Directors: Martijn Smits & Erwin Ven Den Eshof
Cast: Yahya Gaier, Gigi Ravelli, Mimoun Ouled Radi, Sergio Hasselbaink, Uriah Arnhem, Noel Deelen
Running Time: 82 minutes
Certificate: TBC
Synopsis: A Russian Space station crashes in Amsterdam-West, causing a deadly virus to turn citizens into flesh-craving psychopaths. Aziz (Gaier), his brother Mo (Ouled Radi), and several strangers emerge from jail oblivious to the mayhem, until they team up with a local police officer (Ravelli). After receiving a call for help, they embark upon a rescue mission which will surely result in a gruesome demise…
Let’s nip this in the bud straight away: There should be no fast zombies, otherwise they might as well be vampires. Their slow rigidity defines them, setting them apart from other mythical beings, and is also a logical character trait, due to them being undead. The beginnings of rigor mortis and lack of brain power puts pay to the idea of fluid motion. It makes their mode of attack creepier too; sheer numbers are their strength, which is an overwhelming and visually powerful phenomenon. Admittedly, many fast zombies are not actually dead, just live humans possessed by a rage virus, or a similar equivalent, but these simply are not zombies, because zombies are dead.
KILL ZOMBIE! adopts these slow zombies, and uses them effectively for the most part. However, this is one of few positive aspects of the movie as a whole. Firstly, all of the characters are ridiculously transparent. It’s a zombie movie, so they don’t have to have the emotional depth of Catherine and Heathcliff from WUTHERING HEIGHTS, but they could do with making sense, at least. There are gaping plot-holes too, including an incident where one character turns into a zombie despite having no apparent contact with the virus. Amateur mistakes like this tarnish the otherwise amusing content, action and overall potential the film does possess.
The make-up, special effects and choreography are impressive at times, especially in relation to the humble budget. There were moments where it looked unconvincing, but no more so than some CGI effects from blockbusters with ten times the allowance.
After a bawdy start infused with a touch of misogyny, and some ridiculously contrived visual gags (one of which goes on for an embarrassingly long time), the pace and intensity starts to build towards the finale. As the tension builds, there are a couple of pulse-pounding moments, only for it to end on two completely ridiculous notes, which could be the intention considering the nature of the film, but is still a disappointingly easy cop-out.
THN tries to avoid being facile and dismissing films in one or two sentences, but on this occasion it is too befitting not to. If you cross Edgar Wright’s SHAUN OF THE DEAD with Wright’s SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD, you’ll basically get KILL ZOMBIE!, only not as exciting or thoughtful. Like the latter, it takes on the format and style of a video game, but doesn’t really throw itself fully into the concept, and identical to the former, the premise is based around an average Joe, who is oppressed at his boring job, becoming an unlikely hero, in order to to save a girl during a zombie apocalypse.
Periods of promise are doused by a lack of originality, and although being a fan of Edgar Wright arguably shows you have impeccable taste and influence, you can’t just produce knock-offs of his work. Just stick SHAUN OF THE DEAD on, curl up in bed, and avoid change.
KILL ZOMBIE! is available on DVD and Blu-Ray from 17th September.
