THE DEAD TIMES

RATING:

ZOMBIE RATING:

DESCRIPTION:

A wind-turbine engineer is in the final weeks of a contract job in India when strange events start to happen. It starts with reports of cannibalism in Africa and escalates into a full-blown Zombie outbreak. Being an American, he is saved a seat on the last plane out but he won't leave - not yet. His Indian girlfriend and unborn child are trapped within the city of Mumbai, surrounded by slow, yet relentless, walking dead, hungering for human flesh. Alone on the outskirts, Nicholas Burton must abandon his work and fight his way across 300 miles of bad roads and desert wasteland to reach his new family before it is too late.

MY VERDICT:

The sequel to undiscovered hit Zombie movie of 2010, The Dead, has finally reached UK shores. It is, like its predecessor, another gem of quality to the Zombie fan while not really being an exceptional movie. The story is neither unique nor that engaging - to be honest, the "man travels across infected territory" is pretty much exactly the same as the first film. The only difference is that this time there is a bit more emotion; Nicholas Burton finding a lost kid who quickly becomes like a son to him, the heartache of being apart from his love, a father who is outraged at his daughter 'seeing' a American and a lovely scene where he encounters two trapped survivors, Zombies amassing on their location. However, none of this "more of the same" approach really matters when the landmark original was such a cult blockbuster. It's the Zombies that are the highlight. There is a quote on the DVD box stating that this movie is the scariest Zombie movie since Night of the Living Dead and I can't help but think that George A. Romero, Godfather of the Dead and legend that first brought true biological Zombies to our screens, would approve of the ungodly flesh-eaters the Ford brothers have created. The horrors are slow, really slow - one or two can be avoided easily. It's their relentlessness which gives their quality; they are just always "there", in your way, never giving up, marching forward in a dull stupor. This makes for some wonderfully tense moments such as when the hero bursts out of a door to a once empty street, undead slowly but surely, closing in around him. They react properly too, showing no emotion or happiness when potential food draws near. Gunshots to anything other than the head, barely even register. Sadly though, this brings me on to my final, very slight, negative. Nicholas Burton, the run-of-the-mill wind-turbine engineer, is somehow, a crack shot. He is able to land perfect headshots even when on the move and when his view is obstructed. He also seems to have near infinite rounds for his trusty pistol. Other than these minor disappointments, The Dead 2 is a great film for diehard Zombie fanatics and one I thoroughly recommend.