Being that I’m a huge fan of zombie movies, I’m both thrilled and appalled at the sheer numbers that have been made just in the past 2-3 years. Some great, some not so great… but all trying to be the best darn zombie movie it can be. Even the great George Romero was given the opportunity to finally make a fourth film in his “Dead” trilogy (quadrilogy?). But the ones that are really grabbing my attention are those that take a more ‘creative’ approach to the genre. I’m speaking of course, of the parody. The one to beat is last year’s brilliant British import “Shaun of the Dead,” which is easily the absolute best parody of the zombie genre ever made. So far no one has done better than these guys, but there are a couple of new filmmakers on the horizon working their way up from Australia. Brothers in fact... Peter & Michael Spierig. Their entry into the ring is a called simply “Undead.” But to be honest, there is nothing simple about this movie. It is ripe with meteorites, zombies, aliens and gunslingers. The plot, which I will attempt to simplify, surrounds the small town of Beverly.

It’s the kind of place where you can keep your doors unlocked. Until the day that a meteor shower hits, turning several members of the quiet community into bloodthirsty zombies. The ‘heroes’ of the story come in the form of an ex-beauty queen (Felicity Mason) who unwittingly teams up with a gun shop owner by the name of… Marion (Mungo McKay). Marion was once an alien abductee, so he is the only one truly prepared to handle the ensuing horror. Armed to the teeth, he leads a band of losers through the thick of things, in the hopes of finding some sort of escape.

Immediately, I’ll mention that there are only a handful of people who will really appreciate a film like “Undead.” I first heard about the film last year and have since waited patiently for it to make it to U.S. shores. It had a limited release in theatres a few months ago and unfortunately I missed it. So when Lion’s Gate put out the word that it was being released on DVD, I hoped against hope that a copy would make it across my desk (be careful what you wish for they always say…).

The day it showed up I set aside some time to watch it with my wife, who has similar interest in films and would recognize the humor of the movie, if it had any. From the opening moments, it seemed like it was going to be a quiet little movie… until the first meteor hit. It hurls itself right through one of the town’s inhabitants (with shocking force I might add), immediately turning said inhabitant into a zombie. That’s the last quiet moment of the entire movie. From that point on, “Undead” is an unending onslaught of over the top horror and action, punctuated by gallons of gore. The jokes are more sight gags, and they range from hysterically funny to eye-rolling bad. I was reminded of Peter Jackson’s “Bad Taste” and Sam Raimi’s “Evil Dead” series. I have no doubt that the filmmakers intentionally used similar camera shots to create a visual style similar to these director’s and they succeed wonderfully.

The special effects are a mixed bag considering this was an extremely low budget project. Some of the effects were really bad, but fit the style of the overall film, while others looked surprisingly good. The meteor shower in particular was very impressive. I also have to give nods to the ‘zombie fish’, which were done particularly well…

The DVD from Lion’s Gate offers up a surprisingly large number of extra features for a film that very few people have heard of. There are commentaries by both the filmmakers and some of the cast members. In the first the Spierig Brothers are joined by director of photography Andrew Strahorn and special effects creator Steven Boyle. The cast commentary includes Mungo McKay, Dirk Hunter and Emma Randell. Both of these commentaries are better than most, which is highlighted by the speaker’s obvious love for the project.

There is also a lengthy documentary on the making of the film, which runs a little over 30 minutes. Since the project was a low budget one, this feature acts a bit of a ‘how to’ as far as filmmaking on a tight to no budget. You also get to see first hand that the wonderful world of filmmaking has its own type of pitfalls and horrors, some of which make you wonder why anyone would do it in the first place.

There is also some footage from the Supernova Convention that includes a Q&A with cast and crew, as well as footage from “Rampage of the Undead”, which is part of their original trilogy that this film was based on. You also get to see some footage from the Toronto Film Festival screening of the film. For those of you who are into the special effects of the film, you are offered a look at how some of the gorier effects were shot and the way lighting and film speed makes a big difference. Added to this is a comparison of the big finale with the CGI animatics, an alternate title sequence, some deleted scenes and some conceptual designs.

“Undead” isn’t a perfect parody, but it is a funny one.

Directed by: Peter & Michael Spierig
Starring: Felicity Mason, Mungo McKay
Extras: Crew Commentary , Cast Commentary, "Making of" Featurette, Zombies Internet Featurette, "Midnight Madness" Toronto Film Festival Screening, Camera and Make-Up Tests, Homemade Dolly Construction Video, Animatic to Film Comparison, Deleted and Extended Scenes, Artwork and Design Sketches,
Specifications:
Studio: Lions Gate
Release Date: 10/11/2005
Region 1
MPAA Rating: R
Website

We'll give Undead a B+.