The Dead the Damned and the Darkness (2014) User Reviews

A boring, low budget indie

[chrismackey1972 · 2/10 · 29 October 2014]

The movie starts out with a man cremating the remains of his family. After bottling up the ashes, he puts on an outfit that looks like something out of Star Wars. Almost at once, he's pursued by zombies. At times I could tell the zombies were wearing rubber masks. It sounds funny, but it wasn't. It goes to show how low budget this was. Since the zombies are shown as being mostly decayed, I expected their clothes to be in very bad condition as well. However, there are a few splatters of blood here and there on the material. No rips or shreds in the clothing. The deaf girl's clothes were in worse condition than those of the zombies. I'm not sure how I could catch that but the wardrobe designer didn't. The lead character is trying to make his way to the ocean to toss his wife's ashes into it. Along the way, and in this movie, it seems longer than it is, he comes across a few other people who become part of his boring survival group. Seriously, if that's survival, tap me in the head with the nearest bullet so I don't get bored to death.

There is some nudity. A zombie tears the shirt off a woman exposing her breasts. BTW, her boobs were the best actors in the entire movie.

I gave this a 2-star rating. The storyline was boring, and the action was also boring and tedious. It's very. VERY low budget. I didn't enjoy it, and I can't recommend it. If you wanna watch a boring zombie storyline with characters you don't care about, SyFy has one on called Z Nation. On the bright side, at least it wasn't filmed through a camcorder. Personally, I think the lead character should've thrown this movie into the ocean when he threw in his wife's ashes.

A little snap ,a little crackle ,but no pop !

[dadatuuexx · 3/10 · 2 November 2014]

Most zombie movie fans put up with a lot of bad ones,just to get that one good , bad-ass zombie flik reward.Sorry ,this isn't it.I see tons of bad zombie films ,and this one is not one of the worst i,ve seen in the past few years ,and sadly ,it also far from the best.The story ,for what its worth ,is hmmm.... , alright.A guy wants to take his cremated family's remains to the sea.Dump the ashes ,and make some sort of peace with himself.Well ,using some sort of high-tech armor (left over from Uli Bolle,s last film ? ),he puts it on ,looking like a dude from some 80,sci-fi film from Italy,and leaves for the coast.Along the way ,he of course ,finds others trying to survive.For starters ,the acting is just o.k. .This is a very low budget film,but is not shot on someones cell-phone.It does has some decent production work ,and the camera work isn't that bad.The shots are set up well ,and the F,X. (masks ,and gore) are done well enough.The "action" is weak ,and the sound-track sorta shoddy.It has the feel of a few of this type of zombie movies (Extinction:G.M.O. crons. ,The Darkness something ,)...too many "Zombie /survival ",low budget ,kinda boring things. Fine for a one-time ,watch,on a Sunday afternoon.I will also add that this is called Part 2 ,because of The Dead and the Dammed,a cool little "Western Zombie movie" made some years ago by the same writer/director,though its more in mention,as a actor explains a lot of un-answered questions towards the end of this movie,going back to the aforementioned film,and its zombie-virus story.Like I said ,some body rippin , a little blood splashin ,some bare boobs ,(2), some cool lookin zombie masks,some blood ,bullits ,and some boring B.S. . oh yeah ,...a happy ending too !.....gotta love these type of films ,cause like the living dead ,they just wont stay down...

The Dead The Damned And The Darkness

[a_baron · 3/10 · 18 November 2016]

Shouldn't there be a comma in the title? Whatever. Zombies move slowly, so does this film. Zombie films are all much the same. So is this one, mostly. The central character is a soldier, only there is no army left because the entire planet has been taken over by these infernal things; we learn why towards the end. On his travels he picks up a deaf girl, and an older bloke who always looks on the bright side.

Clearly there can be no redemption although there is a happy ending of sorts, and if you watch it all the way through you will be happy to reach the ending.

There is no real plot at such, little in the way of characterisation, but the soundtrack isn't bad, and deserves to be attached to a better film.

Jesus Christ! There is almost no words to label this

[jpgonc · 1/10 · 24 February 2015]

If you have bought this film but first went seeing these reviews I am afraid that I have some really bad news for you... this movie is so, so bad, horrible, lousy and heinous that you better throw it rapidly to the dust bin without blinking or even seeing it (undoubtelly a smart decision... believe me!).

Goodies: The zombies looked like clowns and the blood rotted Ketchup.

More goodies: Appalling wardrobe and laid-back/nonthreatening zombies.

Pace: Infinitively slow.

Cast: They were just doing their job for some bucks.

Script review: Flawed from the beginning, clichéd remarks abound everywhere, no credible tension and stupidity all around. A really cheesy B-movie!

