Undead (2003)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Directors:

Michael Spierig
Peter Spierig

Writers:

Michael Spierig (writer)
Peter Spierig (writer)

Release Date:

4 September 2003 (Australia)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Prepare Yourself

Plot:

A quaint Australian fishing village is overcome by meteorites that turn its residents into the ravenous undead, leaving a small group of those unharmed to find a way out.

Plot Keywords:

Meteorite | Living Dead | Plague | Undead | Zombie

Awards:

2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Felicity Mason	...	Rene
Mungo McKay	...	Marion
Rob Jenkins	...	Wayne
Lisa Cunningham	...	Sallyanne
Dirk Hunter	...	Harrison
Emma Randall	...	Molly
Steve Grieg	...	Agent
Noel Sheridan	...	Chip
Gaynor Wensley	...	Aggie
Eleanor Stillman	...	Ruth
Robyn Moore	...	Officer in Locker Room
Robert Jozinovic	...	Man in Office
Peter Mensforth	...	Cricket Batsman
Jacob Andriolo	...	Yougn Cricketer
Michele Steel	...	Screamer

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence and gore, and for language.

Runtime:

Australia:104 min | Canada:100 min (Toronto International Film Festival) | USA:97 min

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A (Ontario) | Canada:R (Manitoba) | South Korea:18 | Australia:MA | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:III | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | Singapore:NC-16 (original rating) | USA:R | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Queensland, Australia

Company:

Spierigfilm

Trivia:

During the beginning of the film, the man that Rene speaks to has a name-tag that reads Marvin "Chip" Chipperson. When he is a zombie later in the film his name tag reads Marvin "Chip" Marvinson.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the party enters the General Store, Marion walks in completely naked. In the next shot, inside the store, we can clearly see him wearing striped boxers.

Quotes:

Marion: They can smell us. They want to feed off us.

Movie Connections:

References Manos: The Hands of Fate (1966)

Soundtrack:

Little Green Men

nice Aussie zombie indie loses steam towards the end

Rene (Felicity Mason), the town beauty queen of Berkley, Austrailia, wants desperately to get out. But as her and her boyfriend are driving out of town, meteorites fall from the sky turning various town-folk into rampaging zombies. When Rene's boyfriend gets changed, she watches as a mysterious stranger (whom we later learn is the town 'crazy') dispatches the now zombiefied BF. She decides to hole up in the isolated farmhouse of said 'kook'. It's soon up to her, the guy, a husband, his pregnant wife, and two cops to survive long enough to figure what the hell is going on.

This Aussie film, while hopelessly derivative and ripping-off a great many great genre movies, is still a lot of fun. It looks far better than it's budget would imply and gore-hounds will be satisfied. That being said, the acting isn't the greatest and the movie pretty much loses steam towards the end when it veers decidedly off-course. But it's still very enjoyable for fans of the genre.

My Grade: B-