DVD Gangsters, Guns & Zombies

Briefly said, a van full of bank robbers have their getaway complicated by the oncoming zombie holocaust.

This movie was a pleasant surprise for me. I was expecting a B movie. Especially since I found the title on a list of 'B' thrillers. What I found was a very well done flick that fit my mood to a tee.

First thing to note is this is clearly in Guy Ritchie style (as in Lock Stock or Snatch). Now there is a fine line between cheap knock off, spoof and tribute. It mostly depends on how faithfully a style is recreated and it's underlying quality. The Ritchie style hits you right from the opening credits. Slick graphic credits interrupting brisk action sequences while the protagonist narrates, followed up by a by a cast of stereotypical British gangsters, each introduced by the narrator. It's a good imitation and I rate it a tribute. If you aren't fond of Rithchie's style you won't like this one either.

I found the characters amusing, original and endearing (you gotta love grandma). Moreover, I was pleasantly surprised at the overall quality. Direction, cinematography, acting, writing, sound all above par. Well, one exception. If you are making a zombie movie, it might be judicious to employ the services of a make-up artist. Or, at the very least, insist that your extras pay a visit to the local costume shop at their own expense.

It would be easy to criticize the finale which seems more like a cast party than a conclusion. But, think about it, there's only one end to a zombie flick. The zombies kill everyone. Isn't that what's meant by Apocalypse?

If you took the trouble to search for this title, the answer is "Yes". Well worth a look see.

Having finished a bank robbery and on the run in the countryside, a group of robbers find that the area is overrun by the victims of a deadly zombie virus and have to fight off the creatures in order to get away safely.

As far as zombie films go, this one was quite decent enough and certainly has enough going for it. One of the better elements is the fact that the running zombies are utilized right in here for one of the only times in their existence, for they still shuffle about with lethargy at times and really seem to be outmaneuvered with ease if the situation was enabling them to hide away from the creatures, yet whenever they spotted their victims the zombies were able to run them down and overwhelm them with their numbers. This is what makes them quite effective, when there's a way out yet they can overpower to generate the kill. There's also some rather fine action scenes that come from these encounters, with a forest encounter with live-action role players in medieval knight-gear, a gas station ambush and an assault on a small house in the countryside being the biggest scenes to make for some fine action moments here and there, while the finale at the dockyard is good if quite brief and could've been stretched out a little more. There's still some flaws here, as a running gag with the group finding passers-by on the roads and keep going only to see them get fed to zombies just after doing so get old after the fourth time it happens as the gag doesn't go anywhere, the make-up effects in general look really bad as the zombies are just outfitted with fangs and blood-shot eyes to denote their zombie-ness and as a comedy, this really fails since it constitutes everyone cursing at one another for it's jokes, which is just lame. Overall, though, there's enough here to like to outweigh the negatives.

Rated R: Extreme Graphic Language and Graphic Violence.