DVD Review: ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE (2010)

Tonight's review is of Eagle One Media's release of ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE. It was directed by Ryan Thompson.

I read somewhere online that this film was shot with a $5,000 budget. If that’s true, the production team did an outstanding job with the little funds they had to work with. This movie is one of those low-budget joys that comes along only once in a great while.

The plot is complex but not difficult to follow:

It starts with two agents of an undisclosed company, Miller and Net. Miller is handcuffed, an obvious prisoner of the other man. Net releases a couple of zombies, the results of an experiment gone wrong at the company, in an attempt to kill Miller by violent means. But after Net departs, Miller kills the zombies and escapes…unfortunately, releasing a single zombie “survivor” into the populace.

Time passes. Strange attacks are reported all over the city. Bizarre deaths and incidents plague the news. But most of this happens without anyone realizing the true threat.

We then meet two underachieving college students, Mark and Tom, who are heading to a local tavern for a beer. The two have only been at the tavern a short while when Miller arrives, forewarning of an impending zombie attack. The bar patrons are skeptical, but when the first of them dies at the hands of the living dead, a fight for survival quickly ensues. Miller, Mark, Tom, and a Goth named Bethany escape and make their way to a safe-house in the woods.

Unfortunately, the zombie menace is growing and spreading out in their direction. The group receives a distress call on a short-wave radio from a nearby location. Mark and Tom leave to answer the call. Upon their arrival, they discover the call was a fake, sent out by a militia group that is fighting the undead. The militia takes them prisoner.

Miller, meanwhile, senses something is wrong, so he and Bethany leave the safe-house and search for the two missing college students. They, too, encounter the militia group, but are able to persuade them to join forces in the fight against the zombies.

It’s a good thing, too, because a massive zombie force arrives and besieges the militia’s compound. Surprisingly, Net arrives as well (the result of a sub-plot I’m not going to mention) and he sparks an epic battle with Miller.
As stated, the plot is a little complex, but not so much that it’s hard to follow. Overall, this is one of the better low-budget films I’ve seen. The acting is good, the camerawork is right on, and the general look of the movie is great.

I have only two complaints about the film. First, there was one shot during the great final battle scene between Miller and Net where the camera focuses on a bird on a pipe above them for a few seconds. To me, that’s a needless shot and one that temporarily distracted me. But the movie quickly resumes pace and all is well.

Secondly, the cinematography was excellent…that is, except for the steadi-cam shots. The camera was way too shaky and jumped out of focus a couple of times. This is not necessarily a movie-killer, but it sure took me out of my fiction-immersion.

Fans of zombie flicks (like moi’) should definitely give Zombie Apocalypse a look, though. This film is a great example of what can happen when true fans of a genre set out make their mark inside of it. The DVD also contains a prequel comic book, which adds to the storyline.

CLICK HERE to visit the ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE website and watch the trailer

CLICK HERE to buy a copy of ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE on dvd

CLICK HERE to visit the official website of Eagle One Media