Remains (2011)

This zombie film starts on international "Peace Day" when some undisclosed process will neutralize radiation and make nuclear weapons useless. While these sketchy details are televised in the background, Tom (Grant Bowler) and Tori (Evalena "cleavage" Marie) go to a bomb shelter to get it on at a Reno hotel casino. When they emerge I expected to see Burgess Meredith looking for his glasses, but instead there is a full blown zombie food riot going on outside. Like "Dawn of the Dead" the first rule is to secure the perimeter and eliminate zombie hazards within the safe zone...which isn't that easy as this appears to be the only hotel casino that doesn't have a gun stashed anywhere.Our non-zombie people group narrows down to four, with one openly gay character. (Guess who dies first because killing off the brother first has become too cliche?) The radioactive zombies require head shots and are a combination of fast moving and foot dragging zombies, whichever suits the mood of the director. They have the unusual characteristic of sleeping while standing up and unlike the standard zombie fare, they do feed off each other. Bites appear to cause infection. At one point they talk about going to Catalina, which made me think of this being a "Zombie Apocalypse" prequel...which it isn't...I think.Tom and Tori are the main characters who have a rocky relationship. There are some CG fire effects that are rather poor, i.e. holding a match in front of a picture, but they don't last long. Good acting performances for a low budget zombie film. The script needed some tightening up. Worth a view for zombie fans.PARENTAL GUIDE: No f-bombs that I recall, but it does have adult language (SOB etc.) sex, no nudity. Evalena Marie sports cleavage for much of the film in her red bra.

Ah the Zombie movie! To what do we compare thee? Why, to Mr Romero's masterpieces of course - which is why we end up on the path to disappointment... Bearing in mind that I am not a rabid (pardon the pun) fan of this particular genre, my review will necessarily be lacking somewhat in expertise. Nethertheless, I am prepared to pass judgement on the entertainment value of this recent filmic addition to the walking dead. After an apocalyptic nuclear accident has turned most of the World's population into flesh-eating zombies two survivors, Tom and Tori, involved in their own carnal machinations find themselves trapped in a Reno hotel, eventually joining forces with Jensen, an entertainer and Victor who only escapes from the clutches of the zombies by sacrificing somebody else. There follow a number of close calls before they find that other survivors are out there and manage to attract their attention. The cavalry turn out to be a mercenary army led by Ramsey with his daughter Cindy. Rather than being saviours, they turn out to be scavengers intent on collecting supplies and moving on. This leads to the inevitable clash which leaves both Jensen and Victor dead and Tom and Tori abandoned. But wait... our mercenaries have themselves been wiped out, Ramsey killed. Cindy returns on her own to effect a rescue much to the mistrust of Tori who is drifting away from Tom. Tori turns on both Tom and Cindy and attempts her own escape which of course is doomed to failure. we end with Tom and Cindy driving into the sunset and, preparing nicely for the sequel, Tori, now seemingly half-Zombie, half revenge seeking Human staring malevolently after them... All in all this is a fair effort entertainment-wise and at 88 minutes does not overstay its welcome. The acting is fine if hardly Oscar-nominated. The script - based on a graphic novel - seems fairly sensible and tight although lacking somewhat in character development and hardly cerebrally challenging. There are a few comic moments which are nicely and not overly done - it is always a fine balancing act when inserting amusement into horror. The Zombie make-up, at least to my novice eye, seemed well done and musical accompaniment was kept well to the background. There were holes in the script and some of the stunt and special effects work left a lot to be desired but overall this was quite an entertaining film and worth a watch whether you enjoy this genre or not.

This starts off fairly nice, but unfortunately ends up being really bad. And not in a good sense that is. While the male lead character has almost enough charisma to make it all work, you do wonder why the female lead was written that way. Even if you kinda think it pays of in the end, it's at least laughable the actions they are taking.There are some fun moments and this is shot pretty nicely (though one big effect scene towards the end of the movie is cheap CGI, but you couldn't expect otherwise). It's pretty funny seeing the Omen "Baby"/Kid playing in something else. Most won't recognize Miko Hughes, it's been a while since the Original Omen was shot, but it is him and while his character has not much to chew on (no pun intended), he still fairs better than some of the other characters. Also nice to see Mr. Reddick (aka Broyles from Fringe) in a different role. But he can't save the day either ...

Did you notice after the scene when Cindy came back by herself, her and Tom were in the bar talking and Tom didn't have any bandages on his hands and he had all 10 fingers. Go back and watch the scene. When they were in the room while Cindy was asleep Tom reapplied the bandages to his 8 fingers. Do I win a surprise for this discovery or what? Overall, I loved the movie, I even liked the hamster ball remake that was really cool. It would have Bennett even cooler if they all rolled out into the sunset together in another place to safety,m yeah it would have taken them a while but the zombies couldn't get to them. The ending could've been better to I think, but like I Said before besides the mishap with the finger which I laughed and laughed about the movie was great, thank you for all your hard work keeping us entertained.