So for my first proper post, I thought I would start with one of my least proud ownerships in my DVD collection; an interesting little film called Apocalypse of the Dead. Now I know what you are thinking. Surely any film that includes "...of the Dead" in it surely has to be an instant masterpiece. And in a lot of cases I would agree, mainly due to my fascination with zombie films, regardless as to whether they are good or not. I just cant resist them. It is like poking all the fresh bread at a bakery section in a supermarket. You know you shouldn't, that you are probably too old for such shenanigans, but you do it anyway hoping nobody can see you. But in this case, I feel that the "...of the Dead" canon has been let down by a very average and clichéd zombie movie.
Firstly, there is the dubbing. Now dubbed films are not necessarily a bad thing, but you expect to see such work to be imparted when the original dialogue is being spoken in a language different to the dub. Not so in this case. For some inexplicable reason, they decided to dub over several characters' voices, even though they were obviously delivering the dialogue in the same language. This lead to some appalling lip syncing, and some very dodgey action movie voices. Now this on its own wouldn't bother me too much, but in this film, there was no consitancy to the dubbing, and appeared to only apply to some characters. This can leave only the conclusion that the actors who were dubbed have terrible zombie movie voices. Maybe like David Mitchell or Woody Allen. Although to be completely honest, if that was how they originally sounded, I may have enjoyed the film considerably more if they left it that way.
The next issue I had with this film was the effects. Now when approaching a zombie movie, you have to be prepared for some fantastically hammy effects, and I feel with the lower budget films, kudos must be paid for creativity in light of this. So the standard of the effects was not an issue for me. In fact they were acually suprisingly good in comparison to what I was expecting. What annoyed me was the lack of confidence in the film makers had in their own capabilities, so that when there was an effects heavy scene, they resorted to extremely dynamic camera movements, as if trying to detract away from possible flaws, rather than showcasing one of the film's stronger areas. One particular shot of a samurai sword cleaving a head in two was a personal highlight in the effects for me. Especially in a sea of zombie movie effects where they would have settled to a quick cut to a shot of a manaquin filled with paint being hacked.
Alas, that last moment also brings me to one of my main issues with the film, and with many of the zombie film genre. The samurai sword. Agian this is nothing to do with the fact that a, quite frankly, awesome weapon is being used in a zombie film. But more to do with the fact that films of this ilk are inclined to take themselves a little too seriously, and then introduce ridiculous weapons with which to fight the hordes of undead. Now were the film to be massively tongue-in -cheek, there would be alot more room for manoeuvre to make this weapon be used ironically, and therefore alot more enjoyable to watch. But when it is used in a film of this standing, where the anti-hero of the piece just happnes to be an amazing Mexican-Samurai, it seems a little too much like indulging the film makers fantasy of how to make a zombie apocalypse as cool as possible. Now granted, were I to be caught up in such a maelstrom of a posthumus flesheating nightmare - and don't even pretend you have't had long and deep discussion with your friends about such an event - I would love to think I would be able to run about wielding a katana like a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. But we all know in the harsh light of day, we would al be running around with something rubbish like a mug tree or an funky Ikea leopard print mop to protect our delicious brains from the hungry masses. So the use of such fantastical weapons in a film where the tone should not abide its legitimate use, just annoys me. Were he to accidently lop off his ear in the process of all the swinging about of said sword, I would have accepted its inclusion far more easily.
So in all I was dissapointed with Apocalypse of the Dead. But I will not let it act as a detriment to the many other fantastic low budget zombie flicks I have the pleasure of owning. Part of the thrill of buying a low budget zombie film lies in the 50/50 of if it will be hilariously bad, but loving crafted, or just another zombie enthusiasts realisation of his own fantasies, almost definitely utilising the gratuitous naked young woman zombie shot. Unfortunately this film was the latter, but here are plenty more brains in the sea.
Happy viewing...
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