Condemned (2015)

I believe that Roger Ebert had it right. Evaluate the movie based on how well they made it fit the genre. As such, this one is okay. You need to see more than REC or Quarantine as progenitors. This one involved some New York type filmmakers/actors. They did a very good job on sets, costumes, lighting,etc. I don't look for total character coherence in a flick in which everyone is going mad. Even, before they went mad, they were marginally mad or disturbed to begin with. The movie was pretty well made for a low budget effort. The only thing that looked fake was some of the CGI blood spatter and one projectile vomiting scene. You can also see Johnny Messner playing against type. I didn't realize it was him until I realized that he had almost the same hairdo that he wore in Tears of the Sun.There were also a bunch of faces that look familiar but whose names always escape you.This movie did not remind me of REC or Quarantine, as much as some say. They were also derivative. Yes, there were many similar elements that appeared in those films and Condemned.But if anything, this story was absolutely most like a New York based film that predated those two. If you liked Condemned then see Mulberry Street (2006), a film with very close themes and development. This connection jumped to mind after the first few minutes or so of watching Condemned. The writer/star of Mulberry St. is Nick Damici who has a small cameo in Condemned. So see Mulberry St. and if you liked that then watch Stakeland, Damici's take on vampires. In it you will see scenes, sets, and situations that although not wholly original, look like they might be one of the proximate inspirations for The Walking Dead.

Condemned is a really well-done trash horror movie (more like a thriller though, than a comedy), one of the kind. And by well done I mean good camera work, good acting, great practical special effects. Maybe except blood splashes, which are CGI, and honestly look really bad and fake.There also are some unexpected creative touches like opening stop- motion sequence or "living" comic book.The script rocks. All characters are f/cked up, all of them at once are the crazy unpredictable mix and it's great. You have two muscular Nazi BDSM men, maniac psychotic Jew, black gay transgender, drug Chinese dealer who tries to talk in Russian (fails miserably though to do so) and junkies. Main hero and its girlfriend are the only somewhat adequate characters in this movie. All of them are squatters who live in an abandoned house (with lights and water though, which somehow are provided by some old guy and everyone buys him stuff in gratitude for that). Under the influence of toxic drug waste they start to kill each other and that's what the movie is all about.

I've seen some ridiculously bad movies in the past (some were so bad that they got me pretty angry,) but this isn't one of them. I'm not saying it's good either though.First thing I'd like to mention: I hear a lot of people comparing this movie to 'REC' and its American remake 'Quarantine'. (One reviewer even went as far to say that it was almost as bad as 'The Sand'; a movie I felt was quite charming and at times admittedly nonsensical, but still good. I digress...) I feel 'Condemned' has more in common with David Cronenberg's deeply disturbing 1975 film, 'Shivers'; that and movies like 'The Driller Killer', 'Street Trash', and almost anything from Troma Entertainment.The special effects and makeup weren't bad, and I found the bizarre residents and their eventual changes to be amusing (albeit gross). Other than that, the lighting wasn't that great at times, characters, dialogue and scenes needed some more development, and there needed to be some explanation for some of the stuff that happened.If I could, I'd give this film a 5.5 out of 10. If you're easily squeamish, don't bother watching it. If not and you're into any of the movies I mentioned, you might enjoy seeing it just once.

This movie was a complete waste of a Friday evening. Bad special effects, bad college film on a low budget. Don't waste your downtime watching it. Started out as a pretty promising story, good rich girl, hot boyfriend and nice friends. Went downhill about 25 minutes into the movie. Disgusting scenes which some of you probably will enjoy tho. I would guess that fear the walking dead was an inspiration. And i usually like this kind of movies, but, if you don't have the money to make it good. Then do not make it. Unless you have a really good story. If you still decide to waste your time, make sure to not eat anything during.