Death Valley (II) (2021) User Reviews

Made by 12 year olds for 12 year olds

[phantasmda · 3/10 · 9 December 2021]

Ok first off, lets get this out of the way, I have seen a lot worse monster of the week movies than this, a heck of a lot worse but that is by no means a glowing endorsement.

The effects and camera work in this film are fairly decent, the monster looks cool and is actually a man in a well made suit instead of cheap, shoddy, CGI.

The acting is.....Passable, I guess.

The music is generic as hell and I couldn't help but get 'Doom' on a low budget vibes from the whole thing.

What really cheesed me off with this was the awful dialogue which feels like it was written by a young boy, some of it is downright cringe worthy.

There's also a massive over reliance on slow motion shots for pretty much any scene in the film that has the slightest bit of action, it's almost like it was directed by someone who's obsessed with cheesy 1990's straight to DVD action flicks. It's really distracting because it's so used so much. I think if you played the action scenes at normal speed, you'd end up with a 45 minute film.

The monster, although fairly impressive to look at, get way too little screen time and the build up takes far too long for it to be interesting.

All in all, a fairly generic, quite dull monster movie that does have it's moments, but despite looking well made, it still feels a bit amateurish.

A million times better than most things that the SYFY channel or the Asylum do though, so I will give it that.

Some people with lower expectations than me will probably enjoy this but it's one I won't be watching again unfortunately, although it doesn't offend me like say, 25 headed shark attack or Sharktopus vs Freddy Kruger vs Godzilla takes on the New York Yankies would :)

Poor mans Doom without the big guns?

[gc-17365 · 3/10 · 9 December 2021]

Two incompetent soldiers fight to rescue a scientist from some newly discovered creature that takes over your DNA - hmmm, where have I heard that before

The first 30 minutes are just fighing in a jungle (decent pyrotechnics btw) where the two soldiers don't bother shooting the enemy even when they find your compadre you "hid" 5 minutes earlier under some tree roots with a big opening so no one could see him

The creature (some guy in fairly good makeup) is on screen for maybe 10 minutes in total - most of the final hour is just running thru tunnels or crawling thru air ducts or fighting the bad guys

Passable but only just - you've seen it all before.

Watchable, but rather generic...

[paul_haakonsen · 4/10 · 9 December 2021]

I had the opportunity to sit down and watch the 2021 action horror movie titled "Death Valley", and I have to admit that I found the movie's cover/poster rather interesting actually. Sure, I hadn't even ever heard about the movie prior to watching it, but it being a horror movie that I hadn't already seen was more than sufficient to make me interested. And the movie's cover definitely helped sweeten the deal.

And now having sat through writer and director Matthew Ninaber's "Death Valley", I think that he definitely had a love for the "Resident Evil" game franchise, especially the first two or three games, because this movie was just oozing with the same atmosphere that you experience in those games. And even the Nephilim creature design in this movie was very reminiscent of the "licker" creatures that you see in "Resident Evil", except that it was an upright humanoid-creature in this movie.

So how was "Death Valley"? Well, it was watchable, but it felt like a somewhat flaccid movie actually, especially once you get over the thrill of the "Resident Evil"-like atmosphere, which ultimately was the best thing about the movie. And why is that? Because the storyline was rather mundane and simplistic to the point where it was bordering on lazy writing. Writer and director Matthew Ninaber was running things on generic horror tropes and borring a tad too heavily from the "Resident Evil" games actually. So the movie was lacking originality.

I do like the creature design on the Nephilim creature that was stalking the underground complex. The special effects were good and the creature was rather realistic. That was adding a lot of enjoyment to the movie actually.

The acting performances in the movie were fairly bland. I wasn't familiar with the cast here, which is something I usually enjoy. However, the acting performances in "Death Valley" were just not outstanding and they were weighing down the movie.

The ending of the movie was just laughably bad and predictable. You saw that coming a mile away. Needless to say that I am not spoiling anything, but you are not in for a grand ending.

My rating of "Death Valley" lands on a generous four out of ten stars. It is a movie that is adequate enough for a single viewing, if you enjoy action horror movies, but that is also about all there is to it.

