Pandemic

If you ever need advice to prepare yourself for a zombie invasion, just contact any american doomsday prepper. They will tell you how much you need, all the right kinds of weapons, simple material you can use to fix your home. I love watching those doomsday prepper shows on tv, many people actually prepare themselves for the end of the world. Since i have no idea what to do, or how to survive, i have come up with 3 things i would need in a bunker.

* My dvd collection of Miami Vice, you cant live without Don Johnson. And for some reason, zombies seems to be afraid of Don Johnson, so they wont go near you if you hold him up.

* Ron De Jeremy Rum, to make sure i get all the important vitamines the body needs, and it also gives you super power to smash zombie brains.

* My wife, so she can kick some zombie ass, she is actually good at kicking nuts ( don´t tell her i said that )

So you see i am a bit prepared. Well, at least for 6 weeks, not so bad after all. Speaking of zombies, there are so many films out there dealing with zombie invasions. I have seen some good ones, and there are of course some bad ones. The master of zombie films is of course still George A. Romero, and i have a feeling he will always be. 2 of the most fascinating films, dealing with zombie epidemic is 28 Days Later, and 28 Weeks Later. Both films managed to bring us classic ingredients, but also you felt the intensive feeling of being panic. We could discuss zombie films forever, because there are so many to choose between. But there is one film that many people did not see, that i felt was different and interesting. The film is called Maggie, and was more of a drama horror film, with Arnold Schwarzenegger doing his best performance in many years. I also really enjoyed the performance of Abigail Breslin, who played his infected daughter Maggie. Even if the film was slow sometimes, it showed a completely different view in the zombie genre, how you will react when your child is infected. if you have not seen this film, i suggest you go down and rent it in your local dvd store, or rent it online. There are so many ways to tell a story of zombie invasions, and you need to know how to handle it in the right way. I usually try and check out most releases, that comes out every year. I happened to stumble across a film called Pandemic, that i watched on VOD. Since i have not heard about the film before, i did not know what to expect. But i did notice in the cast that the lead role was played by Rachel Nichols, a woman some of you might have seen in Star Trek ( the 2009 remake ) or perhaps in G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra. I also noticed that Game Of Thrones actor Alfie Allen is in here also, so this kind of got me excited. Since i have seen so many zombie films, of all kinds, does Pandemic still manage to deliver in this genre, or is it the same concept used over and over again ?

The wold is no longer what it used to be. An infection have spread, turning people into flesh eating dead corpses. Lauren ( Rachel Nichols ) is a doctor, sent in to a quarantine zone. She is needed to find survivors with a team of soldiers, led by Gunner ( Mekhi Pheifer ).  Lauren is supposed to check survivors after signs of infections, but some places are very risky, and they need all the help they can get. With a bus filled with a special team, armed with different weapons, go out to pick up anyone who still managed to survive. This is going to be one hell of a ride.

If you were hoping that Pandemic would give us something new in the zombie genre, don´t get too excited. This is the type of genre film we have seen before. However, this does not mean that this is a bad film. Imagine a mixture of Rec and Hardcore Henry, but maybe not as violent. This film is also filmed from different people´s eyes, so you get to see what happens from different peoples experiences. This is actually one detail i enjoy from this film, that it does not focus on just one person. There are also some nice scenes, where you get to see zombie attacks with full power. In a film like this, it is important to make sure it does not get sleepy, so you need to have brutality included. So how is the acting ? Honestly, not the greatest. But in a film like this, you feel more interested in other details, about how people became infected, what caused the virus. This is something that we don´t really get much information about. On the other hand, we find out how they have 5 different stages of the infected, where level 5 is where they are now flesh eating zombies. I think that was a pretty cool idea, to show different levels of the infection. Pandemic is basically a pretty standard zombie film in many ways, but manage to keep you interested because of how the film is made, through different people´s experience of the outbreak. Director John Suits have directed several films, and also produced different films. One of the films he produced, that i heard good reviews about, is the film 3 Nights In The Desert. I have not seen it yet, but i will eventually, because some people said it is good. I have seen his film Breathing Room, but can´t remember much. He have directed other films also, but i just have not seen them. I will say that he have managed to create a zombie film, that at least deliver some entertainment, even if certain details could have been improved. Since the budget is not big, you understand that they used many details, without going over budget. That´s ok, besides, the budget is not always the important issue. There are still some things that could have been done different. Either way, if you love zombie films, and zombie invasions, i will recommend you check this film out. Pandemic does have enough value to give you a beer moment with friends. But remember, 6 beers at least, you want to look good on the dancefloor.

Rating: DDD