Cidade dos Mortos

I've watched so many modern day zombie films that have the same plot as Night of the Living Dead that I've produced a template we all can use.

Delete as necessary: A (meteor/satellite/witchdoctor/evil book/bad sandwich/particularly powerful fart) raises the dead, resulting in some (marines/drug dealers/teachers/dancers/elephants/British 70s TV entertainers) to barricade themselves in a (warehouse/farmhouse/underground bunker/hotel/shopping mall/portable toilet/suitcase) which results in much arguing. They are safe until one of them (gets bitten/tries to break out/tries to retrieve a dog/farts and the rest have to escape/tries to give a zombie a wedgie) until the cast is whittled down until (they all get killed/one escapes/they find the world overrun/start a break dancing contest with the zombies). Also features a cameo by (Bruce Campbell/Jeffrey Coombs/Reggie Bannister/Keith Chegwin/Peter Sutcliffe).

Also, it looks like the director of photography's watched Blade Runner and Battlefield Eart too often, judging by the lighting and camera angles. The acting's fairly dodgy and more people are killed by humans than zombies. This is a run of the mill zombie film and if you go in expecting that, you might like it. Or not. It is what it is.

So, initially I got this one thinking it might've been a 2rd entry to the 13 franchise. Of course, with the 2rd Hood of the Dead film now due for release in 2025, I learned that this wasn't an official sequel, but the title sort of gave that away as it didn't look like it was apart of the 13 franchise anyway.

In Los Angeles, a meteor bringing some sort of disease falls on a group of street gangs & turn them into flesh eater zombies. Meanwhile, black gangs are dealing drugs with an intermediary in an old house without knowing that there is a stake out of the LAPD of the whole operation. But just as the Police make a move, so do the zombies & from there it is all out carnage.

Hood of the Dead coming soon on 2025.

Hi there. This is going to be one of my shortest reviews ever. Normally, I like to go into the plot, acting, direction of even the worst movies. However in this ones case I'll make an exception. You see, this film while being known as Last Rites in the USA is called 48 Weeks Later in the UK. There are lots of great quotes on the packaging like "DAWN OF THE DEAD EAT YOUR HEART OUT" and "THE BUMS ARE EATING THE COPS" (??) but these have little or nothing to do with what is contained within. Yes folks, if you buy this trash then you have been well and truly stitched up, as the only way it resembles Danny Boyle's original and its sequel is the final two words of the title. That's it. Thankfully I only borrowed it from a friend, I didn't make the mistake of wasting money on this rip-off.

There are hardly any zombies, no decent head explosions and most definitely no flesh eating viruses. No, what this you see is a modern blaxploitation film, and a pretty rubbish one at that. So, if you want to spend 90 minutes watching black actors running around a badly lit warehouse, shooting blanks at each other while talking like illegitimate sons of Shaft, be my guest. You'll also be giving the film company licence to mislabel any product in the future in the hope that they'll make an easy buck out of gullible saps like you. What next... Predator as a romantic comedy? Titanic as a ship navigational guide? Gigli as an Oscar winning masterpiece? Remember, it may be your money you're wasting, but it could have devastating implications for all of us. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

In the meantime, this waste of a perfectly good disc gets a 1/10 and a one way ticket to ebay. Starting bid: 1p. Hope my mate can find a gullible sap to take it off his hands. Oh, aren't I a hypocrite...

From the opening scene its clear that LAST RITES (a.k.a GANGS OF THE DEAD) is a really low budget film but it has its upsides, the acting is decent the storyline is competently done and the direction is better than average for a film of this standard.

The downside is this film is nothing groundbreaking and obviously won't sell a record breaking number of DVD's and because many people prefer bigger budget films, this one here might put people off, it doesn't have major production values and the sound is sometimes very poor, but despite all that the film is overall competently executed.

If you're a zombie fan give it shot, I recommend though that you set your expectations low, like I said its a competent film but the films low budget certainly shows.

The plot: Different groups of inner city L.A. stereotypes collide in a warehouse during a zombie attack.

The film is very low budget, and the filmmakers were not particularly resourceful, creative, disturbing, or weird. Instead, they fall back to clichés, stereotypes, and hack writing, then insert hints of social criticism. I'm not really impressed. As a horror fan, I have a certain degree of tolerance for bad acting, bad effects, and poor writing. Low budgets really don't bother me. However, this film has very little to recommend it, besides the fact that Reggie Bannister has a cameo. If you've seen Night of the Living Dead, Street Trash, Assault on Precinct 13, or Reservoir Dogs, I think you'll be pretty bored by this retread. There's no reason why low budget B films can't be trailblazers despite their limitations. However, this film slavishly follows all the rules, endlessly homages/rips off its influences, and has no surprises for veteran horror fans. Its like a Troma film, but without all the over-the-top aspects that make those awful films enjoyable.

It's not a total waste, though. Some of the gore, special effects, and stunts are passable. It's got a rare starring role for Noel G., but he unsurprisingly plays yet another obnoxious Latino gangster. There's some clichéd social criticism, but they really missed out on an opportunity to make some intelligent and insightful statements on racism, police brutality, intolerance, and violence. Instead, it settles on the same clichéd elements as every other direct-to-video zombie film, where stereotypes bicker and shout at each other for 90 minutes while occasionally being eaten by zombies.

Watchable for zombie fans -- but not recommended. Instead, try a French horror film called La Horde, which rose above its stereotypes and clichés to be a gory, fun, and memorable B movie with some interesting things to say about racism and police brutality... amid zombie carnage.