Anger of the Dead (2015)
Starring Ally McClelland, Roberta Sparta, Aaron Stielstra
Directed by Francesco Picone
I was SO close… so close to offering my soul for the the opportunity to lambaste the latest production from Uwe Boll, simply due to his last collection of stinkers that have stunk higher than the worst stench imaginable. Not to throw the actors that have performed in these turds on the fire – it’s just the product that they’ve chosen to jump into.
However, something just seemed different about this film, titled Anger of the Dead. Directed by Francesco Picone and reconditioned from a 2013 short of the same name, the 2015 extension of the short film actually has some backbone, and this guy who normally is only too happy to assault an inferior pic was pleasantly surprised with this… but just a little bit. Let me lay down the details for you without giving too much away.
The film, set in a future where the rabies virus has completely overtaken the population and turned them into… anyone? You guessed it… zombies! Anger of the Dead focuses on a pregnant woman named Alice (Sparta) who is attempting to head for greener pastures (like that ever works). She runs into two men (Marius Bizau and Michael Segal) who are in search of the same utopia – delusion’s a bitch, isn’t it?
As we flip the story over, we see a woman (Desiree Giorgetti) who is being held prisoner by an unknown group of sadistic troops – she’s been beaten, raped, and offered the nastiest lunch special this side of Mel’s Diner. Once she is able to escape with a little assistance, she is then pursued by one of the most unpleasant SOB’s (Stielstra) you’ll set your eyes on in a film this year. His motives at the time were unclear, but they come more into focus as the movie rages on. His methods of interrogation and punishment are simply barbaric – he’s not to be reasoned with, and he makes his point at more than one time in the film.
While there are more than a few slow spots in Picone’s first full-length presentation, his ability to convey a fairly decent story is what pulls this movie through and sets it apart from a typical Boll production. The dive into humanity is deep, and for the first time in ages, I actually gave a crap about a few of the characters. The zombies even had some spunk as well, and while I’ve never been a fan of the Usain Bolt-styled track star flesh-munchers, these rotting denizens of the dead can cover some ground rather quickly and display some serious ferocity in the process – a definite plus. While I’m treading on the side of the negative at the present moment, I’d like to offer any viewer of this movie to pay close attention to the opening credits of the film and see if it isn’t eerily reminiscent of a very popular TV show that just happens to have a bunch of scummy, deceased plague-spreaders in it and is currently murdering the ratings (no, I’m not talking about “Keeping Up with the Kardashians”) – it’s kind of creepy, actually.
Overall, thumbs up to Picone for a nice job with taking a sub-genre that’s been butchered and valiantly reviving it for a short spell. This is definitely worth the view-time if you have the opportunity.
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Film
Categorized:Reviews
