THE DEAD TIMES

RATING:

ZOMBIE RATING:

DESCRIPTION:

A Zombie apocalypse has ravaged America and civilization has returned to the simpler ways of life adopted during the Wild West period. A group of gunslingers must stop playing games, band together and take on Apocolypta - a mystical women with debatable morals as well as the unholy ability to command the undead - if they are to lead mankind out of this unending nightmare.

MY VERDICT:

I quite like Dead 7, though it is definitely a 'like it or loathe it' movie. It lacks much in the way of story, is full of plot holes and leaves many questions unanswered, glossing over important subjects like how the dead came back to life in the first place. The acting is also far from quality (with the exception of Apocolypta's ever laughing lackey) - most of the actors being former boy band members. To some, this will be enough to doom the movie though what really draws me in is the attention to detail. The film does take the whole 'reliving the Wild West' aesthetic a bit too far with some outlandish hairstyles which would clearly not 'cut it' in the modern world and the referral to all Zombies as "Copperheads" is a stretch. It's the small details I found pleasure in such as the use of Zombies teeth as currency (and several ruffians trying to get easy money by flooding the market with unturned human teeth). There is also a map of the surrounding area shown at one point, ripped and torn, missing sections are filled in by pages from unrelated books, geological features drawn over the top of the meaningless sentences. I also was surprised (in a good way) by the ending of Dead 7. From the outset I was convinced of the usual 'good guys struggle but eventually achieve ultimate victory and are celebrated as heroes forever more' outcome - when the end came and this did not happen, I was thrilled. Still, I would not really recommend this movie to all Zombie fans. If you enjoy watching Z Nation, the more gun-ho version of The Walking Dead, Dead 7 will be right up your street. To everyone else, you'd probably best avoid this decidedly average affair.