Acting and slow motion

[bigbadbassface · 2/10 · 12 December 2021]

This movie suffers from cringe-enducing dialogue, subpar acting by a lot of the characters, and way way too much slow motion during action scenes. In short would not waste your time on this.

Daft Valley

[cynet-52332 · 4/10 · 10 December 2021]

Ok first of all I have to be crtical on the light and the dubbing sound. It was dark in many scenes causing eye ball strain of the third kind.

The voice dubbing was amateurish and sloppy in many key scenes.

The visual effects of the creatures was the 4 stars I gave the film. They were very immersed and well designed which gave the horror feel to the movie.

Plot was straight forward and just a rip off from many horror sci fi movies.

The acting was poor and the characters very dull that you couldn't care less if they died or not.

This film is one I would come home from the pub worst for wear to turn on to watch before passing out through alcohol poisoning..

Like a bad trip to the video store

[BandSAboutMovies · 2/10 · 5 December 2021]

When a secret experiment goes horribly wrong - which may have something to do with the Nephilim - bioengineer Doctor Chloe (Kristen Kaster, puts out an emergency signal warning that she has special DNA that can help the world while also warning any would-be rescuers that a monster (played by Matthew Ninaber, who was Psycho Goreman, and wrote and directed this movie) is on the loose.

Two teams - a heavily armed militia and our protagonists Marshall (Ethan Mitchell) and Beckett (Jeremy Ninaber) - work to get into the compound, rescue the scientist and collect the reward.

Sold on the good name of the aforementioned Psycho Goreman, keep in mind that none of the creative team that made that movie have written or directed this one. This is much closer to an 80s creature feature like The Terror Within so either be warned or be pleased.

Audrey Barrett, who the effects for this film and Psycho Goreman, created an amazing monster costume, however, Sure, all it does is repeatedly throw people into walls, but it's a gorgeous practical suit, yet another throwback to the glory days of direct to rental 80s VHS (and before that as well).

I just wish it had a movie to go with the great effects.

At least the monster is cool; bad audio

[jjenk911 · 5/10 · 9 January 2022]

The audio is terrible, as if whoever was in charge of sound design was their first time. Dialogue isn't great, action is okay, and the only redeemable quality is that the monster is cool. This movie is a dud. Try again next time, Psycho Goreman.

Generic Scifi Action Monster Horror Movie

[thrax-23316 · 3/10 · 11 December 2021]

The description of the film for the pitch meeting probably went something like this: a monster in an underground laboratory / bunker hunts and kills mercenaries.

We've seen this formula a million times before. There's nothing here that particularly stands out. Play this film in the background for an hour thirty minutes of generic fun while you do something else more productive.

Just ok ...

[miroslavmilosevic-22770 · 27 February 2022]

Just a Decent B movie for start.

I usually don't like B movies, most are just so so bad it hurts my brain sells, but his one tried to add some action and story.

But, still... very mediocre acting and action, somewhat confusing story, but there is a story, most like in every B movies there are stock free sounds or cheap sound and audio, also audio problems with that, some scenes are loud you can't hear ppl talk, guns are so loud also, you just cant heard the background and audio etc etc ... audio balance in this movie not so good.

But overall a decent movie still, you can see they at least try to make something.

If you have nothing else to watch or do. Yea go see this for fun and giggles.

Death Valley

[marinaant-36217 · 6/10 · 11 December 2021]

It started out pretty meh and it was like that for some minutes but later as it kept going it became more interesting it had a lot of action as well it also had kind of a plot twist I wish it had a better ending.

Ridiculous movie

[lusakazambie · 1/10 · 10 December 2021]

The director wanted to mix a little Alien and a little Rambo, a rather foul-smelling mixture comes out of it. The dialogues are ridiculous, a bad staging with actors who seem not to believe it themselves. In short, a film not to be seen even on a rainy weekend! It is in the Top Ten for turnips of the year.

Unexpectedly great

[largecoffeeblack · 10/10 · 10 December 2021]

I came across The Guardian's 3-star review of Death Valley earlier this week, and thought, "Why not?" But without any major funding partners or commercial support, I had low expectations. I'll admit, I may have pre-judged this film based on backing alone.

