Dawn of the Lead

Well well well, I finally got to see the first (mostly) Finnish feature-length zombie film, War of the Dead (or Stone’s War as it’s also known). Did I like it? No, not really. Was it bad? Yes, pretty. Was it completely awful? No, it wasn’t. Let’s see now.

Written and directed by Marko Mäkilaakso, War of the Dead is a story set in WW2, 1941. A team of US and Finnish soldiers are en route to destroy a Soviet bunker somewhere in Karelia. What most of them don’t know is that the Russians are carrying on with some zombie/undead super soldier experiments they stole from the Nazis. Before long most of the soldiers are dead and there’s some more shooting and the movie ends.

That, dear readers, is one of the things that’s wrong with WotD. The above summary is a pretty accurate one of the film’s plot. As you can see, there isn’t very much of it. You’d think that with Finns, Americans, Nazis, Soviets and zombies running around in hidden underground bunkers, you’d end up with a wonderfully crazy movie, but you don’t. While I’m at it, let’s see some of the other things that are wrong with the movie:

The zombies don’t know whether they’re birds or fish. They are a bit bitey, but also tend to just punch people. While it’s established that they’re undead, they’re more like the soldiers in Dead Snow than zombies as such.

The movie’s pacing is terrible, there’s no way of getting around it. There’s pointless action and a lot of it. Come to think of it, a fair few scenes, in which you expect some plot development to happen, are interrupted by random zombie attacks…

…and since the plot doesn’t develop, neither do the characters. Of the three major characters, there’s basically one with a personality. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: a zombie movie lives or dies depending on its characters, and in this case WotD dies a horrible, horrible death.

The dialogue is stilted, cliché-ridden and definitely not helped by the English used. At times the movie’s dialogue reads like a parody, it’s so bad. Corny one-liners are the order of the day – only you don’t know whether they’re supposed to be funny or serious.

If this sounds like I’m piling a lot on the film, it’s true. During the first 25 minutes of War of the Dead I was seriously considering walking out of the theatre. In the movie’s defense it needs to be said that it gets better towards the end. The movie also has a very good cast, even if they are mostly wasted due to the lacking plot and terrible dialogue. As a Finn it was sad to see such excellent young Finnish actors as Samuli Vauramo and Mikko Leppilampi being cut off from most of their potential. They do their best with what they’re given, so kudos to them for that.

Another area in which the film excels is the visuals. It’s a lot of eye candy, and the movie looks a lot better than the budget of less than € 1 000 000 suggests. Some of this is ruined by shoddy camera directing in the action scenes in particular, but the film looks very nice nonetheless. If only looks could carry a film!

Overall verdict: War of the Dead sadly isn’t a very good film. Director Marko Mäkilaakso not only concocts an ill-fitting mixture of different, clichéd elements, but wastes a bunch of good Finnish acting talent while doing it. While the movie looks nice and gets better towards the end, the first hour or so is so rife with plot incoherensies, awful dialogue and awkward pacing, that you’ll be fighting your own personal war to get through it. For me the movie was a definite disappointment, but there’s probably a personal element involved, this being a Finnish movie and all. If you go in without any high expectations, this one might offer you some good WW2 action/horror fun.

WotD is available on dvd at Play.com, complete with a cover that seems to portray a different film altogether.

I’ve been waiting for this movie a long, long time. It has popped up on Dawn of the Lead several times, first almost two years back on February 6 2010, and I’ve been following its progress closely. Now I’ve finally seen it, and for once it’s great to see a zombie movie actually live up to my expectations.

The Dead, by brothers Howard & Jonathan Ford, tells the story of two men. One (played by Rob Freeman) is an American Air Force engineer, who is the sole survivor when an evacuation plane crashes off the coast of Sierra Leone (I believe). The other one (played by Prince David Oseia) is a local soldier who has lost his son in the chaos of a zombie catastrophe. The movie follows these two men, as one tries to find a way out of the country while the other tries to find his son.

This movie does a lot of things right. Where do I begin? First of all, it’s a return to the roots of zombie horror. The zombies in the movie aren’t the type that jumps around and screams using that “generic monster scream” sound effect that’s used in pretty much every low-budget movie nowadays. Instead these are the zombies of Romero and Fulci: not fast, not smart, but persistent, inhuman and ever present. This is something The Dead does very well. The zombies are scary in a very profound manner, as they are simply automatons craving human flesh. They walk around slowly with a vacant look in their eyes, and when they manage to catch someone, they chew their food thoughtfully. This is something that makes them really unsettling. By stripping their monsters of overt monstrosity (wild aggression, screaming, frenzied speed), the Ford brothers have made their zombies something more than scary. They’re at the same time terrifying and sad – former humans stripped of all humanity. Their terror is increased by the fact that they are everywhere. Whenever there’s noise, you can be sure that in a few moments a zombie or two will silently wander in. This is in my opinion a cornerstone of zombie horror that has been lost in the past years. The zombies in The Dead aren’t scary because they run up to you and rip your throat out. Instead they are scary, because their steady lumbering makes it perfectly clear that there will be no rest or respite to anyone trying to avoid them. It might take them a good long while, but eventually you will tire and they will find you.

