Awaken the Dead

I saw this the other day and I really liked it.

It's worth a spin.

It's not glitzy just entertaining.

The music is killer and the jokes are pretty spot on. What really got me was that it played like a fairly real situation. I'm not saying it has great FX or super production value but it's solid and a really decent way to spend an evening, especially with a couple of beers. Look, bottom line is entertainment.

I was entertained.

I liked it better than some of the high tech low drama zombie films I've seen on the big screen.

I would have to dis-agree with the comment "Awful sums it up". This movie wasn't all that bad. There were only a few weak points in the story, but overall it was good. It's a zombie movie with a different slant on why there are zombies. The two main characters seemed real to me. Those two actors did a good job. And the lead actress is some sweet eye candy.

Most of the movie was grainy, probably due to low light levels because it was less to none grain for the exterior shots. The makeup was cliché. But then again this is a low budget movie, however it did cost approximately $100k. I would have expected more for $100k. This movie looked like it could have been done with $10k, unless the location at the end of the movie cost $90k. Anyway, I really appreciate low budget movies and I weigh the budget with the final product. So this one is a disappointment in that ratio, yet it was a better movie story-wise and feel-wise than bigger budget "Hollywood" movies.

The movie kept me watching and I liked the ending. The story had a beginning, a middle and an ending. It had some decent actors. It even had a bit of humor added. All the elements of a good movie. Not great, but good.

I wish there were more movies of like this out there.

This is probably one of the best low-budget zombie movies I have seen in quite a long time. Although the special effects were uneven the acting was very good. Essentially, "Father Christopher Gideon" (Gary Kohn) is a troubled priest who is sent to a residence for reasons unknown to him. When he gets there he encounters a woman named "Mary Payne" (Lindsey Morris) who also has a note telling her to be there too. While they are inside the house, a zombie epidemic develops practically on their doorstep. They are joined by several people at different times with the first being a Jehovah's Witness named "Stanley" (Nate Witty). At any rate, rather than divulge any mysteries and spoil the movie for anyone who hasn't see it, I will just say that this film is "different" from any zombie movie I have ever seen. I suppose a person could call it an "alternative zombie movie" because of the plot and background music used. Anyway, I thought Gary Kohn performed in an outstanding manner. Lindsey Morris also performed very well too. However, my favorite performance was by Nate Witty who was simply hilarious. Be that as it may, I thought this picture had suspense, comedy and intrigue which is rare for a film produced with such a low budget. And while it definitely had its faults (like the covert agent standing around observing the carnage) I think people who give it a fair chance might be pleasantly surprised. The director (Jeff Brookshire) has every reason to be proud of his work.

Gary Kohn as a man of the cloth forced to deal with a sudden zombie outbreak is one of the only things I can actually recommend about this film. His acting chops make him seem to be destined for bigger and better things. The rest of the cast is acceptable for a film of this ilk I guess. But save for Kohn, no real standouts. Also there was absolutely no chemistry between the two leads rendering a few scenes meaningless at best and grating at worst. As far as extremely low-budget zombie films go, I've seen worse (hell thanks to the Catacomb box-set, I've seen worst in the last month) But its not anything special.

Good, solid, entertaining indie fare.

When you watch something like this, you have to put it into perspective. Is it a big budget, multi-million dollar film. No. But the cool thing is that it doesn't try to be. My boyfriend bought this because he loves zombie films and gets everything. I really didn't want to see it but then found myself really liking the priest, the girl in the house and the Jehovah's witness. They were like real people and the story was fresh and compelling. I even got quite a few chuckles out of it. It wasn't a bloodfest but rather a story with multiple threads and some nice surprises. The actors were competent but the script was what helped to raise this thing up beyond what I expected.