Collapse of the Living Dead

Let it be said, I've seen worse movies...and sat through them because they at least kept me engaged, had some comedic elements, or were splatter-fests. This movie seriously lacks on all accounts. It plods along for the first hour or so, and there is a half-hearted effort at comedy that seems awkward and out-of-place. The gore wasn't terribly bad, but the special effects were amateurish. The zombies were the best actors in the bunch (most of them)...I had expected more from this as two of the main characters (husband and wife in real life) have been in the biz for some time and even won some awards...either they were having a bad day, or they were saved by previous scripts...the man has the same expression for virtually the first hour and the woman 'cries' dry tears. At least the son has an excuse...this is his first (and probably last)film. The zombie makeup was decent...as I've said, I've seen appreciably worse. Besides the shuffling zombies (Romero-style, like they SHOULD be), the only other thing I liked was the eerie music...very 'Goblin-esque' (a band with more than a few classic zombie movie themes under their belt, including the original 'Dawn of the Dead' from 1978). All-in-all, only for hard-core zombiephiles (like me).

At the beginning I thought, if Disney could make a family zombie movie, it might start off like this - no disrespect to Disney. The plot started off slowly. But then I realized that the creators wanted the audience to go back in time. The dialogue had a Davey & Goliath kind of feel - like many older movies - with scenes that reminded me of Leave It to Beaver. But as the plot progressed, I soon realized that the main character is no average or simple individual. He was about to transform both in terms of the essence of his character and also his props. The background music also started changing - becoming more 80s, 90s, 00s, eventually pulsating and reverberating - bringing us to the realm of a contemporary psychological thriller. What seemed like a situational Romero-type zombie movie from the late 60s suddenly morphed into - something kind of unexpected.

Collapse is a film about a family on a farm attacked by zombies… traditional, slow walking zombies. Due to the overwhelming love for zombies, I find it's a lot harder to make a good, interesting and original zombie movie. The Walking Dead has made it almost impossible to compete with, but because I love zombies, I appreciate the effort. Collapse is a zombie movie that is typically like every zombie movie you've seen up to this point… Or so I thought. It's about a loving couple trying to survive the apocalypse and not get bitten while doing so. The first half of the movie is a little on the slow side, it reminded me of a made-for-TV type movie, but then the course of the story completely changes into a totally unexpected direction. The twist at the end is pretty sweet and for that I'm giving it a solid 5. The movie overall is a tad on the slow side, but boy that ending is pretty awesome. Probably the closest we'll ever get to an actual zombie apocalypse.

Please like me on Facebook! You can read more of my reviews and get info on the latest movies in horror: http://www.facebook.com/pages/I-Heart-Horror/338327476286206

Sorry it's awful. I have in the past rated films that were just OK highly but this is a tragedy ! The special effects are appalling , the acting is dreadful , the story is really poor. Sorry but that's my opinion . I appreciate someone made this but it's not worthy of a watch. It makes z nation look like a million dollars. I can't believe all the good reviews, for me it was terrible , sorry director and writer but come on ... I could act better than those guys and I've no experience . Sometimes a film needs more work , it needs more effort in the script. And until that's done it shouldn't be made . If I have to say one positive thing It would be that the zombies didn't run , they walked , but they look awful .

Perhaps a 7 out of 10 is a little generous, but I did warm to Collapse. It's certainly a low-budget production, and it shows, but the acting, props and makeup are adequate.

The camera work is very "closed" and close-up, despite the sweeping rural and small-town setting. We get to see very little of the surroundings or countryside in which the story is happening, everything is very focused on the actors themselves. It feels a little claustrophobic at times (but not in a good, "horror" way) and I wanted the camera to just pan out for a little in some of the shots, to set the scene a little better.

One other slight issue was where the main character bludgeons to death a couple of zombies and it's obvious both times that the blows (off- camera) are not connecting with anything. The gore is quite toned down for this zombie movie, and quite a lot of the violence isn't explicitly shown.

As mentioned in other reviews, there is a major plot twist at the end, and I for one loved it, didn't see it coming at all (although I should have done), and this twist alone lifts the film from being a so-so film to a good one. Don't expect too much, forgive its flaws, and there is an enjoyable zombie film here.