Collapse

This movie gets off to a good start with typical zombie fare done pretty well. It slows down a lot toward the middle of the movie (I skipped a good 10 minutes and missed nothing), but the ending made it all worthwhile. The ending was a specially well shot, and a fresh idea in this genre. For me it bumped the movie from a three out of 10 to a six out of 10, which is to say I think it is worth a look for those of you who love zombie movies but have watched every one that has ever been made me like I have. I also watched this for the lead actor who I met at a horror convention. He is in a lot of low-budget movies and was just generally nice guy so it's fun to see him take the lead: so there's my bias if you wanted to know!

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.

"Collapse" wasn't as bad as I had initially expected it to be.

For a zombie movie, "Collapse" was a bit out of the ordinary. Sure, you had the unexplained phenomena of people returning as zombies hungry for human flesh, as in most other zombie movies, but it was also a story of one man's spiraling journey into madness.

The zombies in the movie were not too badly made. The make-up was adequate. Though one thing did puzzle me, why did every single zombie have to be wearing torn pants? Is shredded pants a requirement for being a zombie? The zombie eyes could have been made better, have them wear contact lenses. When you see a zombie with ordinary eyes and even see them blinking, the whole undead menace thing falls shattering to the ground.

And there was one scene where Morgan was shooting zombies in an office, and one zombie was shot in the head. The zombie adjacent to the shot zombie flinched and squinted her eyes as you would do when something is approaching your face. That kind of error is just fatal in a zombie movie, as it was painstakingly obvious that these were not reanimated corpses.

The story did take a twist for the unexpected in the movie. I hadn't seen that coming at all, so it was a nice twist. Now, whether or not you approve of how the story took a turn with that twist is individual, for me it was a turn for a downward hill. I didn't like that direction of the movie. It was a great plot twist, sure, but I personally think it was just not plausible. I am not going to ruin the story for anyone, as I think you should see the plot twist for yourself and make up your own impression of how the story took a twist of events.

Being a zombie aficionado, I can not cross "Collapse" off the list. It didn't leave a lasting impression really, as it was neither good nor bad.

Poor special effects, actors smiling when they're supposed to be sick, dead, or getting killed. Very predictable. A lot of backstory for no clear reason. It's not something I would watch if I wanted a truly scary movie. Just Another churned out zombie movie where characters are unfamiliar with the concept of zombies. Only about 25min in and had to laugh at myself for a jumpscare I saw coming well before it happened. Smh And what appears to be grandparents are actually the parents raising a teen.

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).