Opinion: Don't waste your money or your precious time seeing this utter rubbish. Summing The Dead the Damned and the Darkness it's just three Ds filled with a big S!

A fan of low budget B films and zombie flicks...

[sfinancing · 1/10 · 21 December 2014]

...but wow, this is bad.

If you were expecting the high quality acting, script writing and special effects of your average you tube fan fiction garage edited production, you are setting your sights too high.

Horrendously bad scripting in combination with horrible acting. The music could be worse(trying to add a positive) but even that is being kind. Costumes straight out of a Halloween store. Even the actors shambling around in the rubber zombie masks were bad.

I really wanted to find something to like here, even if it was Plan B level like...

Bad, But

[Richard_Dominguez · 5/10 · 11 July 2015]

OK bad zombie movie as far as F rated zombie movies go. I am not the greatest of zombie fans. Some of these types of movies have been very good, but dang if the music in this one wasn't absolutely amazing. I found myself going from scene to scene waiting for the next bit of this outstanding score. Most action/horror zombie movies tend to over look the overall score. This one didn't and built on the music.

Lets not overlook the scene where the Colonel finds his daughter, that for me was totally unexpected and quite touching. Too bad (in my opinion) that more of a story couldn't have been written for it. My 5 rating is due all to the music.

In the spirit of B exploitation flicks

[amesmonde · 9 May 2016]

A group of uninfected band together to escape the mutants to get to a coastal road.

After a wacky action packed opening, director Rene Perez delivers a low budget infection affair. Perez's heavy score is excellent when reminiscent of Euro splatter flicks and it harks back to Italian horror's when a woman's shirt (Raven Lexy) is ripped open exposing her breast. Writers Barry Massoni and Perez offer some interesting moments, mainly those involving a deaf character Stephanie, played notably by Iren Levy. Lead Robert Tweten with a practical and cool costume also deserves a mention.

Akin to Zombie Massacre's dead make up, the mutants also growl. Nevertheless, plenty of effort has gone into the production which is traditionally shot, its not another PoV or found footage movie. It's a zombie mash up, while not as well executed as Wyrmwood or as stylised as Bomshell Bloodbath, thankfully it's not as sleazy as Zombie 108 or Zombie Fight Club. Sadly, Perez links it to his 2011 predecessor Cowboys & Zombies a.k.a The Dead and the Damned in the latter half, jarringly taking the edge off this with some unnecessary flashbacks.

At times in the spirit of B exploitation flicks its better than anything made for the Syfy channel, zombie completest may get a kick out of this low budget offering.

A fairly average zombie movie, but with very weird sounds...

[paul_haakonsen · 5/10 · 14 August 2017]

Anything even remotely zombie, and I am interested. And from the DVD cover for "The Dead the Damned and the Darkness", then it seemed like this might actually be a zombie movie with some substance to it, pardon the pun.

Lets start with the title of the movie, which kind of Sticks out like a sore thumb, because it is clearly missing a comma in it. But that is just an insignificant thing, of course, and has no impact on the enjoyment of the movie itself. It is just a small thing that nags in the back of your head.

Now, the storyline was adequate. Not the best of stories, nor the worst. It was a fairly straight forward, albeit somewhat generic storyline. Nothing that hasn't been seen in other zombie movies, so don't expect anything groundbreaking or innovative here. Still, it was entertaining enough for a zombie movie.

What impressed me about "The Dead the Damned and the Darkness" was the zombie make-up and design. They really had some pretty nice prosthetic and make-up, and it looked quite good and convincing. However, yes there is a however, the sound that they opted to go with for the zombies was just so poor. It sounded like some kind of great predatory beast, which really was so misplaced for a zombie movie. And that actually borough a clownish touch to the movie, which brought it down somewhat in overall enjoyment.

The acting was fair and people were doing good jobs with their given roles and characters. I didn't see a single familiar face in the movie, so it was refreshing for me. I enjoy watching new talents in movies, as they are not associated with other roles and characters yet.

All in all, then "The Dead the Damned and the Darkness" was an adequate zombie movie, which is worthy enough of a place on the movie shelves of any zombie aficionado.

BE GOOD TO EACH OTHER

[nogodnomasters · 5/10 · 11 June 2019]

If you missed the first one, or forgot what it was about, this DVD has a trailer for it. You can watch it before watching this one so you too can scratch your head and ask where is the continuity? Don't fret. The Speaker of the House provides us with an explanation why this is a squeal from the Shasta Lake, California government building.

