(This review features slight plot spoilers from the first 20 minutes of the film, but less so than what you would get from the plot summary and back of the rental box.)
John and Jennifer are a young couple driving to their vacation cabin. They take a short-cut through the woods but night falls and they blow a tire. They decide to sleep in the car until morning, but then one of them notices what appears to be a dead body. John investigates and gets bitten by the creature. They run off to their cabin, but John seems to have been infected with a disease. After a trip to the hospital, he realizes that he is the living dead. Then the craving for flesh begins.
Shadows of the Dead has a unique and potentially fascinating premise in that it is told from the perspective of the "zombie" (which means here "dead, rotting, flesh-craving, but otherwise the same") and explores the new dynamics of his relationship with his lover. Unfortunately, the perspective of this "zombie" isn't very interesting. John's attempts to be poetic and philosophical fall flat. The first line of the movie is a voice-over where our protagonist is apparently trying to tell us that he listens to too much Lisa Loeb: "I once thought I'd live forever, but now I am not too sure." It doesn't help that the actor gives a delivery that is void of believable emotional injections, making the voiceovers sound like the type you would hear in the beginning of a porn. The acting isn't completely awful--the lead actress (the only other developed character in the film, and a much more interesting one than John) delivers a fairly decent performance as the woman struggles to help her diseased/deceased lover. However, she is limited by the poorly written dialogue, which is laughable for a film that is attempts to have a serious tone.
This has very little gore for a zombie flick. That isn't a problem, as the bulk of the film is supposed to be an exploration of the post-crisis relationship between John and Jennifer (think Open Water). The problem is that these scenes drag endlessly and never fulfill the potential of the concept. There are a few sequences that should be suspenseful, but the attempts fail, mostly due to an an ill-matching score and bad camera-work. As a result, these scenes happen and you don't care about them, just as you don't care about the characters' feelings on the zombification process.
Shadows of the Dead isn't a complete failure, and I suppose is a commendable effort considering the miniscule budget. There are some interesting scenes and concepts put forth, but I cannot discuss them without spoiling major plot points, and by no means do they make up for the mind-numbing ruminations by the lead characters. I would only recommend this to anyone interested in seeing a different dramatic twist on zombie movies. But be warned that the awful dialogue really hampers this one.
My Rating: 3/10
John and Jennifer are a young couple driving to their vacation cabin. They take a short-cut through the woods but night falls and they blow a tire. They decide to sleep in the car until morning, but then one of them notices what appears to be a dead body. John investigates and gets bitten by the creature. They run off to their cabin, but John seems to have been infected with a disease. After a trip to the hospital, he realizes that he is the living dead. Then the craving for flesh begins.
Shadows of the Dead has a unique and potentially fascinating premise in that it is told from the perspective of the "zombie" (which means here "dead, rotting, flesh-craving, but otherwise the same") and explores the new dynamics of his relationship with his lover. Unfortunately, the perspective of this "zombie" isn't very interesting. John's attempts to be poetic and philosophical fall flat. The first line of the movie is a voice-over where our protagonist is apparently trying to tell us that he listens to too much Lisa Loeb: "I once thought I'd live forever, but now I am not too sure." It doesn't help that the actor gives a delivery that is void of believable emotional injections, making the voiceovers sound like the type you would hear in the beginning of a porn. The acting isn't completely awful--the lead actress (the only other developed character in the film, and a much more interesting one than John) delivers a fairly decent performance as the woman struggles to help her diseased/deceased lover. However, she is limited by the poorly written dialogue, which is laughable for a film that is attempts to have a serious tone.
This has very little gore for a zombie flick. That isn't a problem, as the bulk of the film is supposed to be an exploration of the post-crisis relationship between John and Jennifer (think Open Water). The problem is that these scenes drag endlessly and never fulfill the potential of the concept. There are a few sequences that should be suspenseful, but the attempts fail, mostly due to an an ill-matching score and bad camera-work. As a result, these scenes happen and you don't care about them, just as you don't care about the characters' feelings on the zombification process.
Shadows of the Dead isn't a complete failure, and I suppose is a commendable effort considering the miniscule budget. There are some interesting scenes and concepts put forth, but I cannot discuss them without spoiling major plot points, and by no means do they make up for the mind-numbing ruminations by the lead characters. I would only recommend this to anyone interested in seeing a different dramatic twist on zombie movies. But be warned that the awful dialogue really hampers this one.
My Rating: 3/10