Undead - Austin American-Statesman movie review

'Undead' just lies there

By JOE GROSS
Austin American-Statesman

Is there such a thing as zombie fatigue? The past few years have been boom times for the living dead. Zombies became savage sprinters in "28 Days Later" and the 2004 remake of "Dawn of the Dead," the first 20 minutes of which was some of the finest pure cinema of recent times. Zombies remembered they were funny in "Shaun of the Dead," and this year saw the return of zombie king George Romero and his "Land of the Dead."

Lions Gate Films

'Undead'

1 out of 5 stars

The verdict: Dead on arrival

Directors: Michael Spierig, Peter Spierig
Starring: Felicity Mason, Mungo McKay, Rob Jenkins, Lisa Cunningham, Emma Randall
Run time: 100 minutes
Release date: July 1, 2005
Rating: R for strong violence and gore, and for language.

On the web
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That's a lot of zombies, and we may be getting a little tired of their rotting flesh and insatiable hunger for humans.

The limitations of the genre, not to mention the limitations of first-time feature filmmakers Peter and Michael Spierig, are thrown into sharp relief in the exceptionally lousy "Undead."

Berkeley, Australia, is a small fishing community where everyone knows your name. As the local beauty queen Rene (Felicity Mason) is on her way out of town after losing her childhood home, meteorites crash to earth. Those who are hit become — wait for it — zombies.

From the '50s exploitation-style credits to the comical blood sprays and seemingly infinite supply of guns on the survivalist co-star Marion (Mungo McKay), "Undead" is clearly a loving tribute to low-budget filmmakers (Romero, Lloyd Kaufman, Roger Corman) and the do-it-yourself excitement their work can sometimes muster.

But the tepid film fails on almost every level. The story is disjointed and poorly paced, characterization is minimal at best, and the zombie cliches that modern genre practitioners have tried to mutate are treated as gospel truth. (Shoot 'em in the head! Let's "shop" at this abandoned grocery store!) Also, there are aliens. And gory special effects that every Fangoria magazine fan will be able to pick apart in detail.

What's oddly frustrating about all this is that there's a kernel of cleverness at the film's end that points to a much more interesting movie. And the Spierigs — who wrote, directed, produced and edited this thing — must think that a clever twist is all you need. But no; as the undead themselves might put it, "Uugggghhhhh..."