Collapse of the Living Dead (2011) User Reviews

Zombie movie with an odd twist of events...

[paul_haakonsen · 5/10 · 30 December 2011]

"Collapse" wasn't as bad as I had initially expected it to be.

For a zombie movie, "Collapse" was a bit out of the ordinary. Sure, you had the unexplained phenomena of people returning as zombies hungry for human flesh, as in most other zombie movies, but it was also a story of one man's spiraling journey into madness.

The zombies in the movie were not too badly made. The make-up was adequate. Though one thing did puzzle me, why did every single zombie have to be wearing torn pants? Is shredded pants a requirement for being a zombie? The zombie eyes could have been made better, have them wear contact lenses. When you see a zombie with ordinary eyes and even see them blinking, the whole undead menace thing falls shattering to the ground.

And there was one scene where Morgan was shooting zombies in an office, and one zombie was shot in the head. The zombie adjacent to the shot zombie flinched and squinted her eyes as you would do when something is approaching your face. That kind of error is just fatal in a zombie movie, as it was painstakingly obvious that these were not reanimated corpses.

The story did take a twist for the unexpected in the movie. I hadn't seen that coming at all, so it was a nice twist. Now, whether or not you approve of how the story took a turn with that twist is individual, for me it was a turn for a downward hill. I didn't like that direction of the movie. It was a great plot twist, sure, but I personally think it was just not plausible. I am not going to ruin the story for anyone, as I think you should see the plot twist for yourself and make up your own impression of how the story took a twist of events.

Being a zombie aficionado, I can not cross "Collapse" off the list. It didn't leave a lasting impression really, as it was neither good nor bad.

A Pretty Decent Film

[Uriah43 · 6/10 · 23 April 2013]

For a low budget production this turned out to be a pretty decent film. Essentially, "Robert Morgan" (Chris Mulkey) is a farmer who is still distraught from the death of his daughter six months ago. Additionally, his wife "Molly" (Karen Landry) is also experiencing emotional issues which weighs on his mind, the bank is trying to foreclose on his farm, his hired hand "Hank" (Mike Tweeton) just tendered his resignation and his bills are starting to stack up. It's at this point that a zombie epidemic breaks out. Hank is killed, his son "Will" (Travis Slade Reinders) is bitten and his wife narrowly escapes serious injury as well. Since he lives so far from town he has no other choice but to take matters into his own hands. At any rate, rather than spoil the film for anyone who hasn't seen it, I will just say that what I liked about this movie was that it had good suspense, above average character development, and a very good ending. Along with that, I especially liked Chris Mulkey who I thought gave an outstanding performance. Likewise, I also thought the directors (Jason Bolinger and Mike Saunders) did an excellent job with what little they had to work with. In short, if you like zombie films then I think you will probably enjoy this one as well.

Points for trying

[Dragonborn64 · 6/10 · 11 April 2019]

With a bigger budget, this has a lot of potential but the lack of funds is apparent. It's unfair to blow it off because it's a clever twist on the Zombie genre as well as an examination of grief. The leads are fine though I did have trouble with this older couple being the parents of teenagers. Both actors were too old for the roles they played. It's worth a peek on a blizzardy Sunday when you have a sore ankle. I didn't hate it.

Is farm life really this boring ?

[dan-bgb · 3/10 · 30 September 2015]

Let it be said, I've seen worse movies...and sat through them because they at least kept me engaged, had some comedic elements, or were splatter-fests. This movie seriously lacks on all accounts. It plods along for the first hour or so, and there is a half-hearted effort at comedy that seems awkward and out-of-place. The gore wasn't terribly bad, but the special effects were amateurish. The zombies were the best actors in the bunch (most of them)...I had expected more from this as two of the main characters (husband and wife in real life) have been in the biz for some time and even won some awards...either they were having a bad day, or they were saved by previous scripts...the man has the same expression for virtually the first hour and the woman 'cries' dry tears. At least the son has an excuse...this is his first (and probably last)film. The zombie makeup was decent...as I've said, I've seen appreciably worse. Besides the shuffling zombies (Romero-style, like they SHOULD be), the only other thing I liked was the eerie music...very 'Goblin-esque' (a band with more than a few classic zombie movie themes under their belt, including the original 'Dawn of the Dead' from 1978). All-in-all, only for hard-core zombiephiles (like me).

