I picked up a copy of Doomed to Consume direct from its filmmakers last year - and although its taken me almost a year to leave a comment on the IMDb, I was quite impressed. The guys who made this obviously had a vision that was compromised by their minuscule budget, but they did the best with what they had - and the result is a very fun, micro-budget zombie-fest.
The film centers around the typical premise of a group of individuals caught up in an outbreak of the undead. Taking place primarily in Middle America, visions of lumbering undead are juxtaposed eerily against numerous beautiful landscapes. The result, while possibly coincidental, delivers well.
The special effects are good, throughout, but the team behind this film could do well by hiring a true effects artist who really knows the trade. Although convincing, the gore effects never rise above average-to-good, and when you're dealing with zombies, really great gore is essential.
Thankfully, the performances more than make up for this very mild setback. Again, noting that we're watching mostly amateurs, the characters are well-defined and quite believable. Their reactions to events are understandable, and a scene where they find themselves in a cornfield after dark is surprisingly effective in delivering tense scares.
The film wraps up nicely, but an additional scene that feels like the filmmakers were aiming for a Resident Evil-like sequel comes off as rather weak. As I said in the beginning, the filmmakers were obviously aiming high, and actress Nicole Blessing is beautiful to watch, but having a final shot of her in a Matrix-esquire outfit comes off as awkward, rather than cool.
Still, for its few minor faults, Doomed to Consume showcases a lot of talent wrapped up in a tiny, bloody package. When one considers the hundreds of millions Hollywood uses to keep us entertained for 90 minutes, it never fails to impress me when a movie made for a few thousand dollars keeps me glued to the screen for the same amount of time.
I truly hope that the makers of this z-movie gem can find a heftier budget in the future and more fully-realize their vision, although as this film proved, it isn't money that makes a film good. Its heart.
Amateur horror filmmakers, check this one out if you wanna see how its done right.
The film centers around the typical premise of a group of individuals caught up in an outbreak of the undead. Taking place primarily in Middle America, visions of lumbering undead are juxtaposed eerily against numerous beautiful landscapes. The result, while possibly coincidental, delivers well.
The special effects are good, throughout, but the team behind this film could do well by hiring a true effects artist who really knows the trade. Although convincing, the gore effects never rise above average-to-good, and when you're dealing with zombies, really great gore is essential.
Thankfully, the performances more than make up for this very mild setback. Again, noting that we're watching mostly amateurs, the characters are well-defined and quite believable. Their reactions to events are understandable, and a scene where they find themselves in a cornfield after dark is surprisingly effective in delivering tense scares.
The film wraps up nicely, but an additional scene that feels like the filmmakers were aiming for a Resident Evil-like sequel comes off as rather weak. As I said in the beginning, the filmmakers were obviously aiming high, and actress Nicole Blessing is beautiful to watch, but having a final shot of her in a Matrix-esquire outfit comes off as awkward, rather than cool.
Still, for its few minor faults, Doomed to Consume showcases a lot of talent wrapped up in a tiny, bloody package. When one considers the hundreds of millions Hollywood uses to keep us entertained for 90 minutes, it never fails to impress me when a movie made for a few thousand dollars keeps me glued to the screen for the same amount of time.
I truly hope that the makers of this z-movie gem can find a heftier budget in the future and more fully-realize their vision, although as this film proved, it isn't money that makes a film good. Its heart.
Amateur horror filmmakers, check this one out if you wanna see how its done right.
