About to be released from prison, an imprisoned special forces agent hanging out with a fellow inmate finds a zombie outbreak that strikes the country which allows them to break out of jail and head out into the now zombie-infested city to get his friends and family to safety and stop the creatures.
Overall, there's quite a lot to like about this one. Among the better elements here are a serviceable and enjoyable enough storyline that presents a simple enough scenario and those who are trapped within it. The whole setup of him being ready for parole from jail and trying to get back to see his family, including the brief bits shown to help him adjust to life on the outside, serve this one well enough alongside the interactions at the apartment slum. Since this is all handled well enough and gets each of the characters established, the sudden influx of the zombie invasion and the chaos that emerges as they overrun the city provides the appropriate obstacles that will be overcome later. Having to work through the city against the hordes of undead while trying to keep his friends alive in order to save his family is all solid enough and ensures that the fast, breezy pace never slows down for too long. However, that aside, the film works best as a showcase piece for its main hero. This kind of setup is earmarked for a series of impressive combat sequences showcasing him in action against the swarms of crazed undead after him and his friends. With things off to a great start following the zombies appearing in the apartment and overrunning everything, the chaos of the situation is nicely matched by the prison escape as they try to escape the zombie-infested grounds bringing about some solid grappling and fighting scenes. These manage to inject some frenzied and tense sequences featuring a need to sneak past a crowd of feasting zombies or try to maneuver past the creatures while obscured by a heavy fog cloud. Other scenes include the ambushes at the apartment where the group comes across even more undead and questionable allies that may or may not hinder his chances of surviving the mission. The full-throttle finale, featuring the race to free everyone from the zombie-infested apartment slums, is full-on action mode as close-quarters combat and gunplay play a big role in the frantic nature of everything going on. Graced with some great effects-work and make-up for the creatures as well as the brutal kills dished out, there's quite a lot to like here. This one does have some issues holding it down. One of the main issues here is the near abject failure to describe in any kind of detail what's going on with the source and cause of the zombie outbreak. With the creatures appearing almost immediately in the film and not offering any kind of explanation or motivation for what started it. While this information isn't critical or damaging overall, the key component in a zombie outbreak is usually the means through which it starts so that understanding how to stop it and turn it around can occur. That never occurs here as the rules are never truly established so scenes like the means of transference and infection don't happen and the end result is a bit disappointing. That also leaves the finale a bit too ambiguous as the opportunity for it to go for a heavily-telegraphed sequel route for no emotional impact so it's all a bit awkward. These, though, are really only small gripes holding this back.
Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, and children-in-jeopardy.
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