Really very poor

[epiceffectss · 1/10 · 15 December 2014]

Sorry it's awful. I have in the past rated films that were just OK highly but this is a tragedy ! The special effects are appalling , the acting is dreadful , the story is really poor. Sorry but that's my opinion . I appreciate someone made this but it's not worthy of a watch. It makes z nation look like a million dollars. I can't believe all the good reviews, for me it was terrible , sorry director and writer but come on ... I could act better than those guys and I've no experience . Sometimes a film needs more work , it needs more effort in the script. And until that's done it shouldn't be made . If I have to say one positive thing It would be that the zombies didn't run , they walked , but they look awful .

Appreciated the love for zombies and the originality!

[ihearthorrorfilm · 5/10 · 25 March 2013]

Collapse is a film about a family on a farm attacked by zombies… traditional, slow walking zombies. Due to the overwhelming love for zombies, I find it's a lot harder to make a good, interesting and original zombie movie. The Walking Dead has made it almost impossible to compete with, but because I love zombies, I appreciate the effort. Collapse is a zombie movie that is typically like every zombie movie you've seen up to this point… Or so I thought. It's about a loving couple trying to survive the apocalypse and not get bitten while doing so. The first half of the movie is a little on the slow side, it reminded me of a made-for-TV type movie, but then the course of the story completely changes into a totally unexpected direction. The twist at the end is pretty sweet and for that I'm giving it a solid 5. The movie overall is a tad on the slow side, but boy that ending is pretty awesome. Probably the closest we'll ever get to an actual zombie apocalypse.

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Good for a low budget flick.

[mvktr2 · 7/10 · 5 January 2012]

Maybe I'm being a bit gracious with a rating of 7, but I'll tell you why. Aside from overacting or most probably over directing/writing in the beginning it plays out like a higher budget film. Not to be confused, it looks like a lower budget film. The over acting/directing/writing is from dialog where one character speaks and nods and pauses giving off to much of a reaction rather than a more normal reaction which is of course more natural. Next the problem is the writing is quite good in hiding twists and turns, but just gets a bit off here and there. Didn't care for the lighting in places.

Now for what's good about the film. Once it's rolling the acting is fairly nice. From the get- go it's apparent that something is off about both the lead male and female character. One knows something isn't right, that it's not just bad acting, but that there are wheels turning upstairs on both of them. This is key mild foreshadowing as the film plays out. The zombies are the slow footed classical kind with rather nice makeup, all a bonus if you ask me. The final plot twist is excellent. I'd say this is a directing/producing team that could do good work with studio backing.

If you're expecting Miramax or 20th Century Fox quality you're going to be disappointed. But if you're looking to be entertained with an interesting story about flawed characters and can look past the budget issues this film delivers.

Anything above a four is just being generous

[robbierobin · 4/10 · 10 January 2020]

Poor special effects, actors smiling when they're supposed to be sick, dead, or getting killed. Very predictable. A lot of backstory for no clear reason. It's not something I would watch if I wanted a truly scary movie. Just Another churned out zombie movie where characters are unfamiliar with the concept of zombies. Only about 25min in and had to laugh at myself for a jumpscare I saw coming well before it happened. Smh And what appears to be grandparents are actually the parents raising a teen.

Not Too Bad At All....

[imdb-16840 · 7/10 · 5 January 2012]

Perhaps a 7 out of 10 is a little generous, but I did warm to Collapse. It's certainly a low-budget production, and it shows, but the acting, props and makeup are adequate.

The camera work is very "closed" and close-up, despite the sweeping rural and small-town setting. We get to see very little of the surroundings or countryside in which the story is happening, everything is very focused on the actors themselves. It feels a little claustrophobic at times (but not in a good, "horror" way) and I wanted the camera to just pan out for a little in some of the shots, to set the scene a little better.