After watching ten minutes of this movie, I was hooked. Like The Guardian stated, it's not going to win an Oscar; but if there was a category for low-budget horror films, I'd put Death Valley up against anyone. Adjusting for the point spread, this film makes a lot of big titles look very, very bad.

Death Valley checks all the boxes for a fun Thursday night flick. Guns, monsters, planes, flame-throwers, zombies...but the storyline actually ties it all together to make it a worthwhile viewing. Kudos to Ninaber and his team for pulling of a fun -- and very watchable -- movie.

I don't usually like the horror genre, but this was more of a thriller flick, with just enough gore to tip the scales! If you come in with fair expectations, you will be majorly surprised, I promise.

Not great but not bad.

[dderousse · 6/10 · 11 December 2021]

Death Valley is a low budget creature feature from Canada. I give it props for It's ambition, effects and style but Death Valley is not perfect

Pros- Solid FX and creature effects Moody cinematography Good music Fun and engaging action scenes

Cons - Aside from several scenes the pacing is leaden, dull and a bit boring Some very bad dialogue Screenplay and editing could of used some tightening.

Overall a solid creature feature that's above average in entertainment but nothing to write home about.

Had Potential

[108YearsOld · 4/10 · 11 December 2021]

The production is outstanding with a small budget, the whole team is capable. However, within 20 minutes into the movie, it is a bad sign to see the weapons of two male leads completely stripped off. If it had obtained a larger budget for producing more intense gun fight and actions, the movie could easily have been a really good sci-fi horror action movie. Now it just feels half baked.

Resident Evil Death Valley?

[dukedoom72 · 5/10 · 9 May 2022]

Leon Kennedy and his team is sent in to rescue a female scientist in an underground bunker. They are ambushed and only Leon and his partner Junior survives. The bunker is filled with zombies and monsters created from human Dna. Will they survive once again and stop the evil Umbrellas plans?

Ok.. its NOT a Res Evil movie but could have been. Everything from the cheesy oneliners to the monsterdesign breathes Res Evil.

A pretty lowbudget affair but cool monsters and a quick pace.

You could do worse then this.

What hath hell wrought? This dog fart of a movie.

[sportswiz-61085 · 2/10 · 9 December 2021]

Wow. I just finished watching this on Shudder and oh my word, was it bad. I honestly have not seen such a terrible movie in quite some time and I am usually quite generous with my ratings....but this POS, God. The only redeemable thing in the whole affair is the makeup effects of the monster. This is the only thing I can say that is positive.

Even if you are like me and can stomach a bad movie for killer effects and gore, this has none of that. Only a few people die very lame deaths.

Right after it started I couldn't believe how badly editied, written and acted what I was watching was that I started this list of things I found dumb. Halfway through I stopped because I had filled any entire page in word. Here are the highlights in the dialogue catagory:

"My only good quality is that I am good in bed!"

"You can be mad at me when we get home!"-"That's if we get home."

"Let's hope I know how to read a map."-said by a career special forces guy.

"She broke up with me because I am too good at sex"

"Sometimes to beat the monster, you have to become the monster"

Again, these are just a few of the pearls in this heap.

Within 30 seconds of starting the mission, the good guys run into a random dude with a metal detector literally instantly blowing their cover. We are introduced to the location via flyover, shown the two guys and after trading a single line of dialogue, run into the guy. Oh and then they tie him up and leave, and a minute later there is a shot of the metal detector guys cuffs on the ground meaning he got free and then the two good guys, now 6 guys for some reason, start getting shelled. They arrive, get spotted and then are attacked in about two minutes....until they kill the one metal detector guy and magically all the fighting stops. Even though they were being shelled and shot at by multiple attackers.

There was a, what I guess was supposed to be cool, slow-mo shot of the main character having a mortar go off a foot in front of his face and it just hurts his ears a little. You know, like real life.

After the fight, one of the soldiers immediately recommends leaving a wounded guy behind and while they don't, they completely forget to properly check another wounded guy who is left behind and killed.

