THE DEAD TIMES

RATING:

ZOMBIE RATING:

DESCRIPTION:

In the Dead Rising movie, based heavily on the hit Dead Rising series of games, Zombies are nothing new. There have been two major outbreaks of the wandering dead before - the exploits of the first two Dead Rising games if you are a follower of the series. Now, humans that have the virus are given Zombrex - a powerful anti-viral drug that keeps the infection at bay if taken in regular doses. When a third outbreak of the Zombie Virus springs up in Oregon, FEZA (Federal Emergency Zombie Authority) quarantines the area but thinks little of it. However, it soon becomes startlingly clear that the drugs aren't working - regardless of treatment, citizens are turning into ravenous flesh-eaters and, in an extremely short time, the entire town is compromised. Chase, Crystal and Maggie - three survivors trapped inside the quarantine zone - must battle the undead and a gang of psychopathic bikers in order to survive.

MY VERDICT:

This is actually a decent film, a fact that should not be that surprising but video game to movie conversions never really seem to work. The two major negatives are the acting - which is fairly poor to be honest - and the far too long runtime. Other than those though, everything is there that a Zombie fan and fan of the Dead Rising games would expect - over the top (yet not completely silly) weaponry, survivors in peril, government conspiracy, evil 'Mad Max'-style humans using the Zombies as a weapon and of course, buckets of blood. The highlight for me is Frank West, the hero of the first Dead Rising game and famous news reporter. In the movie, his past exploits spurred him to write a book, "How to survive a Zombie Outbreak". Now the apparent "expert" on the Zombie-plague and how to live through it, Frank is kept away from the action, discussing the unfolding horrors with a badly-acted news reporter in a safe-from-harm studio. He is always comically direct when asked a deeply serious question, unable to believe a Zombie outbreak is a big deal, contrasting with the more sensible "it's going to be alright" reporter by saying things like "to kill a Zombie you hit it over da head with a plank", "basically, you've got no chance" and "why am I here?". I would really like to see a more comedic prequel movie where he is the star, fighting the undead hordes with anything that comes to hand in the Willamette shopping mall.