Zombies from Outer Space (2012)

"Zombies from Outer Space" is a German German-language movie from 2012, so this one has its 5th anniversary this year. The writer and director is Martin Faltermeier and it may be his most known work. This has probably especially to do with the genre as zombie films/programs (Walking Dead) were even more famous back then as they are today. And the title already tells everybody that they mixed this frequent subject here with a touch extraterrestrial stuff. The movie runs for roughly 1.5 hours, so common runtime pretty much, but there is nothing memorable in here. The film is also not to be appreciated from the guilty pleasure perspective. It all looks so cheap and uninspired: the acting, the direction, the entire story and the complete production as a whole. I will admit though that I thought initially that the film may not be that much a failure as you would guess from seeing the rating here on IMDb. But sadly it is even worse. The contrast between harmony (early on) and violence/conflict was a solid idea but when you see these scenes you recognize quickly that talent was completely void when making this movie. It's just not working like pretty much all the rest. Major thumbs-down I have to give it and in my opinion this is a film that tells me to avoid Faltermeier's works in the future unless he considerably improves as soon as possible. Watch something else instead.

Okay, people will be divided when they watched this flick. First of all it's spoken in German and in particularly in Bavarian. So some my turn their face away when hearing this. On the other hand it's been subtitled in English and I must say that there are almost no mistakes in the subs because sometimes German flicks do have weird English subs. The other reason why people don't like it is because it looks like a flick from the fifties. And that means, a lot of blah blah before things go wrong.If you can stand both then you will actually like this flick. Myself not fund of fifties sci-fi and horror flicks did actually like it because when the aliens do walk amongst humans it do offer some gory moments. You don't want to watch it for the acting because it's a bit stiff and naturally when some actors are trying to talk English it becomes a bit funny. As I said earlier, the effects for such a independent were rather good. The aliens do look frightening and the opening sequence did offer some gory effects. Once the aliens walk it's all done by the actors itself but I can't say that I saw how they did some affects nd that's rather good (ofcourse I know but you can't tell). Indeed not for all horror buffs walking this earth, just for those who do like the fifties. Sure, some scene's are a bit too long (the bar for example) but it do have it's moments here and there.Gore 1/5 Nudity 0,5/5 Effects 3/5 Story 3/5 Comedy 0/5

Members of a small, rural Bavarian community and the staff of a nearby American airbase come under attack from flesh-hungry reanimated alien corpses, buried on Earth (under crop-circles) as part of an extraterrestrial plot to take over our planet.Zombies From Out Of Space is an ambitious indie homage to the schlocky sci-fi/horror movies of the 50s, but one that sadly bites off more than it can chew, ultimately failing to live up to its impressive B-movie style promotional art and packaging (it was the cool poster that first caught my attention and eventually convinced me to part with my cash for a signed DVD).Some lovely camera-work and impressive visual effects bode well, with a few particularly well executed shots of crop-circles and flying saucers belying the almost non-existent budget, but the film is let down by a clumsy script that features numerous redundant scenes and lousy performances by an enthusiastic but sadly not very talented cast (several of whom ill-advisedly attempt American accents).Director Martin Faltermeier throws in some fun gore during the zombie alien attack finalé, but to get there one has to endure some real dross, including a dreadfully dull romantic triangle between local girl Maria (Judith Gorgass), scientist Robert (Florian Kiml), and US captain John Welles (Siegfried Foster), lots of boring jibber jabber, and a completely pointless scene at a dance that turns into a brawl.

The inquiry raised in my review's subject line is actually a sincere one, since I honestly don't know the answer myself… "Zombies from Outer Space" is more than obviously a zero-budgeted fan-boy accomplishment, with friends and neighbors recruited as lead stars and random furniture and tableware used as set pieces, but I can't ignore the impression that writer/director Martin Faltermeier very much knew what he was doing and deliberately kept everything extra incompetent. I've seen more than enough B-movie tributes that are just supposed to look cheap and inept, but in fact really are cheap and inept! Movies where the cast & crew simply can't do any better. "Frog-g-g", "There's Nothing Out There" and "Sharp Teeth" come to mind, and to a minor extent even "The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra". "Zombies from Outer Space" is different… It's too good at being bad, if that makes any sense. The film has a pretty nifty story to boot! Evil aliens are burying their dead in crop circles on earthly soil, but they emerge again and feed on the townsfolk of a small Bavarian community. The aliens look for new territory, as their own planet is getting overpopulated, but their immune system can't function very long in our atmosphere. Luckily, for them at least, they are about to fix this issue with the help of a sinister scientist. Salvation lies within the hands of the scientist's nerdy assistant and a US army captain, but they are too busy conquering the heart of a local farmer's daughter named Maria. One glimpse at the film's poster (sadly not yet illustrated here on the website) is enough to know that "Zombies from Outer Space" is a silly but enthusiast and charming flick that efficiently covers all our beloved themes of 50's Sci-Fi, including the menace of a superior extraterrestrial race, mass hysteria, crazed scientists and love-rivalries between the heroes. The alien zombie invaders look exquisite and exactly like the clichéd prototype prescribes (gigantic skulls with large lifeless eyes) and there are plenty of fun sequences with exaggeratedly fake-looking UFO's. The entire ensemble cast overacts terribly – again, whether or not on purpose – and particularly "American" soldiers are hilarious to listen to, what with their atrocious over-the-top accents. Unfortunately, the film isn't entirely successful. With a running time of 95 minutes "Zombies from Outer Space" is definitely too long and, consequently, features an overload of redundant and horribly dull scenes. Efforts like these certainly do not appeal to a wide range of audiences, so I guess it's doomed to remain in obscurity. Too bad, but I'm sure genuine fans of the genre will somehow track it down.