What a turd.

Not that bad

[thefunkygoat · 5/10 · 29 August 2022]

Had some good parts. The Acting was decent. This movie could have been so much better, but certainly worth watching. The ending was really sad and could have turned a different way. Really hated the beginning and almost turned it off, but give it a chance. The movie does get better. The monsters were decent looking too. The Russian accents were good and I tried to look and see if the actors were actually from Russia lol. 600 characters is a lot and my lord do they want a novel writing. I literally have nothing else I can say without giving away some spoilers, which I will not do. ****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Not a banger but not that bad

[imaginefortnitekiddy · 5/10 · 18 July 2022]

Overall the movie was pretty average, there was sadly almost no character development what made the movie a bit odd. The Monster though is decent, the Alien like approach was pretty convincing ( For those who have not watched Alien: In Alien the main Horror lies in the fact that you don't see the Alien often ). The End was sadly very bad just like the beginning but the rest of the movie was not bad, that is why it's getting half of the points.

What's that coming from the underground bunker; is it a monster?

[Coventry · 3/10 · 25 September 2023]

Another instantly forgettable addition to the small horror/Sci-Fi niche of "send in the military cannon fodder" movies. What is that? You might be surprised just how many low-keyed movies there exist dealing with random military men (and women) being sent into a top-secret and geographically remote government research facility or underground lab to eliminate some sort of experiment that went horribly wrong. As a matter of course, these people haven't got a clue what they will be battling against and, regardless of their intense training and superior skills, they get mercilessly ripped to pieces by something (usually an alien or a genetic experiment) much stronger and slimier than them.

"Death Valley" is a new (2021) movie, but it doesn't bring any fresh or innovative elements to the already long overdue formula. Quite the contrary, the film features the same old clichés and dire stereotypes that were already introduced in the foundational landmarks of the genre; - like "Aliens", "Predator", and "Resident Evil". The noble soldier promising to his pregnant wife this will be his last mission, the jolly & joking brother-in-arms, the buffooned Russian mercenaries as opponents, the rescued scientist holding back a few dark secrets, etc. Etc. The plot twists, turns, and becomes unnecessarily complex towards the finale, but whatever. Nobody pays attention to the plot in films like these. I liked the monster, which looked to me like the illegitimate offspring between the Chattermouth cenobite from the original "Hellraiser" and the eyeless creature from "Pan's Labyrinth". Other than that, not much special.

Poor man's Predator meets a homeless' A Quiet Place

[searchanddestroy-1 · 6/10 · 26 July 2022]

As many other craps over decades, this grade Z picture is a mix-up between used and over used schemes, all from big gross rip-offs. To summarize, nothing new, nothing original, except the ending. A very small group of cheap mercenaries, who look like university students more than tough men chiseled at Fort Bragg or Fort Benning, are sent to save a female scientist trapped in a bunker and surrounded by other dangerous - this time true - mercenaries and also some dangerous species which can not see anything but only hear. This is science fiction war adventure. It could have been question of zombies, but since 2018 and A QUIET PLACE, a new element has arrived as an ingredient for horror movies. So we can expect many many A QUIET PLACE indirect rip-offs in the future. But, as sometimes in lousy B movies, the ending is rather unexpected, not a cliché. I have seen worse, and with bigger budgets. The main weak thing here are the two lead mercenaries characters.

A Mind-numbing Journey of Utter Excrement

[elliotriis · 3/10 · 10 December 2021]

My girlfriend heard about this movie from some podcast, and we checked the scores, very high. Well...good job on whoever reviewed it before it came out (never making that mistake again, was a 7.8 before we watched).

Then we started it, and from moment one I knew I'd fallen victim to chicanery most dire. The acting is bad, awful, sounding like they are reading it from the page. Some of the blame goes to the writer/director, because it isn't natural sounding dialogue at all, there's loooong scenes of just talking.

You think it's about a creature, but that's fairly secondary, at least with the setup. No spoilers, but it seems like the director tried to delay facing the monster for as long as possible. First it's enemy militia, then it's onto a shameless Predator ripoff with a waterfall and rushing rapids.

