***** OR 7 out of 10
(So much for that African safari I had planned....)
CAST: Rob Freeman, Prince David Osei, Gaal Hama, Leela Tall.
DIRECTOR: Howard Ford & Jonathan Ford
(WARNING: Some SPOILERS and some refreshingly slow-moving zombies - straight ahead)
IT'S LIKE THIS: Ever since George Romero's NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD gave birth to the Zombie Sub-Genre of the Horror Genre in 1968, these walking sacks of pus and gangrene have basically gone international. Fuck, these guys probably have more stamps in their passports than James Bond. Let's follow their worldwide exploits since NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, shall we?
In the early 70s they hopped over the Atlantic and sunned themselves in Spain (TOMBS OF THE LIVING DEAD), then headed up to dampy, soggy ol' England (THE LIVING DEAD AT THE MANCHESTER MORGUE). Then they wised up and decided the eye candy, locale and people-wise, was in Italy - and they moved to Bella Italia (HELL OF THE LIVING DEAD, THE BEYOND, CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD, BURIAL GROUND, NIGHTMARE CITY, etc.) Yes, I know all those purported to be set in the States, but come on, I know a Spaghetti Horror Flick when I see one.
Recent years have even shown our mobile corpses in such places as Mexico (JUAN OF THE DEAD) and India (THE DEAD 2). Before there was a movie called THE DEAD 2, though, there was naturally a movie called THE DEAD 1. Actually, it was just called THE DEAD, and it was set in a place where zombies hadn't really been seen before: Africa.
Now, I'm not sure what the reason is for this long delay in Africa joining the dubious worldwide club of countries that have played host to a bunch of moving maggot farms. Presumably, the zombies were afraid of the lions on the Serengeti whom they feared might rip them apart. Let me assure you undead assholes that you've absolutely nothing to worry about - lions would rather eat themselves than rotting pus-bags like you.
Evidently, zombies got over their fear of the wild beasts of the Dark Continent because they are the stars of our next "31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN" review, which is very appropriately titled... THE DEAD. Yes, before these decomposing clowns overran the Taj Mahal in India in THE DEAD 2, they basically but the kibosh on a thousands safaris in this movie.
As our story opens, we are on what is apparently the last military aid flight out of zombie-overrun West Africa. Our hero is cute-in-a-grizzled-way U.S. Air Force flight engineer Lieutenant Brian Murphy (Rob Freeman). He's seated amidst an international group of aid workers who have apparently just avoided being eaten by an army of the undead on the runway - and barely made it on the plane itself when it took of. So why doesn't he look relieved? Brad Pitt did in WORLD WAR Z when he got his ass on the last plane out of Jerusalem in the nick of time.
Well, you see, Brian is the flight engineer and he happens to know that the pilot was so eager to get the fuck off the ground that he took of with the tanks still half-empty. Maybe more. Sure enough, the plane basically soon falls out of the sky and plunges into waters of the West African coast. All before they even get to start the inflight movie. Now, that sucks...
Anyhow, it's hard not to think of the zombie plague in this movie as God's way of thinning the herd and weeding out the fucking idiots. In other words, "Natural Selection" of the most fucked-up order. Case in Point # 1: after the plane crashes into the water, Brian miraculously finds himself outside of the sinking aircraft (well, maybe not so miraculous, seeing as he's, you know, the hero and all) and spots a woman floundering in the water about, oh, four feet away from him. Just out of his reach. "Swim to me! Grab my hand!" he basically yells at her. Incredibly, the stupid bitch can't manage this simple task and so, yes, she drowns. Would't worry about it Bri. She looked like a Class-A Whiner who would've just slowed you down. If she can't even manage a goddamn dog paddle across one foot of water to safety, do you really want her as a sidekick?
Case in Point # 2: after Brian finally reaches the shore the next morning (floating on a crate of all things), he sees another survivor - a military guy like him - struggling in the shallow waves about a hundred feet away. Meanwhile, a bunch of zombies fifty feet away are sloooooooooooooooooooooowly shambling towards the other dude. This dumb shit, instead of hopping to his clearly-functional legs and running towards Brian like his life, you know, depended on it, just flails on the sand even worse than the stupid cow who drowned the night before. Yes, folks... it ends up just as you imagined: Dumb Shit turns into Dumb Dinner when the zombies finally reach him after, oh, seven years.
