Undead

By: debbie lynn elias

As many of you may know, I love horror films. (Could be because most of them remind me of my brother Ed.) So I made a special point to catch “Undead”, latest foray into the world of zombies courtesy of the brothers, Michael and Peter Spierig. Whether meant to be serious or a comedic parody is up for debate, but one thing is for sure – this is one fun film guaranteed to hold its own with some of those other all times classics such as “Night of the Living Dead” and “Dawn of the Dead”.

The cast of characters is as interesting as the premise of the film itself. We’ve got former beauty queen Rene, nervous-Nelly police officer Harrison, rookie first-day-on-the-job cop Molly, tough guy Marion and newlyweds/expectant parents, Wayne and Sally Anne. Beauty Queen Rene (referred to by locals as Ms. Catch-of-the-Day) is down on her luck. Having just lost the family farm, she tries to leave town and start anew only to be stopped by zombie roadblocks. Seems that not only Rene is having a bad day, as meteors are streaking to the earth, and specifically the small Australian fishing town of Berkeley, transforming its inhabitants into flesh-eating zombies. (Come on – is there any other kind?) Fearing for her life, she stumbles onto an abandoned farmhouse where she meets fellow survivors. Hidden by foliage and, let’s face it, the creepiness of the house, these people have remained unscathed by the terror around them. Marion, himself who looks as scary as the zombies, and who coincidentally owns a gun shop, knew this day would come and has steeled himself! for the zombie onslaught.

Determined not to become dinner for the zombies, the group bands together and attempts to leave town but are met by one stumbling block after another. Alien abductions, acid rain and an oversized alien wall that surrounds the town only add to the mix. Who knows what aliens have to do with zombies, but it helps to make for a rather interesting, and at times comical, mix.

Virtual unknowns all, Mungo McKay is perhaps the most convincing actor in the bunch with his take on Marion. Gruff, never quite sure if the guy is insane or just gun happy, McKay can make a believer out of anyone. Dirk Hunter is a hoot as Harrison but has a tendency to be so annoyingly quirky that one hopes the zombies get him. On the other hand, Felicity Mason making her acting debut here as Rene, seems destined to be filmdom’s next horror queen.

An ambitious effort clearly inspired by horror master Sam Raimi, the Spierig brothers write, direct and edit “Undead.” With a budget of under $1 million, they do an admirable job of providing almost every zombie effect known to mankind, yet fall short when it comes to deciding if the film is to be interpreted as a parody or to be taken for the seriousness of the zombie situation. The script waffles with uncertainty and as a result, never quite makes it into one specific genre. Of note are the surprise plot twists that pop up about halfway through the film taking us from ghouls and gore to shades of Muldaur and Scully in the “X-Files.” If nothing else, the Spierigs do not lack for imagination. Technically, the film is polished and given the limited budget, has superb visuals. It’s clear to see where their budget went. I fully expect their future films to have a script that better suits their technical creativity.

Flesh crazy gore and ghoulish camp all at the same time, “Undead” is destined to become one of the cult classics of our time. But for now, its got all the makings for some great summer night movie-going.

Marion: Mungo McKay Rene: Felicity Mason Harrison: Dirk Hunter Wayne: Rob Jenkins Sallyanne: Lisa Cunningham

Written and Directed by Michael Spierig and Peter Spierig. Rated R. (104 min)