This leads me to another of the film’s strong points. The Dead is bleak. Not rub-it-in-your-face-go-cry-emo-kid-teen-angst bleak, mind you. There aren’t witty one-liners, nor comedy zombies going up escalators, just the dead everywhere, abandoned villages and hopeless survivors. The parallels between contemporary developing Africa are obvious. It’s apparent that even without the zombies, the people aren’t living a luxury life and the soldiers are used to putting their AK-47’s to use. For the most part, the movie doesn’t luckily overdo this. There are warm moments there of hope, friendship and community. These aren’t too sappy and Hollywood, so they fit the tone of the movie. Simply put, The Dead is a zombie movie for grown-ups.

The trend is continued in the down-to-earth setting. No massive explosions, high-tech weaponry or things like that. Most of the movie features two men, a few guns and a rusty, stalling pickup truck. The moviemakers have relied on the sights of Africa for their visuals, and that is an excellent choice. Shot on location in Burkina Faso and Ghana, The Dead is easily one of the most beautiful zombie films I’ve ever seen. A lot of the film happens during sunny daytime, and the beautiful vistas of Africa get a lot of screen time. In addition to eye candy, this really changes the tone of the film. Most zombie movies are set in cramped urban environments, producing a sense of claustrophobia. In The Dead, there is lots and lots of space, yet you can almost always see a zombie somewhere, walking along. Again, this enhances the zombies’ effectiveness – you can simply walk around them, but they will follow. The directors have also wonderfully conveyed the oppressing heat and bright sun of the setting. The cast is dusty and sweaty throughout the film, and the cinematography is impressive.

I really liked the movie’s pacing, but this has divided opinions somewhat. The Dead is quite slow. It takes its time, and is largely a road movie, a story of travelling. At times the movie might feel like it slows down too much. For me, it’s a much needed departure from contemporary hectic zombie films and allows the viewer to enjoy the sights and sounds (or rather, silence) of the setting. If I’m allowed to be poetic for a moment, I’ll say the movie leaves you time to think about what’s happening, where it’s set and contrast it with reality.

There aren’t many flaws in the movie. The pacing mentioned before might make the movie seem boring to some, but that’s a matter of taste. There’s also some rather heavy handed social commentary of the “I don’t understand you white people” kind, but there’s not a lot of it. One of the movie’s potentially very interesting storylines is skipped over very lightly, which was a bit of a letdown as it was a very interesting one. The characters could’ve used just a little bit more depth, even if they are not cardboard cut-outs by any means. These are, however, small things compared to the film’s overall quality.

Overall verdict: The Dead is one of the best zombie movies I have ever seen. It’s thought-provoking, adult and genuinely scary. The setting is brilliant and really makes the movie stand out from its contemporaries. This is what zombie movies can be at their best.

You can get the movie on dvd from Play.com and other stores. Be sure to check out the movie’s official site as well.

More and more I’m starting to think that with the mass of zombie movies that have come out in recent years, short films are establishing themselves as the format. As I’ve said again and again, few zombie movies have enough of a plot to carry them through an hour and a half, let alone two. They often suffer from either a lack or an abundance of material: 1½ hours about a single person or a small group is often too much, yet it’s also far too little to chronicle the apocalypse in detail. Luckily we have short films, that often manage to combine these two nicely.

As you might have guessed, Zombie in a Penguin Suit by Chris Russell tells the story of, well, a zombie in a penguin suit. A movie similar in look and feel to shoestring-budget zombie movie Colin (see here for the IMDb details), it’s a quiet, melancholy story of a lone zombie’s trudge through a zombie catastrophe. We see glimpses here and there of happenings, with several traditional zombie movie set pieces. The main character (played by Michael Wetherbee) does what every zombie does, staggering along and occasionally eating someone, while at times being harrassed by survivors.

There are several things that make this seven minute short memorable. The first one is of course the main character. The zombie-in-unusual-clothes is a common trope in the genre, I believe started by Romero with Dawn of the Dead‘s Hare Krishna zombie and the rest. The sheer absurdity of the penguin suit is brilliant, and it makes for a great contrast both visually and mentally. The bright black & white costume with the orange beak really jumps out from the screen, making the main character the focal point pretty much every time he’s on screen. The mental contrast is an even more effective one. Penguins are many things: cute, funny, smart, definitely not homicidal. There is a lovely mix of absurd comedy and shock in the way the cutesy zombie attacks its victims.

On a deeper level, the movie is actually quite touching. Through the originally comic character of a zombie dressed in a penguin suit the viewers are given a glimpse of the inherent sadness of zombies. While recent movies in which zombies are portrayed as running and jumping have presented zombies as feral predators, they’ve lost the whole touching side of things. For me it’s the real sadness and horror inherent in zombies – a human being reduced to a mindless automaton, left to wander the world with no purpose, only to die eventually. Zombie in a Penguin Suit brings this theme up wonderfully. There’s another contrast, one of feeling, here, between the frantic survivors and feeding zombies, and the solitary quiet ambulation of a lone zombie. There are some beautiful shots in the film, and the viewer is given ample time to just watch the main character go. The soundtrack is a lovely composition as well and it really adds to the whole.

Overall verdict: A suprisingly touching, quiet story of a lone zombie’s existence. You could spend seven minutes of your life far worse. One of the best new zombie films I’ve seen in a while, and yet another example of zombie short film excellence.

Watch the film below, and visit the filmmakers’ official site.