When people think of zombie movies, most probably think about the obvious ones like Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, 28 Days Later, Zombieland and World War Z, but there are a lot of really decent, lesser-known zombie flicks out there that are well worth a watch. I rewatched one of my favourites just recently.
The Dead (2010)
I wouldn’t be surprised if some of you haven’t heard of this one. I only stumbled on it by accident myself some years back, but I ended up buying it on Blu-Ray and have watched it a couple more times since.
If you haven’t seen it, it’s a really unique take on the zombie movie genre starring Rob Freeman (Saving Private Ryan), Prince David Osei (Last Night) and very few others.
This is what it’s about:
“An American mercenary, the sole survivor of a plane crash, has to run the gauntlet across Africa following a zombie outbreak. His only ally is a local African soldier who’s gone AWOL in order to find his young son.”
This film might not have the budget or the Hollywood sparkle of those better known zombie movies, but that’s exactly what I like about it. It’s also completely different to most other films of its kind, and I think it’s down to a few things…
1. The location
This is the only zombie movie I’ve seen that’s set in Africa. It makes for a very different experience and you really feel the heat, the isolation, and complete hopelessness of the main character’s situation. The country’s landscape also provides some stunning cinematography!
2. The lack of dialogue
As with any film that has a minimal cast, especially those where the story really only focusses on one character, this film has very little dialogue. This might not be to everyone’s taste, but again it’s one of the things I like most about it. The quietness of it all makes for some particularly eerie moments and creates a tension that you don’t get in a lot of other films of this kind.
3. Slow moving zombies
Since 28 Days Later changed the zombie movie landscape with fast running zombies/infected, we’ve all become accustomed to that being pretty much standard. Before 2002 though zombies were generally slow and clumsy (and some might say, scarier). The slowness of the zombies is definitely effective in this movie, and one scene in particular where the main character tries to get a pickup truck started while the undead emerge from a cornfield and slowly close in on him utilises all of the things I’ve mentioned. It’s easily one of the best scenes in the film.
This might be lower budget than your typical “upmarket” zombie movie but it does what it does well and is strangely mesmerising. It’s graphic, has some great practical effects, and the story, although fairly slow paced keeps you watching and rooting for the main guy right up until the final conclusion.
A sequel called The Dead 2: India was released in 2013 but I haven’t seen it. By all accounts though it’s not as good as this one…
If you like a good zombie romp that feels like someone mashed Cast Away, Blood Diamond and World War Z together I recommend checking this one out.
You can rent it from Sky Store (UK) for £2.79, or watch it on Amazon Prime for free (but with ads).
Seen it? Let me know what you think in the comments.