Devil's Playground

"Devil's Playground" is basically a complete rip-off of Danny Boyle's 2002 horror masterpiece "28 Days Later". Same basic concept; fast-moving infected (not actually zombies as such)on the loose in modern day London and a group of individuals trying to escape the horror, fighting amongst themselves on the way. The one thing it doesn't borrow from it's source material is any level of intelligence. The characters are melodramatic clichés and way too good-looking and well-groomed to be in any way realistic; even though it's a low-budget British film it unfortunately follows the crap Hollywood template of shallow, unbelievable, glamorous leads stuck in an increasingly over-the-top set of action-based scenarios. Still, if you just want to watch something empty-headed and fun then it's not all bad. The stunt sequences are well done and the movie is nicely shot, with some fantastic views of London on display. Don't take it too seriously and you'll have a good time.

It's interesting how influential Danny Boyle's 28 DAYS LATER was . It wasn't apparent at the time but from that point onwards each and every zombie film must feature zombies , sorry "infected" who can outrun Usain Bolt while having the endurance of a marathon runner . It's also noticeable how many zombie films there are with a massive number of short films and films on The Horror Channel featuring zombie apocalypse . Perhaps most notciable of all is how poor most of them are . and with hindsight Boyle's film was much better than I thought it was on first viewing . This inspiration called DEVIL'S PLAYGROUND is better than most of its peers but that's probably down to a simple reason it's a conscious rip off from Boyle's original

In its favour and considering its cast it'd be a very easy route to take and treat as a Lads Mags horror comedy with lots of nudge nudge wink wink humour testing the patience of its prospective audience . One thing I did like was the dead pan serious tone and while it's hardly big budgeted it does its utmost best to paint a convincing infected outbreak that took place unseen in 28 DAYS LATER . One of the rejected plots for 28 WEEKS LATER was having a SAS platoon rescuing the Prime Minister from the infected outbreak and once you're aware of this rejected screenplay you're able to see how this scenario would have played out on screen . Replace the PM with someone who has a possible immunity to the infection and replace the SAS platoon a more diverse group and you're left thinking that Boyle and Garland got it riht with the version of 28 WEEKS LATER that did make it to the cinemas . Not to be too hard DEBVIL'S PLAYGROUND it's much more enjoyable than I expected it to be and has been one of the better films The Horror Channel has shown recently

Despite the fast paced action scenes I managed to be bored bored BORED(!) after 40 minutes. The story is so straight lined and clichéd that you can't even be bothered to hope for any twists, and the only character who's slightly believable and sympathetic is Craig Fairbrass (Cole).

Don't get me wrong. I'm a huge zombie(/virus) fan, and I am aware that you don't necessarily need an amazing script nor 100% believable characters to make an entertaining zombie movie. But if you have neither and you don't have a single new interesting idea – well maybe you should just donate the money for charity instead of wasting it on another dull movie. People seem to compare this with 28 days/weeks later which apart from all of them being British and (relatively) low budget is blasphemy in my ears. In my opinion; if you like 28 days/weeks later – go watch them again instead of wasting your time on this one.

The plot: After a new, experimental drug causes people to turn into acrobatic zombies, a brooding bruiser searches for the one person who can provide a cure.

Devil's Playground is a derivative and generic zombie movie, but I still enjoyed it. It's basically a ridiculous excuse to show lots of gore SFX and stunt work, the dialogue and acting are often cheesy, and it's undeniably a ripoff of modern "fast zombie" movies (especially 28 Days Later), but if you're in the mood for a B movie, this will satisfy you. If you're expecting it to be original (or even fast-paced), you're sure to be disappointed. It seems assembled from scenes of other zombie movies, but the scenes are competently directed, even if the dialogue and acting are occasionally a bit cheesy. It doesn't really have anything insightful or original to say, but it does manage to throw in lots of impressive stunts. If you're looking for a movie about flesh-eating acrobats, I think you'd have a difficult time finding a better one than this.

It's difficult to recommend this movie, but undemanding genre fans may enjoy it, despite the flaws. It's worth a view if you don't need anything better than a moody atmosphere, some B movie actors, and a simple plot. It's no classic, but it's a cut above the typical direct-to-video zombie movies that I've been watching lately.

A very low budget action/horror Brit flick featuring freerunning mutant zombie flesh eaters. Craig (Cliffhanger) Fairbrass and Danny (just about every recent cheapo-diamond-geezer pseudo-Arthur Mullard C-Grade megatrash straight-to-video Brit movie in recent years) Dyer take the leads.

The script and dialogue are pretty darned atrocious and the acting is sub-primary school nativity play standard. But, the pace is frenetic, the action violent and unrelenting, and it is a bit of mildly diverting fun. Plus, considering the budget must have stood at around £7.80 and a bag of chps, the convincing representation of London in the midst of a zombie apocalypse is fairly well rendered and quite suitably atmospheric.

There's plenty of punching, strangling, bludgeoning and shooting of the freerunning mutant zombie flesh eaters, and the very fact that the makers thought a Resident Evil type of virus McGuffin with the side-effect of gracing the stricken with parkour skills was a workable creative advance on the "28 Days Later" formula, makes it quite hilarious to watch at times.

Worth a look if you've nothing better to do. A cheerfully trashy time-waster.