Dead Zone

Before the pandemic i remember sitting with some of my former co workers at a seminar about health care. We were invited through the company that we worked for at that time, and i am always interested in listening to speakers who are educated about health care. In this case it was a woman, i would guess around 55 years old ( i did not ask her of her age, not the best idea ). She seemed nice at first, but once she started the seminar i could barely stay awke. She talked with no passion, and it was almost like she just stood there, hoping that someone would listen. So towards the end i closed my eyes for a moment while no one was looking, and dreamed that we would have a zombie apocalypse in the building instead. Imagine everyone at this seminar running all over the place, full chaos, zombies feeding on human flesh and no boring speeches? I think i would have felt right at home in this scenario. Zombie outbreaks have lived longer in the film industry than Swedish artist / politician Richard Herrey´s solo album career. He did release a couple of albums with his band Herreys up until the 90´s, but only made one solo album in 2006 called Jag E Kung. So why just one solo album you might ask yourself? Well, it is not very good, so i can´t imagine he sold a lot of copies. This is why you can always trust zombie apocalyptic films instead, because they know what the audience wants. I remember last year when i did a recount of all the apocalyptic zombie films i have seen in the last 10 years, and the numbers are pretty high. I don´t know why i enjoy this genre, maybe it is just because you don´t have to think too much and just have a good time. There are several titles i could easily recommend, but let us talk about The Asylum film Rise Of The Zombies, directed by Nick Lyon ( director of Titanic 666, wich you should check out ). Rise Of The Zombies is a fun low budget horror film with legendary actor Danny Trejo kicking zombie ass. The plot may not be much to talk about, but it is entertaning if you appreciate B movies. Pick up the film on DVD or Blu Ray, and just enjoy your weekend. I recently came across a film title i have never heard of, and that is a film called Dead Zone. A film that looks like a zombie film, but i really did not know much more. Is this a film that is better than anyone would have expected, or is Dead Zone just as dead as Donald Trump´s hair piece ? 

An elite team of soldiers, are sent inside a radiation-poisoned town on a very important mission to get a vaccine. They know about the undead walking the streets, but it turns out, something else is also waiting out there.

We have to be honest and say that Dead Zone have nothing unique or original to offer apocalyptic fans. This is a very traditional action horror film that have a lot of the same elements from several other smiliar B movies in the past. But there are two things that i especially appreciate with Dead Zone, so let us begin with the first detail. The body armour looks pretty cool on the soldiers, where they use a special designed helmet. We see inside the helmet of each soldier´s face with data information, and even if it may not be well made, i appreciate the effort. The monster that shows up in certain scenes looks pretty cool, and even if you can tell it is made on a limited budget, it still gives this film a different approach than just zombies. How are the characters in this film? I would say a mixed bag, and since we see most actors underneath the special helmets through out this film, you have to accept how they made this film, or i don´t think you will finish the film. The actors that stand out is definetely action actor Michael Jai White. He knows exactly how to deliver dialogue in a easy way and still look cool. Actress Whitney Nielsen ( who is worth checking out in the independent horror film Behemoth ) is exactly what this film needed, playing the cool female character Goodman with bigger balls than most men. Legendary actor Jeff Fahey is here as a military general, and i wish we would have seen him more. But the scenes where we hear him speak is definetely a highlight. So anything negative to say? The zombie make up effects look really cheap, that they actually tried to film the zombie attacks with a lot of cuts to cover up the make up effects. Not a good idea, because the shooting scenes themselves would have been more fun if they actually made an effort on the zombie´s make up. The plot is very thin, but thankfully the soldier scenes make up for that, since i feel that this group of soldier´s have a good chemistry. Director Hank Braxtan ( who directed the film Jurassic Hunt, a film i actually enjoy ) deliver a pretty simple, but fun zombie action film. If you just want military action and macho characters, this could be something you might actually appreciate. Dead Zone is definetely not for everyone, but if you are a fan of this genre, i suggest you give this film a chance.

Rating: DDD