Code Red

CODE RED is a cheap, dark, zombie war movie shot in Bulgaria although financed in the US. It lacks a proper cast and any proper name actors, but it features a wealth of low rent military action if that's your cup of tea; there's hell of a lot of shaky cam work here, sitting alongside mild gore scenes, shoot-outs, executions and more besides.

The plotting isn't very complex and half of it is delivered in amateurish exposition scenes of guys sitting around smoking cigars in offices - that kind of thing. To put it simply, a biological weapon has the power to turn people into zombies, and now a squad of soldiers must escape a war zone filled with a very different kind of enemy. CODE RED is all very low rent and lacking even the most basic characterisation, but a fast pace means I suppose it passes the time quickly if you're in the mood for trash.

I have watched at least 300 films to date, and I don't often give ratings less than a 5/10. Even if a film is not to my liking, I can still judge all the aspects of the film (acting, music, cinematography etc) and come to a reasonable verdict. 'Code Red' is the lowest rating I have given a film to date, it is that bad.

It is especially crazy that I gave such a low rating as I really enjoy the zombie genre (The Walking Dead, Shaun of the Dead, and The Last of Us come to mind) and science fiction in general.

'Code Red' is woefully bad. Essentially every aspect of the film is poor. Acting, camera work, pacing, and what on earth was that ending!?! Many films fall into the category of: 'so bad that it is good', but 'Code Red' is just plain awful. Do yourself a favour and watch another zombie flick. 2/10.

This film, with an estimated budget of $3 million definitely punches above it's weight. The set up doesn't really matter all that much, but the use of Bulgaria is superb. There's a gas developed during WW2 that causes the dead to rise. After the war all evidence is destroyed and nothing is heard of this terror weapon until a man dies in a Bulgarian army base. This provides the excuse to get an American to Bulgaria where the action takes place.

First, those exposed to the gas turn into zombies, and then anyone attacked by the zombies turn into zombies, and you get the idea. There are lots and lots and lots of deaths as the population of the nearby town are all infected. Although not particularly gory, there's lots of blood, head shots, people ripped in two and other suitably gruesome deaths. However, the use of a very faded colour palette keeps the action viewable without the distraction of piles of red everywhere.

The opening sequence, set in Stalingrad during WW2 is very well done, apart from some very shaky camera work, and the rest of the film is at it's best during action sequences. There's a huge 8-wheel military vehicle that's used extremely well throughout the film, both as a menace to the protagonists and later as means of escape.

As you'd expect, not many make it out alive, and most of the villains get it in the neck, and the body count increases relentlessly, but the film is not without its flaws. The dialogue and acting are terrible, and the setup would have been improved with more scene setting - the action takes place on an island with a military base, but it's not made clear how isolated the island is, or how big it is, or if there is another way off the island apart from the bridge that's mentioned throughout the film.

However, the action scenes, and much of the tension generated in the film makes up for the lack of decent actors, who are just place markers for zombie attacks. It's a zombie film, so you're not expecting an intricate plot, great acting or cinematic artistry and you don't get any of these. But if you want some brainless zombie killing with at least one survivor at the end of the film, give this a watch. You won't be disappointed.

I'm not gonna say that this one is a low budget movie done right, nor am I gonna praise it and recommend it to everybody, but I will say that I was relatively impressed. Why? It doesn't look cheap, doesn't act like that either, the make-up is acceptable, the story works, not too thin, not too complex, and the acting, except the main character, is OK.

Not much to say about "Code Red", a simple, and maybe, effective zombie movie, does not act like a tryhard, and most definitely not like a gore fest. It is an OK movie, one of the few that actually managed to make a positive impression, so, will I recommend it? Well it's not as bad as "Zombex" but not quite as good as "Outpost: Rise of the Spetsnaz", somewhere in between, therefore, you have a reference point, so you'll know what you'll be up against.

Overall, "Code Red" shows that an effort was put into it, and that somebody wanted to make something, a zombie movie, with a small budget, that won't be a laughing stock as so many are. I say it succeed!

OK so first lets get the bad things out of the way...some rather dubious and clichéd dialogue,some rather clichéd and dubious actions by the 'good guy' towards the end of the film and a rather odd feeling that something is missing....IMDb lists the run time as 118 minutes but the UK DVD runs for 90 minutes??? and at points in the film it feels like some stuff has been cut away.now the good news.decent acting,plot although not original,good production value and fx and some pretty cool zombies.lots of old school fx work and blood squibs.think planet terror meets doomsday meets lenzi nightmare city.well worth a watch for zombie fans.real world it's 2/10 but in the horror direct to video world it's a solid 7/10.