THE DEAD TIMES

RATING:

ZOMBIE RATING:

DESCRIPTION:

A devasting and mysterious plague has swept through the world, turning the vast majority of humanity into ruthless, flesh-eating Zombies. For one woman, isolated and alone in the woods, forced far from the remnants of civilisation, survival is a constant battle; both physical and mental.

MY VERDICT:

Here Alone is a very strange movie - one that you will either love or hate and, I'm sad to say, I fall into the 'hate' category. You see, for much of the movie it's just the woman and her day-to-day struggle to survive in the wilderness. There's no dialog, no brutal, unplanned and frantic escapes from roving deadheads, just her bleak, uneventful life interspersed with short flashbacks telling you how she ended up in this desolate situation. To some people, deep character development (the flashbacks are wonderfully paced to gradually reveal a shocking and saddening truth) and a focus on story in place of any real action will be a godsend but I like a bit more visible terror, with highs and lows. The second part of the movie does try to inject some of this tense action with the arrival of two unknown survivors into the woman's camp, adding a layer of group dynamics to the mix. For me though, this was just a case of 'too little, too late'. The acting of the extended group of humans is only average at best. The main good point about this low-budget film, other than the well-paced flashbacks already mentioned, is that the ending presents the woman with a truly excellent, breathtaking moral dilemma in the style of Telltale's The Walking Dead adventure games - providing just enough excitement to save this humdrum movie from the quagmire of disgrace.