One other slight issue was where the main character bludgeons to death a couple of zombies and it's obvious both times that the blows (off- camera) are not connecting with anything. The gore is quite toned down for this zombie movie, and quite a lot of the violence isn't explicitly shown.

As mentioned in other reviews, there is a major plot twist at the end, and I for one loved it, didn't see it coming at all (although I should have done), and this twist alone lifts the film from being a so-so film to a good one. Don't expect too much, forgive its flaws, and there is an enjoyable zombie film here.

Before you watch this "Zombie" film

[shadow_runner-59212 · 1/10 · 5 January 2017]

This is going to contain spoilers, just a heads up before you start into this.

First off this "twist" ending a lot of people seem to love on here, It's just another one of those "It was all in his head the entire time!" endings that aren't uncommon if you've watched films and read enough novels. As such I really dislike these sort of endings as they come off as one of the laziest "Twist" endings people tend to do these days. I suppose if you aren't used to these kinds of "twists" in the end, though I feel they've been done to death, you could find the film more enjoyable.

However even then this makes it REALLY hard to believe a lone farmer can massacre an entire town of people, even a small one, without meeting up with the police a lot sooner than he did in the film. Even then, damn near everyone in small town, USA has a gun.

This is just a very bad film over all as presented. Were it not for the terrible ending it would have at least been worth the watch but as it is I feel a bit robbed of my time. Some people maybe into this sort of thing and that's fine, but a lot of other are not. If you want a zombie-ish flick with a MUCH better twist ending I would recommend Open Grave (2013) as a decent alternative that can be pretty enjoyable.

Call Me Peculiar - I Liked It

[don_faithful · 8/10 · 12 April 2020]

At the beginning I thought, if Disney could make a family zombie movie, it might start off like this - no disrespect to Disney. The plot started off slowly. But then I realized that the creators wanted the audience to go back in time. The dialogue had a Davey & Goliath kind of feel - like many older movies - with scenes that reminded me of Leave It to Beaver. But as the plot progressed, I soon realized that the main character is no average or simple individual. He was about to transform both in terms of the essence of his character and also his props. The background music also started changing - becoming more 80s, 90s, 00s, eventually pulsating and reverberating - bringing us to the realm of a contemporary psychological thriller. What seemed like a situational Romero-type zombie movie from the late 60s suddenly morphed into - something kind of unexpected.

Wow...wow...wow...What an ending!

[AndyVanScoyoc · 7/10 · 14 February 2016]

This movie starts slooooow...so if you're one of those people that has to have constant entertainment from the moment a movie starts...pass this one by.

I've always liked Chris Mulky and was pleasantly surprised to see him in it.

As usual...he did NOT disappoint!

Not too much I can say without spoiling it for you, so let me put it like this.

Trust me...watch, give it a chance and hang on...I don't care how good you are...you will NOT see the end of this pseudo masterpiece, coming!

Zombie movie with a twist

[WisdomsHammer · 7/10 · 30 October 2015]

No intentional spoilers...

The movie starts slow, then revs up, then slows down again, then kicks you in the nuts with the twist.

I rate it 7 for an original take on a zombie movie that I hadn't seen and didn't expect. For a low budget film, the acting was superb, in my opinion.

To be completely honest, viewing this as a typical zombie movie, most of it was "just okay" - until the end, which completely blew me away, made my jaw drop, and gave me goosebumps.

Note: If you decide to watch this, don't just skip to the end - it won't make as much sense and will not be nearly as rewarding as watching it all the way through and knowing why certain things happened the way they did.

Recommended.

Worth the wait

[distant_salem · 6/10 · 2 April 2016]

This movie gets off to a good start with typical zombie fare done pretty well. It slows down a lot toward the middle of the movie (I skipped a good 10 minutes and missed nothing), but the ending made it all worthwhile. The ending was a specially well shot, and a fresh idea in this genre. For me it bumped the movie from a three out of 10 to a six out of 10, which is to say I think it is worth a look for those of you who love zombie movies but have watched every one that has ever been made me like I have. I also watched this for the lead actor who I met at a horror convention. He is in a lot of low-budget movies and was just generally nice guy so it's fun to see him take the lead: so there's my bias if you wanted to know!