The Dead (2010)

First, flight engineers are enlisted, not officers. Second, no lieutenant is that old....unless he got busted down in a big way. Third, one might think to hire a consultant with at least the most rudimentary knowledge of military ranks, if you are going to use military ranks. Fourth....we don't use that airplane for anything. Not in 2010, not even in this century. Last...the acting...the effects. Meh...

I'm a big fan of the horror genre, and the zombies apocalypse ones are among my top favorite. I went to see this movie based on some review that claimed it was a "back to the roots" zombie movie. But man it was a waste of almost two hours of my life, I understand this is a B-Movie, but it isn't enough excuse for the bad and super cheesy acting by the lead character. His acting is as good as the acting in elementary schools plays. painful to watch. but I decided to be the hero and to continue watching hoping for a twist in the plot where that idiot would die and provide a good meal for the slug-slow zombies. That didn't happen... the cheesy idiocy continues to the very freaking end.3 stars goes for an African Mother that acted briefly but brilliantly, I'll let watch this agonizing movie till you find her!

When I first saw this film, I was stunned. To see a zombie film that actually cares about the story and characters and not just about the gore is something that more writers and directors should do. I myself love gore but to me it takes a backseat to story and characters. Where to begin with this film? I will first start with that the setting is genius and looks unbelievable on film. One of the finest settings in any film I have ever seen. The music is also great as well, though it is usually played at minimum, but when it is played it is moody and atmospheric. Another great thing about this film is the story. It has been years since I have seen a zombie film with such a good story. Not to spoil the story but the film centers on two main characters trying to get to both of their respective families. One is an American engineer while another is an African soldier. The two actors do quite good jobs and really display their frustration, fear, and loneliness quite well. There are also many terrific side characters as well (including a shaman who managed to impress me without uttering a single line of dialogue). Then there of course the stars of the film, the zombies. Oh. My. God. These are seriously the best zombies since Fulci's 1979 classic Zombie. They are very blank in their design but something about them makes them so menacing and down right scary. It is probably their eyes (seriously freaks me right out), which are ice blue and blank. The gore is also impressive, though it doesn't stand out from other zombie movies (although gore doesn't matter to me much anyways). The scares are also extremely effective. That's right. A zombie film with Romero style zombies that scare the living s*** out of you. Now that is impressive on it's own right. Another thing to mention is the scenes that take place during night. Those will haunt you for quite a while, definitely not for the faint of heart. One thing to note is that is also very Romero like in that is sprinkles in political and social commentary, and in this case this would be about the United State's and the world in general's relation to Africa. Fortunately this is downplayed and if you don't even believe it, you won't even notice it. To wrap things up this is seriously one of the greatest zombie films of the last 10, nay , 20 years. Definitely not something to be missed, a classic in the making.

Watched on a recommendation. Wrong. This movie is terrible, the acting, the writing. Numerous "why would you even do that" moments. They tried hard, they failed hard. The 2 lead actors did a decent job, but the acting of the zombies was pretty awful. I like the fact it was set during the day which is rare for zombie movies, but it simply meant there was even less suspense. The zombies move so awkwardly and so slowly there is absolutely no tension. Even in the scenes where there "should" be tension, all I could think was that the protagonists could easily escape with a brisk (perhaps even slow) walking pace. There are also a few scenes that require one to suspend any sort of critical thinking. I had zero emotional attachment to either of the protagonists and the ending was very predictable. All in all, save yourself an hour or so and watch something else. Almost anything else.