Zombie Massacre 2: Reich of the Dead

What a waste of time. Really not worth viewing. Bad acting should have warned me. When I saw "dead" Charlie blinking in the background, I should have known this wasn't worth My time. I kept hoping for improvement but this is One of the worst movies I have ever seen.

WWII battle worn soldiers come across a Nazi complex where experiments are taking place to resurrect dead prisoners.

Zombie Massacre 2: Reich of the Dead (2015) is dark, gloomy, more serious than their 2011 entertaining ride Eaters and more sombre and grounded than Zombie Massacre a.k.a Apocalypse Z.

Again filmmaker talents Luca Boni and Marco Ristori deliver a grim competently constructed bleak zombie horror that is stylishly shot with some good blood and gore effects presented on a saturated colour palette. The practical effects come better off that some of the CGI explosions and splatter. The sets and location look outstanding for the budget.

With actors Andrew Harwood Mills, Dan van Husen and Lucy Drive who is stunning as Erin the rest of the cast are on form and give performances as their picked off one by one that far surpass those in the first outing.

Zombie Massacre 2 is slower and more dramatic than Boni and Ristori's previous work, and while the story isn't the most original there's plenty of gore, creepy visuals, dead soldiers, vertical white stripes zombies, creepy faces and the like.

Boni and Ristori are becoming somewhat cult directors and need a breakout mainstream film but for the moment we have to wait a little longer, nevertheless, it's still agreeable zombie fodder.

Actually not really. But it sounded good. Like the title sort of. But then again, we've been there, seen that. Something that cannot be said about the characters in this, who are oblivious to what is going to happen. To distinguish itself, the movie tries to go meta or even philosophical if you will at times. There's a muddled time-line or at least a "flash", which seems unnecessary, complicating things further, getting in the way of any fun this could've been.

Still better than the first one, this hasn't really put anything in its favor acting wise. Effects are decent for a low budget movie or if you're willing to lower your own expectations. But the story will not keep you at the edge of your seat, the ending will rather confuse (until part 3 will be released? If it's going to be released that is) than enlighten you ...

Yes, I am a sucker for all things zombie, and more than often that fascination leads me to watch some very questionable movies. Questionable even though the DVD cover makes the movie seem a lot more interesting than it actually turned out to be. And "Zombie Massacre 2: Reich of the Dead" was no exception.

This movie was a drag to get through, especially because it was unfathomably slow paced. You are more than 30 minutes into the movie before the first zombie rears its ugly head. Ugly head indeed. Especially because all zombies were outfitted with what could best be described as latex masks bought at a local Halloween vendor. But hey, points for trying at least. And hand on heart, then a fake latex mask still is better than just some poor gray make-up on the face.

But the movie is slow paced and very little of any interest happens throughout the entire movie, and there is not even enough action throughout the movie to make up for the lack of speed and progress. And a storyline so simple that even an actual dead person can keep up with it is insulting to the audience. There are no surprises, no twists, no turns, no nothing here to be had. I suffered through the movie so you don't have to.

The story is about a small group of American soldiers trapped behind enemy lines in Nazi Germany during World War II. Trapped and pinned down by enemy fire, they seek shelter in an abandoned Nazi compound. But some foul and sinister secret broods in the musky old Building.

Right. Well, the storyline was straight forward, I will say that much. But way too simple to be entertaining. And the make-up and special effects were just downright bad. Not bad enough to actually be funny and entertaining because they are bad. Just plain bad.

The acting in "Zombie Massacre 2: Reich of the Dead" was adequate for a movie such as this. I have seen much worse acting in low budget zombie movies because, so at least the movie had that working in its favor.

And the atmosphere of the movie was also working well in favor of the movie, because there was a good sense of the movie actually taking place during World War II. And it is always a plus in my book when Germans actually do speak German in war movies. So a rotten thumb up for that as well. Oh, and also the props and costume department should get some credit, because they added some authenticity to the movie as well with what they managed to put together.

However, the overall movie was just a stinker. Pardon the pun. If you enjoy zombie movies, then "Zombie Massacre 2: Reich of the Dead" is not a good choice for a night's worth of entertainment, as there are far better movies available.

Another zero-budget zombie film, from the Italian team who made the poor EATERS. The good news is that Reich of the Dead is a lot better than that film, although still not particularly good; the problem is that the story plays things out very predictably on a tight budget, so there's no room for anything memorable or original. FRANKENSTEIN'S ARMY this isn't!

Instead, what we get are a couple of characters wandering around some gloomy locations and occasionally encountering some zombies that shuffle around. The zombie threat is zero as is the horror content, although this is definite a bad taste vibe going on in the way the zombies are all dressed in concentration camp uniforms - they were former prisoners experimented upon by a mad surgeon.

The one thing Reich of the Dead has going for it is some surprisingly decent direction; no shaky-cam work here, just solid cinematography which makes the most of the dreary and drab setting. It's probably the best direction I've seen in a low budget zombie flick, so it's a shame it was wasted on such a non-starter of a story. Too much of the slender running time is padded out with boring conversations on the nature of war and B-movie veteran Dan van Husen barely gets a look in.