Army Lt Colonel Sawyer (Robert Tweten) is on a quest. He needs to scatter the ashes of his wife in the ocean during the zombie apocalypse because....without that we don't have much of a story. He meets a few people along the way including Stephanie (Iren Levy) a deaf mute who can scream occasional words, but can't talk. She is the only other developed character. We discover the cause of the zombie outbreak and get a generic class warfare speech to boot at the end of the film...in case you cared or are still watching.

It seems the zombies are the old Italian kind who must first rip the blouse before they bite. The indoor sound was uneven and changed during a conversation. I suspect this will be part of a $5.00 4-pack within a couple of years.

No sex scenes. Attempted rape. Nudity (Iren Levy, Raven Lexy)

The undead, the living, and the cremated.

[actionfilm-2 · 7/10 · 18 November 2014]

First of all, though I've seen hundreds of low budget horror films, there are folk out there much more familiar with today's low budget fear films, including many experts in zombie film and lore of the undead. Having said that I've seen and enjoyed the Dawn of the Dead remake, 28 Days Later, and yes even World War Z (never read the book), all big budget films when compared to the average independent film. I realize I'm in the minority here, but this film is enjoyable. On the technical side, just about a one man filmmaking army Rene Perez makes the most of his budget and resources, and can't be sure but looks to have done considerable planning prior to filming. He makes the most of his locations, thus he avoids the absurd number of close ups that low budget filmmakers rely on to hide the fact they have no location to speak of. I hate CGI gunfire, but here the filmmakers are wise in how it's rendered and filmed, even including the detail of discharged shells. The acting is no worse than the average teen slasher film, in fact the actors all possess interesting faces unlike the generic casting you often see in a lot of low budget horror. Also on the plus side is the camera-work, Perez has a very nice graphic sense and considering the low budget shows an ambitious eye. As for the zombies many are clearly wearing masks and stumble about in a not always convincing fashion, but hell I don't know how a zombie moves, last I checked they don't exist. The hero's combat suit is well designed and cool to look at. I applaud the filmmaker's decision to shoot the majority of the film in daylight, even big budget fare have difficulty keeping night scenes visible.

I enjoyed the film as it has that certain charm that many low budget 80's action/horror films possess. Some may disagree, but I'm speaking about movies like the Italian Road Warrior ripoffs, or David A. Prior's (Deadly Prey) and Fred Olen Ray's (The Assault) work. I don't go into these films looking for perfectionism, if it's there great, but otherwise I just want some cool and/or fun stuff to watch. On a final note I applaud Perez for the manner in which he weaves the hope that God offers into the storyline, most take a very hostile view of the subject, the horror genre especially, so he went against the grain in this respect, hat's off.

Worth it to see Iren Levy

[gwborden48 · 6/10 · 23 February 2015]

Iren Levy made this film watchable. If she had of been killed off in the movie I would have stopped watching at that moment. You could have made the whole movie about her running and hiding from Zombies and somehow fighting off the male survivors. The fact she was playing as a hearing impaired person added to the movie. This was a good idea. Maybe could have been played up even more. Iren has the girl next door look and her personality shines through even in this movie. The other actors were not terrible by any stretch. The old man came across very authentic and likable. The main character and his suit not bad. The metal (or whatever it was made of) crotch cover was not so good. But for a low budget film you can't expect perfection. The helmet though very good and cool looking. Just the type of zombie protection you'd want.

Good low budget zombie action.

[parry_na · 7/10 · 13 October 2018]

This low budget zombie project makes a good stab at convincing us the world has become an apocalyptic wasteland ravaged by the living dead. The dialogue over-eggs the story being told, with every (otherwise impressive) twist and turn being spelled-out to us. The zombie make-up comprises of actors wearing masks. Gruesome and detailed, yes, but they are masks all the same.

Lieutenant Colonel Sawyer (Robert Tweten) equips himself with so much armour and weapons, he resembles a kind of Robocop prototype. His mission is to bury the ashes of his family, and he travels across cursed, barren land to do so. On the way, he meets with hard-of-hearing Stephany (Ire Levy), who is being stalked by both the living dead, and sex-starved males throughout. They meet up with elderly Wilson (John J Welsh), and here, typical horror-character-stupidity comes into play, when Stephanie decides to continue her journey without them. Her deafness, as you may imagine, makes for a perilous situations as she changes her wardrobe for a short skirt, before she is rescued and brought back into the fold. Some things never change.

Director and co-writer Rene Perez does a good job with this. Visually, it is very good, with nice panoramic views of deserted streets and the like. He also provide the terrific score, as 'the Darkest Machines'. Where things occasionally fall down is due to some very slow scenes, often dialogue-lead, which seriously drag things down (the potentially interesting explanation of events from the President, outstays its welcome). The pleasing action sequences are worth seeing, however, with the zombies exploding gobbets of green gunk, reminding us how putrefied they are throughout.