Germ Z
An alien virus hitch hiking on a fallen meteor has struck a small town causing the local population to become cannibalistic monsters. The town’s only full-time, present police officer and his non-committal girlfriend are the only ones who can save the world….or at least try to survive the massacre.
THE GOOD: For a low budget, formulaic zombie feature, I found Germ Z fairly entertaining. The acting and pacing are decent. There’s some good action and humor, and the filmmakers were smart enough to make some of the action that was beyond their reach happen off-screen.
THE BAD: There’s nothing terribly original in Germ Z. It is entertaining, but we’ve seen all this stuff before. There are also a couple of threads left hanging and some things that don’t make sense at all…like having the zombies heads randomly explode without reason or explanation.
THE ZOMBIES: Germ Z features infected humans with a desire to eat one another. They’re fast suckers who will sprint after you for a distance, even if you’re riding a bicycle.
VERDICT: Germ Z is better than it could have been given it’s low budget nature. Definitely better than a host of other movies in its class. Unfortunately, that doesn’t make it a great movie and I feel like there might not be anything particularly memorable about it when I look at the title a year from now. Grade: C
Current ZMN Rank: #84 out of 142
Golden Zombey Watch: Marguerite Sundberg might get a nod for Best Actress depending on the strength of the category. I don’t know if the cop clearing out main street off camera would be eligible for Most Memorable Massacring of Zombies, but it might just be the most memorable moment of the film.
Evil: In the Time of Heroes
Way back in Year One of Zombie Movie Night, we watched a crazy Greek zombie movie called Evil. It was a pretty good one and remains in the top 25 of the current Standings. It’s strongest points were full of ridiculous action and gore. After we watched it, we saw that there was a sequel….not available any way in the US. So we waited, and waited. Finally through the magic of Amazon Prime, Evil: In the Time of Heroes has become available. Was it worth the wait? Let’s find out.
E:ItToH picks up right where the original left off (more or less), with the heroes surrounded by zombies in the middle of a soccer stadium. Actually, the first scene takes place in ancient Greece, where gladiator dudes originally fought zombies possessed by an evil force. While the majority of the film takes place in the present day, it sporadically flashes back to the first zombie outbreak. Bridging the gap is Billy Zane (for some reason, is he Greek?), a mysterious figure who mentored a chosen warrior who could not be killed during the first zombie uprising. In present day, he finds that the chosen warrior is actually the over-sexed comic relief cab driver who died in the first film. Wackiness and zombie killing ensues.
THE GOOD: E:ItToH inhabits the same manic pace and energy of the first film. There’s a lot of silly comedy and most of it works. Most of the characters from the first film return, including pervy cab driver and badass, unhinged army guy. If you’re not looking for realism, this is a pretty enjoyable romp.
THE BAD: While I appreciate the filmmakers trying to set the film apart from the first by taking a different direction, it did at times feel bogged down by expanding upon its own mythology. For that reason, it was the inferior of the two films.
THE ZOMBIES: Running zombies who are actually people possessed by an evil force. SPOILER ALERT: E:ItToH goes for the super happy ending where evil is defeated and all the zombies return to human form, which makes you feel bad for all those zombies who had their heads exploded by karate kicks.
VERDICT: While not as good as the original, the sequel is still a pretty good time. Definitely one worth checking out if you have access to it. Grade: B+
Current ZMN Rank: #33 out of 142
Golden Zombey Watch: I enjoyed the crazy army guy more than I remember from the first film, so Andreas Kontopoulos may contend for a Supporting Actor spot. This is the 3rd Foreign Language Film so far this year, it’s got a pretty good shot at a win there. Also look for it to contend for Best Zombie Comedy.
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