xavierpop's posterous http://xavierpop.posterous.com Most recent posts at xavierpop's posterous posterous.com Wed, 26 Oct 2011 14:16:27 -0700 Louis does Toronto After Dark - Review of DeadHeads http://xavierpop.posterous.com/louis-does-toronto-after-dark-review-of-deadh http://xavierpop.posterous.com/louis-does-toronto-after-dark-review-of-deadh

Mike Kellerman (Michael McKiddy) awakens during a zombie outbreak. Horrified at what he sees, he starts running for his life. However, as he is running it slowly dawns on him that they are not attacking him.  It is not until he comes across Brent Guthrie (Ross Kidder), he realizes what the audience already knows, they are both zombies.

Thus begins DeadHeads by brother directors Brett and Drew T. Pierce.  While thinking, talking zombies may seem an odd backdrop to use for a buddy picture, the directors use the idea very well and to great effect with a wry humor that belies the serious nature of being one of the undead.  The two newly found friends decide that Mike needs to find the woman he was to marry. So with hunters trying to capture them and a third zombie aptly named Cheese (Markus Taylor) in tow, they set off in search of love.

Trailers can mislead an audience in regards to the content of a film or the quality.  It is now common practice that a film that isn't very funny will often times put the best jokes in the trailer. So after seeing the trailer for Dead Heads, I went in with some hesitation.  Not only was I pleasantly surprised that the jokes in the trailer were not the best ones, they were by no means the only ones.

The jokes come fast and timely, keeping well within the constraints of what the filmmakers set out to achieve.   Not only are the situations unique and funny, the running commentary of perennial jokester Brent only enhances what could have been an otherwise pedestrian movie.  It is a tribute to the actors and the director to have put together this story in such a way as it has.  Every scene has purpose and intent, fitting well within the entire plotline.  The ending may be predictable, however like every good road trip movie, the destination isn't really the point.

The cinematography is well done. While not visually stunning, it is not meant to be and that makes it an easy film to watch.  The soundtrack is in the same vein. Sleek and professional, it gives just the right touch to the comedy on film.  And let me say, if you are a fan of dark humor, you will find this very funny.  I find myself wanting to compare this to iconic and beloved "Shaun of the Dead" as I'm sure some might want to do because the humour is just as good. It is a bit different though, more North American.

There was gore aplenty to satisfy horror fans mixed with more than a few jokes about appendages not staying attached to our heroes and other complexities of being undead.  We are also peppered with more than a few 80's references, and they come fast and without warning. So pay attention.

The real fun is the witty banter between the two leads with Ross Kidder in many cases stealing the show.  The idea of two zombies walking to find true love is too farfetched and whimsical to be taken very seriously, yet the actors and directors know this and have embraced this by simply telling it as one long farcical joke.  At no pint do you find yourself laughing at it, only with it.

DeadHeads will not go down in history as one of the best comedies ever made, but it will give you a good laugh and a fun time.  What else do you need from a comedy?

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Tue, 25 Oct 2011 14:35:21 -0700 Louis does Toronto After Dark Festival - Review of War of the Dead http://xavierpop.posterous.com/louis-does-toronto-after-dark-festival-review-21681 http://xavierpop.posterous.com/louis-does-toronto-after-dark-festival-review-21681

It's the middle of the Second World War and a group of American and Finnish soldiers are sent to attack a German bunker.  In doing so they stumble upon one of the most horrible and closely guarded secrets of the Nazi regime.   The unit's mission having now changed, the small band of men try to both survive the onslaught and destroy the bunker from whi ch they sprang as they now face an enemy more terrible and terrifying - the undead.

This is a dark film.  Literally and figuratively. The movie takes place over a single night with the final shot being the first light of the next morning. The lighting is such that you can (mostly) see what is unfolding onscreen. Except for the bunkers, I was never sure if what I saw was soundstage or built set.  I found the sets to be accurate, almost to the point of distraction as the director seemed to want to show every type and style of period setpiece he could come up with.

The acting is competent with veteran British actors Andrew Teirnan (Survivors) and Mark Winggett (The Bill) working alongside Finnish actor Samuel Vauramo  and strongman Jouko Ahola.  If their performances fail to deliver, I find fault with the writer and director first as I didn't find myself caring about any of them.

Save Magdalena Górska's brief and confusing foray into the film's narrative, there isn't much that one can find sympathetic about the plight they find themselves in.  The problem is twofold - the first one being the characters themselves are relatively humorless.  Soldiers tend to joke, even when the situation is hopeless.  This movie desperately needed some comic relief in it somewhere.  The second problem is that the Nazi-Zombies were neither Nazis or Zombies but captured Russian soldiers who were experimented on.

The opening shot is of a solider of unknown origin, in a frock, getting shot and turning into undead.  The rest of the movie they are in uniform, side cap and all attacking our heroes.  Most have been given special powers of speed, strength and endurance, but seem unable to speak.  Still they manage coordinated attacks, leaping from the ground to the top of a building in a single leap, breaking doors and windows yet somehow unable to keep up with a car moving at a walking pace.

"Dead Snow" this is not. It isn't "Outpost" either. It really isn't comparable to any of sub-genre of Nazi-Zombie films even though that is the impression the trailer gives.  The narrative is a bit hard to follow as the main characters tend to wander aimlessly for a bit. After dying one by one, the final few then decide to call in an airstrike from the middle of the bunker full of super undead.  Even as a horror fan I found this quite hard to accept as a legitimate way to handle the problems the plot gave itself.   Much of it felt forced, out of place and fake.  Even though, the gore is well done it is not enough to save this film from itself.

I'd wait for it to come out on cable.

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