These things can be forgiven, but what can't... Is the unnatural way the principals act.

Minor spoiler, When the doctor in the facility says once you're infected there's no cure and you've been face to face with what happens, and these boys don't believe her...what?

None of it is believable and it's all a confused mess. If this was a student film I'd give credit for effort, but this movie, a Shudder original...I don't know what that means but if Shudder put their name on this then Shudder should be ashamed.

A highly enjoyable Action/Horror hybrid

[kannibalcorpsegrinder · 9/10 · 12 December 2021]

Trapped in a Cold-War bunker, a team of mercenaries heads out to retrieve a special scientist trapped inside from an encroaching militia group out to capture her, but when they get there they realize the threat is a deformed monstrosity created through genetic engineering and must try to get her out alive.

There was a lot to like with this creature feature. Among the better elements here is the highly enjoyable setup that manages to mix together the Horror and Action elements quite nicely. The Action features are the first prominent aspect here, with the shots of the squad encountering the militia rebels in the woods which features some highly entertaining firefights and stuntwork maneuvering around the trees, fending off the mortar strikes, and dodging various counterfire that provides this with several high-energy and frenetic confrontations. The fact that there's several of these scattered throughout the first half here showing the squad escaping from the encroaching militia on their trail stats everything off on a high note as the idea of getting to see how highly skilled and trained the group is as well as getting to see how desperately the rebels want inside that a grounding of their skills for combat against the creatures is quite well-established. When it comes to the straightforward genre thrills, this one is quite fun as well with some tense confrontations. With the opening escape attempt thwarted and the mysterious death of the other worker at the site setting up a great opening tone, the mysterious setup gives way to the eeriness of the group going through the decimated facility afterward with the dead bodies and bleed strewn all over the place. This offers the kind of setup where the chilling confrontations shown involving the guys trying to get her out of the facility requiring them to just crawl through vents and air-ducts while avoiding the ravenous creatures is quite exciting which is just as fun as the big confrontations which also manage to include the few encounters with the militia that appeared inside as well. Graced with a fantastic design for the creatures which is refreshingly a practical costume, these are enough to hold it up over its minor flaws. There are some drawbacks that show up here. The biggest issue is the rather uneven time given to the various genres here which give this one a slightly uneven amount of time with the creature and the action. Since the opening is the firefight with the militia takes up a good portion of the film's opening half, the fact that this comes at the expense of the creature's rampage against the second half of the team they stumble upon later on with the deployed bodies that would've been just as much fun. Likewise, the idea of the militia being there trying to prevent it getting out means that there's an odd disconnect with their quest conflicting with the film trying to inject some sympathy for the creature against their mission that doesn't feel earned and comes across as unnecessary due to the twist employed for it. These aspects are what keep this one down.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.

good for how it was made

[kratos-42319 · 6/10 · 10 December 2021]

Let's everyone take a step back. This movie was clearly shot during the COVID-19 Pandemic with a low budget. Most of the action in this movie was great. Amazing shots and practical effects really helped this movie. However, any steps they were gaining with the cinematography and practicality of the effects were quickly taken back with questionable editing decision and poor sound mixing. I wanna shout out Ethan Mitchell's performance as Marshall was probably the only good performance in the movie. He is a steady source of charisma and enthusiasm which may have saved the movie from being worse. Unfortunately, there is no chemistry between Ethan and his co-star due to the performance by the other actor he worked with.

Overall, the movie was really well made for what it was made for. Unfortunately, due to messy editing decisions and poor acting from half of the stars, it was held back from its true potential.

Rename the Movie and it fits better!

[nachtlager-10229 · 2/10 · 12 December 2021]

This " movie " is so far " Inspired" that its already a " Copy" from something else.

Rename it into " Home Cinema Version" from a Resident Evil Cosplay. And you have it. Not even bit more info needed.

Watchable but that's it

[upgradestorm · 5/10 · 12 December 2021]

A resident evil movie better than the actual resident evil movies. The main character even looks like Leon Kennedy.

The naming of the monster gives the entire movie away at the halfway point, rather predictable after that.