Eaters

Not reviewed for a while but a zombie film is relatively easy to do and always worth it.

So, we have here a nice little Italian entry into the over populated zombie movie genre. It seems there's a zombie film popping up every other week since 2005 and before that they were 'dead' hard to come by.

So, I've stated before in reviews it is hard to breath new life into this genre (uninteded joke there) so if you can't do anything original, make sure that what you do ticks the required boxes for a good zombie flick.....and most of the boxes are ticked.

The film isn't of the highest budget but with some good make-up, nice locations and good use of the visual effects they have - it's not noticeable. A strong part to this film is the 2 male leads. They work perfectly with each other and the bad ass bald guy just has a totally likable character about him.

The story takes elements from Dawn/Day of the dead and mixes a little bit of Resident Evil in. The zombie make-up and good is of a good standard and the running time passes nicely by......except for the last 15 mins which feels rushed against the pace of the rest of film.

Negatives - some characters are silly and the acting is not always the best. The story can be slightly confusing with unanswered plot points.

If you're a zombie fan then this entry is worth checking out. As a casual viewer then this may not do. I enjoyed it for what it was.

It's sad that things have come to this. Italy was a country responsible for the gory glory days of Lucio Fulci films like ZOMBIE FLESH EATERS and THE BEYOND, where the living dead could be guaranteed to look terrifying and chew copious gouts of blood from their victims in the process. These days the country is reduced to making the likes of EATERS, a shot-on-video piece of zombie trash indistinguishable from a hundred others made in the UK and USA.

The proud declaration of "A Uwe Boll Production" at the film's opening is a warning that this will be terrible and it truly is: there's no real script, just various characters doing evil stuff in a post-apocalyptic zombie world. Yet again the film-making style is to bleach away the colour leaving things looking gloomy and dull. The dialogue consists of various unlikeable characters bickering and shooting zombies, while some evil guys are doing experiments and there are even Nazis thrown into the mix. None of it sticks.

Other than some mild gore effects and not-bad make-up, EATERS is an entire waste of time as a zombie film. You'd be much better off watching decent, recent movies in this genre, like THE HORDE, REC, or WORLD WAR Z; at least they're doing something different, unlike EATERS.

One could certainly argue that the modern zombie films owe a great deal to the Italians. They created a time tested formula that worked. Plus they were never ones to skimp on the gore, and I deeply appreciate that. That being said, there are problems with this formula. Namely, that it's old.

Eaters sticks quite well to the old Italian model, with it's clearly defined protagonists and antagonists, steady introduction of new characters, and healthy dose of violence. All of that works pretty well, but as this way of doing things is - perhaps a little too - time tested it feels a lot like you've seen it a million times. Maybe you have, but that doesn't really mean the movie's no good. It certainly has it's faults, but all in all I found it pretty enjoyable. The characters are well developed, the actors do a good job, and the practical special effects are surprisingly good for a film that feels like it was a little light on budget.

Two military/paramilitary guys who work with/for some scientist go out in the country to look for zombies for the scientist. In flashbacks we learn that the wife who is now a zombie used to be a scientist herself working on some project to improve humanity. While they are out there, they run into neo-Nazis for no good reason. These neo Nazis spend their time on some suicidal contest where a couple of them have to face a horde of zombies and the survivor wins. They also have a little Hitler stashed somewhere. While it looks like all youth has been extinguished our heroes rescue a teenage girl who will be the hope of humanity, if she survives her run-in with little Hitler. Our guys also discover truths about the science project and meet the main scientist who know is working for a scientist gone crazy.

Eaters is gory and the effects are very good because they are different than the typical shiny latex used in US special effects. These are cruder which makes them more suited for a zombie movie. Despite the low budget, the movie has a decent look but it's your usual post-apocalyptic colorless look. Our two main characters aren't particularly likable though. There's not much of a main character. The story overall though is interesting and different.

Nowadays you can't go a few feet in a video store without seeing a zombie film. Sadly more often than not they end up being forgettable and unwatchable, but there are a select few that step outside the box and deliver something new on some level. The latest to tackle the flesh eating fun comes in the form of Eaters, but does it have the chops to bite into the genre and deliver something new or will it just fill another spot on the shelf?

Eaters follows three men in a world that has been devastated by an epidemic turning most of the world into zombies. Two of them set out on a journey to hunt down some new undead guinea-pigs for the other to experiment on looking for a cure. While on their journey they meet a wide variety of characters leading to a life or death journey that could change everything. The plot here is pretty simple and easy to follow, but for some reason they felt the need to throw so many things into it just became a jumbled mess. The performances were pretty bad, with some of them just down right annoying. While the film has some cool moments, it can't seem to decide if it wants to be a dark comedy or a serious zombie flick, but either way it just never really comes together. The one aspect that it does have going for it is in the effects department. There are some really cool looking zombies and moments that are really cool to look at and work great, but are lost in the world of this mess of a film.

As zombie movies go you could do worse, but at the same time a whole lot better. Luckily this genre offers so much for every fan there is no shortage to get what you're looking for, but if you're looking for a great zombie movie, this might be one you want to pass on by.