Blu-ray review: THE DEAD 2

THE DEAD 2
Written & Directed by:  Howard J. Ford and Jonathan Ford
Distributed by Anchor Bay Entertainment

  Three years ago I wrote a review of the Ford Brothers zombie film, THE DEAD.  You can read that review here.  THE DEAD was one of the best zombie films I have ever seen.  I loved every second of that film.   I was very excited to hear that they were making a sequel.   As you know, most sequels are never as good as the original film, but I am happy to report that THE DEAD 2 is just as good as the first.   In fact, it is almost a carbon copy of the first film, with different characters in a different location, but as good as the first film was, I was fine with "more of the same". 
Here is the basic plot of the film from the film's official press release:

A ship docks fresh from Somalia which contains one infected worker that passes unnoticed into the very heart of India’s overpopulated bustling streets, setting off an unstoppable chain of events. Meanwhile, American turbine engineer Nicholas Burton (Joseph Millson, Casino Royale) is working in the stark yet tranquil Indian countryside when he receives a call from his love Ishani (Meenu), a local girl who lives on the outskirts of the slums of Mumbai and who has hidden their relationship from her tradition-minded father. She reveals she is now pregnant and scared for her life as chaos and terror have taken ahold of the cities as the dead return to life and attack the living.  Nicholas has to battle his way across their 300 mile landscape filled with flesh-eating – and infectious – undead.  With the help of young street kid Javed (Anand Goyal), he has to rely on his wits and sheer brute force to try and save them all, as the clock ticks off the minutes before the last flight out of a living hell...

 

  I have read some reviews of this film with complaints that this film was too similar to the first.  As I stated before that is true, but my answer to that is that I didn't want the first movie to end. It was just that good.  So for me, I had no problem with this sequel being like the first film.  I think that is why so many sequels don't work, because the filmmakers try to be drastically different in their approach to the second film.   Sticking with what worked the first time seems to work, an example that comes to mind is EVIL DEAD 2.   That was a film that was better than the original, but was basically a remake of the first film. 

 

  If you saw THE DEAD, then you know exactly what to expect from THE DEAD 2.   It is more of the best zombie mayhem you will see in most zombie movies these days.    The story is simple, yet interesting enough to keep you entertained the entire running time.  The cinematography of this film is amazing as well.  Just like the first film which took place in Africa, the scenery in this film now set in India was breathtaking at times.   Great camera angles and camerawork are a nice addition to what is already a great film.

 

  THE DEAD 2 is available now on DVD and Blu-ray.  I highly recommend you check this one out!  Special Features include:

 

*  Deleted Scenes

*  The Making of THE DEAD 2

 

 

CLICK HERE to watch the trailer

CLICK HERE to purchase the DVD

CLICK HERE to purchase the Blu-ray

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE DEAD 2: INDIA to premiere as the opening film at Film 4 FrightFest in London!

 If you are a fan of zombie movies and have not yet seen 2010's THE DEAD, you are missing out on one of the greatest zombie films ever made.  I kid you not.  I loved that film and it was on par with the early zombie films of George Romero. The film was written & directed by the Ford Brothers, Howard J. Ford & Jonathan Ford and takes place during a zombie outbreak in Africa.  I did a review of this film last year, you can see that review by clicking here.

 Well, the Ford Brothers are back with their follow up film, THE DEAD 2:  INDIA.  Seems as though Africa isn't the only area effected by the zombie outbreak!  I did a post a few months ago about this new film and posted the trailer.  You can see that post by clicking here.

  I just got news that THE DEAD 2:  INDIA will be premiering as the opening film at Film 4 FrightFest in London on August 22!   To help promote the film, there is a national contest going on where you can win tickets to the premiere in London or lots of other prizes!  Here is a description of the contest I just received by email:


  As part of our promotional campaign in advance of the film’s release, we’ll be giving away two tickets to the FrightFest premiere.

  The winner will also get to attend the premiere's after-party; where they'll be introduced to The Dead 2's directors, Howard and John Ford, as well as the film's star Joseph Millson. To enter the contest, fans simply need to tell us what they would do in order to #StayAliveFacebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, Vine, etc), using #StayAlive.

A  longside the grand prize, we're also offering ongoing smaller prizes, including signed copies of The Dead 2 director Howard Ford’s book Surviving the Dead. Howard’s book is a harrowing and at times hilarious blow-by-blow account of the trials and tribulations involved in the production of the Ford Brothers previous feature,The Dead, which was filmed in Africa.

 

  We will also be offering select, one-of-a-kind props from The Dead and The Dead 2 as prizes. These actual props were used on-set in Africa and India and can be seen in both films. Beyond being just mere memorabilia, these props are genuine artifacts of zombie film history and will be coveted by fans of the zombie film genre.

 

 

So there ya go!  Sounds simple enough and a cool way to win some awesome prizes!!   Check out the trailer for THE DEAD 2:  INDIA then get yourself entered to win some awesome prizes! 

 

 

CLICK HERE to watch the trailer for THE DEAD 2:  INDIA

 

The Ford Brothers return with.....THE DEAD 2: INDIA !

