Audience Member
This film follows René Chaplin, an Australian beauty pageant winner who has recently lost her family’s farm to the bank. As she prepares to leave her small hometown of Berkeley, a sudden meteor shower strikes, transforming the townsfolk into ravenous zombies. Forced to band together with a group of survivors, René must endure the chaos of an apocalypse, fighting off swarms of the undead, feral killer fish, and mysterious extraterrestrial invaders, as they struggle to find a way to escape the nightmare. Overall, due to cringey dialogue, stiff performances, a distracting and unappealing filter used throughout the entire duration, and cartoonish, unsatisfying kills, this movie is unwatchable, and although there are a few redeeming qualities, such as the aliens design, and one or two entertaining scenes, sadly none are enough to save this lifeless/seemingly amateurish feature. Don't waste your time or money, as I did, —because this is 104 minutes I’ll never get back, It’s so bad , and lacks both the laughs and scares of a usual horror comedy (unless you count laughing at how bad it is or being scared that it was even made in the first place), the story and characters fail to engage, leaving you with nothing to care about, and it feels like a spoof of much better flicks that came before it and many/all that came after, which you should watch instead.
Rated 0.5/5 Stars •
Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars
01/29/25
Full Review
John C
Yes, zombie movies have been done to death these days, but back in 2003 you could actually make one that was - almost - original. Because 'Undead' is hardly a 'straight' horror film, choosing instead to make it more of a horror/comedy. However, due to choosing these two genres, it does draw a lot of comparisons with the far more well-known 'Shaun of the Dead.' This is kind of unfair, as they are very different from each other and, although 'Shaun' is indeed probably the much better of the two, it doesn't mean that 'Undead' isn't worth a watch if you're into the zombie genre.
Instead of London or America, 'Undead' is set in a small fishing town in Australia which suddenly falls foul of a ghoulish uprising. However, the unfortunate townsfolk don't just have to watch out for the usual slow-moving 'walkers' shuffling towards them and trying to eat their brains, but also a fleet of flying saucers piloted by those 'X-files-like' grey spacemen with the big heads and skinny bodies.
The characters are all the usual stereotypes you'd expect to find in any horror film (whether the 'comedy' element is added, or not) - you have the strong dependable female, the crazy authority figure, the weasel-like one who's always going to sell his colleagues out just to stay alive. So, nothin new there and you probably won't remember any of their names by the time the credits roll, but the question you need to know is... is this funny?
And the answer is yes. It never tries to take itself seriously and spoofs the genre nicely, plus the story adds a few new elements to the tried and tested tale courtesy of the alien menace and there are definitely some plot developments that you won't see coming.
Despite definitely being a comedy, there's actually a decent amount of gore here. Most of the 'red stuff' comes in the (most welcome!) form of 'practical' effects (the aliens and spaceships are all CGI and they're not that bad considering this film is hardly 'big budget') and the gore is pretty well done, plus many inventive and funny ways of despatching the undead.
Yes, the title is hardly inspiring, but if you like tongue-in-cheek horror films, or 'zom-coms' then you should definitely give this one a try. Just make sure you get a version with the subtitles enabled as the funniest line is actually written and comes near the end of the movie - don't miss it!
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
12/06/24
Full Review
David R
I really enjoyed this movie. Don't be fooled thinking it's "just another zombie movie." Nope. This one has its Aussie tongue planted firmly in its cheek. Though it's no "Shaun of the Dead," it's still a pretty cool romp. Instead of a hapless cricket-bat-wielding protagonist, you have a local beauty pageant winner kicking ass alongside a huge backwoods fisherman dude that employs a tri-shotgun apparatus and does flips and other crazy fight moves that would leave many-a-mainstream-hero in the dust. Lots of gore. Lots of silly sci-fi. Lots of fun! (Loved Felicity Mason)
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
09/30/24
Full Review
justin t
The gore is joyful in its entirety but tragically that is all that this film has going for it. The story is a bit confusing and boring. The acting is fine and there are some funny moments as well as some violent moments. This sadly fails to capture even half the spirit of Peter Jackson's early frolics in black comedy. Impressive considering the roots and background of this but otherwise mildly disappointing.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
Joel C
This film is a bit tough to get through, the characters are pretty unlikeable and not the best acting. The directors seem to be going for some sort of quirky comedy type world which isn't executed very well. The action and gore scenes just never seem to be what their trying to achieve (why don't they shoot for the head?), and that three barrel shotgun just seems to be a waste of ammo. I read somewhere that they did the FX themselves, and for that I give them props because some of it looks really cool and continues to build til the end. I liked the look of the alien and the sky scenes.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
05/07/21
Full Review
Audience Member
Campy zombie/alien invasion pic tries really, really hard.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
02/27/23
Full Review
Read all reviews
Continue with Google
>
