3 Day Zombie Movie Fest Weekend! - my thoughts on.... 'War of the Dead'

A zombie movie fest? It was bound to happen. I've had several zombie movies in my queue, waiting to be seen. However, I just wasn't in the right state of mind to watch them and I didn't have the time. But, with the 3 day weekend upon me.... I figured there was no time like the present! So I fired up Netflix and away we go!

Let's start this off by saying, I'm not a fan of Nazi zombie movies or "flying through the air" zombie movies. Both of them have their exceptions, but overall.... they just rub me the wrong way. 'Dead Snow' and 'Day of the Dead' (2008) are a couple of ones that I actually enjoyed in each sub-genre. Because of this, I had really low expectations for 'War of the Dead'. It was Nazi zombies who jumped and flew through the air like super heroes or something. Knowing that, I was all prepared to hate this take on the genre. Well, I can admit when I'm wrong and I was wrong about this one. It may not be my new favorite zombie movie ever, but it certainly delivered a much better experience than I could have ever hoped for. The zombies were fearsome, but not scary. The action was well paced and not too much. The script was fairly basic, but enjoyable. There was only one scene that had me completely baffled in the whole thing. Where one of the main characters gets on a horse, only to ride about 20 feet and then get off and into the car that everyone else was in. Which, very slowly, had just crashed through a fence. You have to see it to understand.... or not understand.

This is the basic plot: During WWII, Captain Stone and a platoon of American and Finnish soldiers are on a mission to find a bunker held by the Germans. On the way there they come under fire and at the same time run into some German soldiers that seem to be "undead". How is this possible? Their platoon is almost completely killed off apart from a few of them, including Capt. Stone. They move on and run in to another survivor, a Russian soldier. They all try to survive and end up at the bunker they were meant to take out. Once inside, they find out just how the German soldiers became the "undead". All the while, they're finding out that despite them being on different sides of the war.... they all have a common enemy.

I don't think that this movie was meant to be any kind of giant blockbuster, but it has all the earmarks of a great war movie. It's also beautifully shot and feels like a much more epic movie then I think it actually was meant to be. With some more time and a slightly better script, this could have been pretty epic. It seems that the writer and director took several liberties with the story, in favor of just getting it done. It doesn't hurt the overall experience, but it does make some parts seem forced. There are also several logic jumps, but all of them can be forgiven. It's got lots of gun battles, hand to hand combat and Nazi's! My biggest complaint with the whole thing is that the zombies aren't as interested in chewing on human flesh as they are getting in to a fist fight. They also seem to have super human abilities, thanks to their transformation into the undead army they've become. I can look past all that though.

If you have a rainy Saturday afternoon and are looking for something new, but familiar.... then this might be the ticket for you. It's a solid war movie, a solid zombie movie and a decent thrill ride. I don't know that I really ever need to see it again. Not that this is a bad thing. Some movies are meant to take you on a one way trip through a new reality and then drop you off on the other side. Some are like a good song, meant to be played over and over so you can re-listen to your favorite parts. All in all, this movie comes recommended for fans of the zombie and/or Nazi zombie genre. It has likable characters and a good enough story line to kill an hour and a half without feeling like you wasted the time. Not too mention, who doesn't want to shoot some Nazi's in the head?

3 out of 5 stars.

If you like this, perhaps you should check out: 'Dead Snow', 'Day of the Dead' (2008) and 'Oasis of the Zombies' (for an example of an original Nazi zombie movie.... but not a very good one.)

my thoughts on.... 'Dead Snow'

You're sitting at home and considering what to watch. What's the first thing that comes to mind? A horror movie? A zombie movie? A Norwegian zombie movie? A Norwegian Nazi zombie movie? Well, that's what you've got on your hands with 'Dead Snow'. Granted, back in the hay day of the 70's zombie films, one of the most popular sub-genre's was the Nazi zombie movie. I mean, who doesn't want to see some zombies killed? Espcially if they're Nazi's! You'll find that with some limited seraching, you can find a lot of "classics" out there to absorb. You will need a little bit of spare time to watch them all, but it'll be worth it. 'Dead Snow' is the first time I've seen anyone delve back into this genre, since it was popular. It's been re-vamped for a modern audience, but it's for the best.

It starts out simple enough with some younger folks in a cabin in the woods. You then hear about a legend of a Nazi miliatary outfit who was on the lamb from prosecution after stealing all of the gold and precious items from the town. Shortly after, they disappeared. Slowly, over time, they became less of a reality and more of a boogeyman story of sorts. The young folks are warned that it might not be the best idea to stay in the area, due to the legeng, but they stay anyway. Soon.... they're over run by Nazi zombies! Go figure. The rest of the time is spent fighting for their lives.

One thing to keep in mind before you watch this film, is that the zombies aren't your typical zombie fare. They don't shamble, they don't lack intelligence and they don't avoid the use of weapons. These aren't your grandmother's zombies. However, if you can get over that fact, you'll really find this to be a very enjoyable film. It's fun, it's campy, it's bloody and it's way over the top! A real gem of a movie, in the rough.

All in all, a solid 4 out of 5 star movie. Also, a welcome one that is trying to revitalize a long lost sub-genre. It's made it fresh and new again. Something all the jaded zombie lovers out there can get behind. It's also an extremely fun movie, which pays homage to all of it's predecessors. There's not a previous zombie movie out there that doesn't get a little bit of a tip of the hat. That just makes 'Dead Snow', all that much better. It almost reminds me a bit of 'Dead Alive', but not quite as bloody. My suggestion to you? Check your brain at the door, rent this little slice of heaven and enjoy. It's just that simple. A great little movie, that I think qualifies as a masterpiece in it's sub-genre.

If you enjoy this movie, check out: 'Shockwaves', 'Oasis of the Zombies' and 'Evil Dead 2'