Anger of the Dead (2015)

"Apocalisse Zero - Anger of the Dead" and "Age of the Dead" are both the same Uwe Boll production. A virus or youth protesting causes a zombie outbreak. We poorly follow two subplots. One is about Alice who is pregnant and lost her daughter to a zombie snack. She hooks up with Steve and Peter and apparently drive around through Europe for four months as we get a "four months later" tag. Meanwhile another man is experimenting with a woman, possibly a patient zero, and in spite of her importance, she seems to be a sex toy based on the brief scenes of guys straightening out their pants when they leave her. The two subplots come together as we discover the proverbial ferry taking people away to an uninfected island.There are not a lot of characters. The few that exist are boring and don't talk much. We don't get to know these people.Guide: Implied sex, nudity (Désirée Giorgetti)

Anger of the Dead (aka Age of the Dead): This is the full length film inspired by the short but little remains of that apart from the bridge scene. A pregnant woman and two men make there way across the Zombie infested countryside in the hope of reaching a ferry to an island refuge.In a parallel story-line a woman is kept captive and experimented on by a Walking Dead Governor type who hopes to find a cure for his Zombie wife.An adult film with some gruesome scenes, even though the worse is implied rather than shown. 6/10

In a world ravaged by a virus that turns people into cannibals, survivors endeavour to reach an island, however, it's not just the zombies that are a threat. Right from the opening where a little girl gets eaten you know it's not going to be a fluffy DTV addition to the genre. Writer/Director Francesco Picone's offering looks bigger than it is with real locations, lots of gore and a steady pace. Zombie completists au fait with Eaters (2011), Apocalypse Z (2013) aka "Zombie Massacre" and Zombie Massacre 2: Reich of the Dead (2015) will be familiar with the makeup style and saturated look that the talented (and friendly) Luca Boni and Marco Ristori have delivered in the past. Here they hang up their directing hats and don producer roles (along with Uwe Boll who incidentally has very little involvement, House of the Dead - this is not). Picone takes up the reins and delivers similar aesthetics to Boni and Ristori. Jokes aside I tip my hat to Boll and company who appear to be single handily reviving the Italian zombie scene with another sub-genre addition. However, Picone's film is more refined, it's void of comedy, the make up is more realistic and the script along with the acting are better.The blood, bite wounds, severed limbs are effective. After the strong opening it then jumps four months after the outbreak with a road trip story that includes a pregnant woman Alice played memorably by Roberta Sparta. It has emotion and some tension between her and Peter as they are chased down by the sound attracted fast moving infected. The characters have to make hard choices along the way. Both Désirée Giorgetti as the Prisoner and Aaron Stielstra as Rooker are notable, their story is hard hitting at times with a nasty female abuse subplot reminiscent of Joe Chien's Zombie 108's (2012). However, when the story follows Alice and Peter and the zombies are in the forefront it works much better. The acting, make up effects and camera work is solid enough, and even though all the players appear to be named after characters or actors synonymous with the zombie genre it's not a Syfy channel production. Also refreshing its not set in the USA, the locations are quite interesting and to Picone's credit it benefits from a nihilistic down beat ending. Anger of the Dead (A.K.A Age of the Dead) is worth viewing especially if you liked the aforementioned films, that said Picone's offering is appreciatively far more serious and debatably superior due to it's darker tone.

Horror movies today survive on effects budgets and the number of graphic deaths on screen--unfortunately. But bad acting is death. To see bad acting in a film of any genre is death, this because the audience immediately doesn't believe the behavior they're seeing. Luckily this movie doesn't discount that important fact. Here, the cast is very strong and they assist the mediocre story past its dubious outcomes and character motivations. The zombies who run rampant are eclipsed by a cast of humans more messed up and nasty than most. Aaron Stielstra (as a demented, sadistic warlord) is not to be forgotten, as are attractive leads Roberta Sparta and Marius Bizau, both lending gravity to the usual doomed zombie escape- plans. Desiree' Giorgetti is memorable as the movie's damaged mute prisoner. Despite some melodramatic music pieces and the fact that the protagonist seriously lacks Mommy skills--due to the script--the movie has an excellent pace and is beautifully photographed. Carlo Diamantini's makeup is to be applauded, as well. Some dodgy locations may bewilder viewers accustomed to seeing familiar American sights, but the overall nightmare-fantasy quality to the movie will hopefully silence continuity geeks. Geeks who should be grateful for the acting, rather than squealing about occasional weird-looking license plates. Overall, a strong and vivid flick. But without its equally vivid cast, may not have survived exile to the Walmart bin. Check it out!