Blu-ray Review: STEVE NILES' REMAINS (2011)

STEVE NILES' REMAINS
Directed by  Colin Theys
Written by  Steve Niles
Distributed by  Shout! Factory

 For those unfamiliar with Steve Niles, he is one the best comic book writers working today.  He is best known for his 30 DAYS OF NIGHT graphic novel, and his follow-up series, DARK DAYS, both of which have been turned into full length feature films.   Steve Niles is who got me into horror comics, after a buddy of mine gave me a copy of the 30 DAYS OF NIGHT graphic novel.  From then I was hooked on horror comics, and specifically searched for any comics by Steve Niles.   While he was best known for his vampire stories, he also had a couple of great zombie series. My favorite two were WAKE THE DEAD and a series called REMAINS.   I always thought that both of these would make great zombie films.   Apparently others thought so as well, because both of these series have been turned into films.  WAKE THE DEAD has not been released yet, but just released this month on DVD & Blu-ray was STEVE NILES' REMAINS.  Here is the basic plot from the Shout! Factory website:

  Based on the IDW Publishing graphic novel written by Steve Niles (30 Days Of Night), Remains is set in a chilling postapocalyptic Reno, Nevada, and follows the survivors of a bizarre accident that reduced most of the world's population to zombies. The group takes refuge in a vacant casino and fights a losing battle against the undead, who grow steadily stronger, smarter and more aggressive by the minute.

  Zombie films are a dime a dozen these days, but if they are done right, they are always fun to watch.  STEVE NILES' REMAINS is done right.   There is plenty of zombie action throughout the film.  That is one thing that some zombie films fall short on.  You have to have plenty of zombies throughout the film to be good.  I know that sounds like a "no-brainer"  (pun intended), but it seems like in some zombie films you only get a few zombies.  This is mainly in the lower budget films and I know it is to cut down on costs, but you don't have to worry about that with this film.  Not only are there lots of zombies, they are all done extremely well and look very creepy.

  The acting is a little weak in the film, but you can look past that and just enjoy the zombie action.  It's been years since I read the REMAINS comics, but it was neat to see some iconic images in the film that I remembered from the comics.  The image of the diner/waitress zombie comes to mind...along with the survivors moving from building to building  over the streets using a wooden plank put between the two windows of the buildings. 

  If you read the comics, you will certainly enjoy this film.  I suspect you will like it even if you didn't read the comics...in fact, you might even like it more because all these things will be brand new to you.   Either way, check this one out.  

STEVE NILES' REMAINS is available now on DVD & Blu-ray and contains the following Special Features:

*  Audio Commentary
*  Short Film: Remains:  Road to Reno, the prequel
*  Bloopers
*  TV Spots
*  Trailer
*  Comic-Con Teaser


CLICK HERE to watch the trailer
CLICK HERE to purchase the DVD or Blu-ray