Zombiepura

Right, well as I stumbled upon the 2018 Singaporean zombie movie "Zombiepura", of course I had to watch it. No doubt about it, as it was a combination of two of my favorite things; Asian cinema and zombie genre.

Sure, I hadn't heard about "Zombiepura" from writer and director Jacen Tan, prior to sitting donw to watch it. But I figured I would give the movie a fair chance regardless, so of course I opted to watch it.

And while I did manage to get through all 85 minutes of the movie, I have to say that I wasn't particularly entertained, much less impressed with what transpired on the screen. Not only was the script a very bland and generic script, even for a zombie movie. But I will say that the movie actually felt rather redundant and pointless. The script just didn't offer anything that hadn't already been done or seen in other zombie movies, and the whole storyline was just flaccid.

I haven't watched a whole lot of Singaporean movies, so I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in the movie. However, I must admit that I didn't care one ounce about the characters or whatever fate befell them. In fact, I couldn't even give you the name of a single character in the movie just as the end credits started to roll, the whole character gallery was that generic and bland.

Visually then "Zombiepura" was adequate. You're not in for a grand spectacle of special effects or zombie make-up. In fact, it was pretty low-key zombie special effects, well, make-up actually if you look at it. But it worked well enough given the whole concept and feel of the movie.

I do like zombie things, but not everything in the genre is pure gold, and "Zombiepura" was far from being golden.

My rating of "Zombiepura" lands on a generous two out of ten stars. At least director Jacen Tan took an attempt at the zombie genre here.

This oddly titled film begins with an army reservist by the name of "Kayu Tan" (Alaric Tay) having to serve his required military obligation at a remote training site. Being rather selfish and lazy he quickly captures the attention of his superior non-commissioned officer "Sergeant Lee Siao On" (Benjamin Heng) who has his own issues trying to emulate his father "Sergeant Major 'Mad Dog' Lee" (Richard Lee) who just happens to be the senior non-commissioned officer of the regiment. Needless to say, the relationship between these two young men becomes even more strained when a zombie outbreak occurs at the camp and Sergeant Lee is left in charge of the extremely small number of uninfected soldiers--along with an attractive female named "Xiao Ling" (Joypink Lai)--which he is obligated to lead out of harm's way. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was one of those movies that tries too hard to fuse two separate sub-genres (in this case a zombie-comedy with an anti-military farce) in order to generate some humor. The problem is that--other than the presence of Joypink Lai--there isn't anything here that even remotely caught my eye. And even then, she wasn't capable of transforming this film into a successful comedy on her own. In short, this was an exceedingly dull comedy and I have rated it accordingly.

Initially was not going to watch the movie as the title sounds a little... Singapore, zombie and army... but found out one of the actors was Alaric Tay, an acquaintance, so i took some time and went in to catch it. It is more entertaining that I thought it would be. A lot closer to heart about the Singaporean lifestyle compared to CRA (ya a zombie show is more closer in reality than a semi friction romance movie about rich pple in sg), uses a lot of Singlish. Movie tells you what most Singaporeans experience in army but most prob would not tell you much about. Jokes are quite funny but felt that the story didnt have time to develop. Good attempt thou.

It's about time Singapore had its own zombie film!

Train to Busan showed the world what a zombie apocalypse in a country without guns would be like. But each Asian country would react differently with or without weapons. And Singapore's tale begins in the one place in the country with weapons - an army camp.

Zombiepura doesn't take itself seriously and mocks the toxic values within the local military culture (e.g. "act blur, live longer").

The heart stopping action scenes are top-notch with professional stunt work and realistic choreography. Little nods to other famous zombie movies were a treat for keen-eyed fans!

Seven years in the making, this film blends standard humor with one of the most celebrated horror themes. While Zombiepura concerns itself with the right nows instead of the hows and whys, the storytelling makes for an entertaining action comedy.

Overall, Zombiepura is one hell of a fun ride and worth a watch on the big screen. Hopefully, it opens the doors to greater development in local horror films in the little red dot.

I normally do not write review. But this is so bad that I had to write something. I was drawn to this movie because of my love for zombie film, however this is nothing like Rob zombie horror or train to busan, or the recent Japanese zombie film I am a hero.

Instead what I found is the lazy script writing of a typical horror film where the character in the film make not only terrible choices, they also feels irritating. The young female actress is also quite annoying, never seen her before, but she protray a typical Singaporean ah Lian well, and her acting and Tone is not my cup of tea. The acting overall for everyone else is just as bad, the movie starts off giving the audience a crangy feeling all the way to the end.

The way the scenes are being portrayed, feels too. Much that the characters are trying to explain the scene to the audience. Doesn't invest too much for the audience into the character or story building.

I gave it a 2 star for it being a Singapore first attempt at a zombie horror film. I feel bad for rating it so low, but it's really that bad.

If you really want a horror movie that's fun. Try one cut of the dead. It's out recently and very very good. Stay at least 40 min into the movie and you will know why. Or train to busan - Korean best zombie movie. They are making part 2 for that one. I am a hero (Japanese). Dawn of the dead is also awesome.