Still somewhat trying to find the spark to really get Willford up and going again, but at the moment, I am partaking in an array of different media outlets that are pertaining to zombies/automatons/undead and the relating ilk. Here I stumbled upon a movie from Germany that's actually really good.
The original title is Rammbock, but so far the only English outlet it has been released in at the moment (United Kingdom) has dubbed it Siege of the Dead. While the latter title is more accurate, I love the formers because it's already a simpler title to remember, foriegn or not and it doesn't give off the stench of trying to relate to Romero's Dead Trilogy like so many films have used in their titles.
When Michael arrives in the city to visit his girlfriend, he soon realises that a terrible virus has spread across the city, turning people into mindless homicidal maniacs. Trapped in his girlfriend's [apartment], he teams up with Harper, a teenage plumber, as hordes of infected zombies begin to swarm the building. [Synopsis from UK site]
The film clocks in at a meager sixty minutes, barely scratching a full-fledged feature billing, but this is where it's actually a good thing. In a sub-horror genre that's already been done to death, sometimes trimming the fat is what helps make a body more lean and better. The movie does retread on familiar territory that the genre has covered many times already, but the time it takes for this movie to move and how the events unfold, the creators behind this film nail everything almost right to make it a quick thrilling adventure.
Gone are the prolonged drama of that one token character having to fuck things up because they're too up in themselves to give attention to the other surviving others who've probably helped each other survive longer than they would have alone. There's also no time that the film meager between actions as the original title's literal translation in English sets itself as a literal battering ram that keeps on trudging till breaking through to the end. Even if it's partially unrealistic to have an Odyssey sort of deal happen in real life where the next move to progress the story comes in right after the last hurdle. It's a movie first and foremost, not a documentary. This is something the viewer will have to accept as the protagonist goes from his ex-girlfriend's apartment room towards the roof top in twenty minutes.
The best thing about this film is that it keeps you on your toes. Again, reiterating the short running time, it helps, especially for safely assuming a number of well-seasoned zombiholics who might be eyeing this after finishing [REC 2] or another viewing of Shaun of the Dead. I actually liked how this film handles their take on the zombie/infection mythos. Following the rabies trend that has been made popular from 28 Days Later and Dawn of the Dead 04, they add in a plot device that makes the film all the more enthralling to see what happens next if the virus gets agittated within the victim. Not much else to say for this shortie, but it is a must-see to notify to all. Rammbock will satisfy anyone with a need for a good quick apocalyptic/epidemic horror.
9/10 Official UK site: http://www.siegeofthedead.com/
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