  If you are a fan of zombie movies (and if you aren't, you are probably reading the wrong blog), then you will certainly be excited about the fact that the Ford Brothers are returning with a sequel to their 2010 zombie film, THE DEAD.   I did a review of THE DEAD back in 2011, and you can read my review here.  I thought THE DEAD was one of the greatest zombie films to come out in years, on par with the early Romero zombie films.  I was super excited when I heard that the sequel, THE DEAD 2:  INDIA was being made and is now in post-production.  Here is the basic plot of THE DEAD 2: INDIA  from the great write-up about the film on the Bloody Disgusting website: 

“The Dead 2: India follows the story of American engineer Nicholas Burton (Joseph Millson) in a race against time to reach his pregnant girlfriend Ishani Sharma (Meenu). Burton enlists the help of an orphan street kid Javed (Anand Goyal) and together they make a perilous 300 mile journey across deadly landscapes as a zombie apocalypse threatens to engulf the entire nation.”

This looks like another great zombie film from the Ford Brothers!  I have not seen any sort of release date, but I will keep you posted once I hear one.


CLICK HERE to watch the trailer
CLICK HERE to visit the film's official website
CLICK HERE to visit the film's official facebook page

Blu-ray Review: THE DEAD (2010)

  
THE DEAD
Written and Directed by: The Ford Brothers
(Howard J. Ford, Jonathan Ford)
Distributed by:  Anchor Bay Entertainment

Last October, I reviewed a zombie film called, THE DEAD  (see review here),   At that time the film was in a limited theatrical run, but now the film is finally out on DVD an Blu-ray thanks to the fine folks at Anchor Bay Entertainment.  For those not familiar with THE DEAD, here is the basic plot from the film's official website:
 
An American mercenary, the sole survivor of a plane crash, has to run the gauntlet across Africa, battling with the living dead. Joining forces with a local military man, desperately searching for his son amongst the chaos, they fight together to survive, in the first Zombie Road-Movie set against the stunning backdrop of Africa.
 
At the time of my original review, I stated that this was "the perfect zombie film".   After seeing the film on Blu-ray, I stand by that statement and have now put this film in the ranks of the early Romero zombie films.   I can't say enough about this film.  If you have not seen this film, do yourself a favor and do so.   I won't say too much more about it, since you can just read my original review, but if you are going to see just one zombie movie this year, make it this one.   Even with a second viewing of the film,  it still got to me and drew me in.  The zombies are ultra realistic looking and there are lots of them all throughout the film.  

Special features include:

* Filmmaker's Commentary With Howard J. Ford And Jon Ford
* Unearthing THE DEAD:  Behind The Scenes
* Deleted Scenes

THE DEAD was released this week to DVD & Blu-ray so it is available now.  This is one you will want to add to your collection for sure.
 
CLICK HERE to visit the film's official website
CLICK HERE to watch the trailer
CLICK HERE to purchase the DVD
CLICK HERE to purchase the Blu-ray

DVD Review: THE DEAD (2010)

 
THE DEAD
Written and Directed by:  The Ford Brothers
(Howard J. Ford, Jonathan Ford)

I recently had the privilege of watching the film, THE DEAD.   I could easily make this my shortest review ever.  I could just make this a 4 word review and be done.  It would look like this:



THE PERFECT ZOMBIE FILM



There, that's it.  That is all that needs to be said. But, the film deserves a little more "air time" than that, so I will go into a little more detail, although I dont' really think it is needed.   THE DEAD is a UK production shot primarily in Africa and features some of the greatest looking zombies I have ever seen.  Howard and Jonathan Ford have matched their zombie skills with those of Romero and Fulci, and they might have even surpassed them.  I know that is a bold statement, but I don't need to defend it.  The film will do that for me.    Before I go any further, there is the basic plot of THE DEAD from the film's official website:

An American mercenary, the sole survivor of a plane crash, has to run the gauntlet across Africa, battling with the living dead. Joining forces with a local military man, desperately searching for his son amongst the chaos, they fight together to survive, in the first Zombie Road-Movie set against the stunning backdrop of Africa.

This is a beautiful film in many ways.  The music is superb and the cinematography is outstanding.  The acting is excellent as well and the story is simple and super easy to follow.   I love the fact that we mainly just have 2 main characters throughout the film.   The rest are the undead.   Some zombie films get to involved with a deep plot and multiple characters and sometimes the zombies become a backdrop for the more human drama element that is on the surface.  Not this film.  This film is about the zombies.  Now, don't get me wrong, there is some human drama in the film (including a tear jerking scene with a newly bit mother giving up her baby as more zombies are approaching) but the majority of the film is comprised of our two main survivors traveling across the country fighting off zombies.   This leads to some of the greatest zombie kills I have seen on film in a  long time.

As I stated before, the zombies in this film look amazing.  The zombie plague has happened quite quickly so these are all mostly newly turned zombies, none of the up from the grave half rotted types from some zombie films.  In fact, these zombies reminded me more of the voodoo zombies from early films like WHITE ZOMBIE and others from that decade.    There are some zombies with missing limbs and such, and I guarantee they used actual African citizens that were missing limbs....although, with as good as some of the other make up and effects were in this film, who knows! 

I really don't remember the last time I enjoyed watching a zombie flick this much.   I have watched all of the last few Romero "of the dead" films, and even he can't match now what he did back in the 60's, 70's, and 80's with his classic zombie films like NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD and DAY and DAWN OF THE  DEAD.   The Ford Brothers have easily matched, if not surpassed these great films with their film simply titled, THE DEAD.  

THE DEAD is in a  limited theatrical release now, but keep your eye out for this film when it lands on DVD soon.....this is a must have, must see, for any fan of horror, and if you are a zombie fan in particular, get ready to be blown away.   I just can't say enough good things about this film.  This is now one of my new favorite zombie films of all time.  Check it out for sure!


CLICK HERE to visit the film's official website
CLICK HERE to watch the trailer