Grossed out, Brian flees for the safety of the jungle. At this point, he finds himself in a Good News/Bad News scenario. The good news is these zombie are, thankfully, not the sprinting zombies we've seen ad-fucking-nauseam since 28 DAYS LATER. They're pretty slow, which makes that other guy's death at their hands confusing but also somehow wonderfully hilarious. The bad news is... there's, like, a bazillion of them everywhere. Too bad Stupid Bitch Who Drowned Because She Didn't Know The Dog Paddle and Dumb Shit Who Basically Just Lay There And Waited To Get Eaten didn't survive, because Brian could sure use a sidekick to act as eyes in the back of his head.
Fortunately, the Universe is smiling on Big Bri, because he crosses paths with African soldier Daniel Dembele (Prince David Osei). Daniel fled his regiment and headed back to his village to save his wife and son (Leela Tall, Gaal Hama). Unfortunately, by the time he got there, his wife had been torn apart - and his son had fled himself. Now, Daniel is trying to make his way to an airbase on the other side of country where refugees are rumored to have gone. Brian, deciding he has nothing better to do, decides to tag along.
Will Brian and Daniel make it to the airbase safely? What about all the zombies who are constantly on the prowl around them? Will one or both of them get bitten? And did Daniel's son actually go to the airbase? What is actually waiting for them there? Will Daniel be able to hold his son in his arms again?
Hard to say. Just don't underestimate these slower-than-a-drunk-turtle shambling pus-bags.
BUT SERIOUSLY: In our recent review for WILLOW CREEK (review #587) we discussed how sometimes a movie can trot out a well-worn premise without actually breaking any new ground, but do it so well that it becomes a solidly-good film. In that film, we had the same "filmmakers-go-into-the-woods-to-seek-out-a-legend" scenario that we saw in THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (review # 562). In WILLOW CREEK's case, very likable and engaging leads in the form of Bryce Johnson and Alexie Gilmore, and an outstandingly creepy 20-minute unbroken setpiece towards the end of the film help elevate it well above THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, which didn't come close to living up to its promise or hype.
In our next "31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN" review, we have the same situation of a film taking a hoary premise - and doing something refreshingly different with it. The film is the micro-budgeted zombie flick THE DEAD, and it takes the over-used set-up of a worldwide zombie pandemic - and makes it feel fresh, intimate, and compelling. Due to its low-budget, indie director Howard and Jonathan Ford tell their story in a way that emphasizes character, mood, and imagery. It's a slow-burn build that, while not paying off completely at the end, still concludes in an oddly satisfying way.
Also, despite it's small budget, this is one handsome-looking film. Shot on location in Africa, the film has an authentic look that you can't duplicate in a Hollywood back lot or other Stateside setting. This is unmistakably the Dark Continent, and the movie's atmosphere is greatly enhanced by its genuine milieu. The crisp photography also goes a long way in showing off the bold colors that form a constantly-changing tapestry against which this bleak, but also somewhat hopeful, story unfolds.
As the lead, Rob Freeman is summarily okay as Brian Murphy. He's a bit stiff in some scenes, but he's got such a warm, likable face and presence that you can't help but automatically root for him. In any case, much of his role is silent anyway and dependent on expressions of anxiety, fear, and suppressed hope, and he nails these "unspoken" elements, even if some of his spoken soliloquys sound a bit flat occasionally. As his unlikely and unexpected traveling partner, Prince David Osei is a slightly more commanding presence, and he meshes well with Freeman in their scenes together.
And as far as the "Shamblers Vs. Sprinters" debate, I will always side with the slow-moving zombies versus the ballistic-running ones. There's something infinitely more unsettling about an army of slow zombies, relentlessly coming after you, even at a glacial pace. Running zombies create excitement, not fear or dread, and they belong more to the "actiony" zombie flicks like DAWN OF THE DEAD 2004 and WORLD WAR Z. For a more moody, brooding outing like THE DEAD, the Shamblers are perfect.
In the end, THE DEAD may not be as flamboyant as recent zombie flicks with a hundred times its micro-budget, but it is a great example of what you can do when you use your imagination rather than follow well-worn sub-genre cliches.
We will review THE DEAD 2: INDIA sometime after the New Year. It's got a different "feel" and "vibe" than its predecessor, but it's still just as solidly-good in its own way.
