Zombie Fight Club

I'm not sure what Shi Cheng means exactly (not that it matters now, after watching it), but I'm sure it doesn't translate into "Zombie Fight Club". I'm not even sure (or wasn't most of the time), why they chose that title. Apart from making this appealing title wise to some viewers (?), I reckon.

But even after understanding somehow, why they chose that title, it's kind of lame. But let's get back to the movie, that has scantily dressed women in it (there's a bit of nudity during a sex scene too, in case you were wondering) and some fighting and shooting in it too. There's a bit of an attempt to make some zombie jokes and other things to that effect, that either kind of work or are annoying. Depending on your taste. The action scenes (stunts) are pretty decent and the actors are pretty ... if that helps

This film essentially begins about 30 minutes prior to a zombie outbreak with three separate groups of people congregating at different levels of a large apartment complex. The first group consists of some kidnappers who are holding a wealthy man hostage pending a ransom. The second involves a rap musician and his followers who are in the process of having an orgy. The third group comprises several law enforcement members who are about to break down the door of a drug lab. The focus then shifts to the second group where a new drug is being introduced which consists of ingredients used to make bath salts. And not only does death quickly follow those who take it, but they are also quickly transformed into raging zombies who subsequently proceed to wreak havoc upon everybody within the apartment complex-to include the other two groups just mentioned. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this film had plenty of action and CGI which might appeal to those interested in these specific qualities. It also featured a number of attractive actresses which included Sharon Hsu (as the "female courier"), Una Lu ("Yi-Yi") and Candy Yuen (as the "female prison leader"). Unfortunately, the CGI was rather second-rate, and the constant action hindered the necessary plot and character development. That being said, while it definitely had some potential, it failed to live up to it and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Below average.

Went to see this movie with friend because nothing else is on. In a nutshell, the director took the apartment from Dredd, general atmosphere of George Romero movies, some Asian pop-stars, tossed in a blender, and filmed whatever detritus that came out. Fasten your seat belt and prepare for a long ride, because the prologue lasted for a whole hour before the titular zombie fight club starts.

There are some T&A in there, but not enough to justify the ticket price, and not the ones you went in hoping to see (Jessica C for me). My feeling is that the director is familiar with elements from various zombie movies, yet completely missed that zombie movies are always about the human; zombies are forces of nature that creates the survivalist environment which brings out the cruel and selfish tendency within us. Instead we get characters that are just as bland and dumb as the zombies they are fighting. Zombie Battle Royale would be more fitting title for this movie.

The movie has no idea whether it wants to be an action film, body horror, or slap stick comedy. Switching between all three at will. It has all the subtlety of a getaway BMW that is somehow emplaced inside an apartment unit on the top floor, smashing through multiple concrete walls until it's sailing through open air, crashing to the ground with nary a dent. And yes, that scene is in the movie.

A zombie outbreak leaves the residents of a tower block fighting for their lives. One year later, and survivors Jenny (Jessica Cambensy) and Andy (Andy On) find themselves at the mercy of a schoolteacher turned tyrant who pits the living against the dead in a gladiatorial arena.

According to the quote on the DVD cover, Zombie Fight Club is The Raid meets Dawn of the Dead. Yeah, and I'm Iko Uwais' personal trainer. The fact is-as if you really need to be told-that this Taiwanese action/horror hybrid is nowhere near as good as either of the aforementioned classics. It's got an uneven structure, unlikable characters that it's hard to give a damn about, unimpressive fight action, and lots and lots of gore, the vast majority of which is CGI.

It's not all bad news though: some of the zombie makeup is fairly impressive, there are quite a few very attractive ladies wearing sexy outfits, and we get one sequence that is so audacious that it cannot fail to entertain: while a crippled old man fights zombies with the help of hydraulic power-legs and a chainsaw, Jenny and Andy drive his BMW-parked conveniently in the middle of the apartment building-at speed down a corridor and through an external wall, falling several storeys, both somehow surviving the impact.

I'm enjoying my Halloween horror marathon and decided to include Zombie Fight Club. At first, I was impressed-the film seemed like a surprisingly decent zombie movie, packed with action, particularly dynamic and visually impressive martial arts, along with familiar elements from solid zombie stories.

But then came the downhill slide. To summarize, this film is one of the most mindless collages of gore, violence, nudity, sexuality, sexual violence, and outright chauvinism I've ever seen. And there's plenty of all of it. It feels like someone's secret bedroom fantasy put on screen. While zombie films often mix in some of these elements, here they dominate the runtime. Much of it doesn't even make sense, and the enjoyment quickly fades.

On top of that, there isn't even a real story-or rather, the story is all over the place. Characters randomly switch between Chinese and English, sometimes even mid-sentence, for no reason. By the end, I could only remember two characters by name, and one of them was zombified early on. There are no likable characters, and for the first hour I didn't even know who was supposed to be the protagonist.

The film also crams in references to other horror movies-not just zombie films-but many feel totally out of place. For example, who thought it was a good idea to throw the power loader from Aliens (1986) into a zombie flick? And more importantly, who has a power loader sitting in their small condo? Well, I guess the question doesn't matter-it only adds to the film's mindless nature.

There was a clear moment when I thought the film had ended, and I was ready for the credits. But no-there was still half an hour left. The story then shifted so drastically that I had to double-check I was watching the same movie. That final stretch was even more saturated with violence, nudity, and sexual violence, and even less concerned with coherent storytelling. By then, I just felt bad and disgusted.

It's sad, because I love zombie slashers and this one could have had potential. Instead, it squandered it. I don't recommend Zombie Fight Club. It's simply not worth your time.