Siege of the Dead

Directed By: Marvin Kren

Starring: Michael Fuith, Theo Trebs, Anna Gracyk, Emily Cox

Synopsis:

A lovelorn Michael (Michael Fuith) returns to Berlin to hand back his ex-girlfriend's door keys with the hope she might see sense and reconcile their relationship. No sooner has he established that his girlfriend isn't home and two plumbers are the only occupants in her apartment, one of them transforms into a snarling attacker. This leaves Michael and the plumber's mate (Theo Trebs) to survive an onslaught of virus-affected people...

Let's get another marketing rant out of the way. I liked this movie but the marketing behind it stunk worse than a week old corpse. I know that zombie features are getting popular again, especially with the moderately budgeted TV series, The Walking Dead getting mainstream exposure but calling this movie "Siege of the Dead" is ridiculous. Unless I missed something during the short but sweet 59 minutes duration, not one of the infected had died and returned. They were infected by a virus, similar to the "rage" virus in 28 Days (and weeks) Later. So, the second of my issues; the cover quote. The quote used, from some obscure zombie site, says that "Romero would be proud". Firstly, proud of what exactly? Did he have any input into the movie? Surely, if anyone, it'd be Danny Boyle; proud that someone took his idea and ran with it (pardon the pun). The third issue I have is with the cover. Similarly, to the cover of The Zombie Diaries, the cover mistakenly portrays the movie as some big budget zombie apocalypse complete with Apache helicopters firing missiles into the city and massive explosions being set off. It also has a number of clearly rotting corpses that, again, doesn't represent the content of the movie.

I can't see how this can help a movie that is actually full of tension, smart writing and smart direction without the need for sub-woofer vibrating explosive pyro-technics. Ok, someone will see the cover and buy it. They will then come away short-changed and may perhaps be so incensed at the lack of visual and audio delights that they write a review on amazon, wrongly putting it down. Clearly, this is a gamble Revolver are happy to make. Lastly, for a 59 minute feature, there are no extras. I'd be fascinated to know about the making of the movie, but there's nothing. Arrow Films - please buy this title and do something with it, like re-title it. We had a Spanish film called REC. No-one changed that to Siege of the Demons or the like.

Anyway, on to the actual movie. It's intense. It might be short but it's well worth getting hold of if you like taut movies in the same kind of world as Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later. The difference in this movie is that the virus is affected by the victim's adrenalin flow. So, a calm individual will take longer to feel the full effects of the virus. The acting is well done. There is none of the trappings of low budget movies here. The set design and location(s) are well realised. The make-up effects are nothing special but they're effective; you can't ask for more than that. There's a sense of realism in this movie that comes from observing Boyle's rage fuelled saga. The characters in Rammbok inspire feelings. You might find Michael a bit wet around the ears when it comes to his relationship with Gabi but he reacts in a human way, not a two-dimensionally drawn character. Theo Trebs is excellent as the plumber's mate who isn't quite sure what he's doing but finds his heroic and inventive side during the crisis.

Whilst there is the obvious nod to 28 Days Later, there are obvious references to the remake of Dawn of the Dead; from the running infected to the way in which other building occupants communicate across the courtyard. There is a familiarity to the whole film but it's a comfortable one. The action does dip on occasion but soon gets back into its stride.

There is one particular bit of comedy which reminded me slightly of Don Joly's Trigger Happy TV but overall the movie's tone alternates between dark and light at different intervals. Rammbock sets out to tick most of the boxes in the genre without appearing too derivative.

The final denouement isn't unexpected but is a fitting end to an entertaining hour.

Summary:

Stupid, over-the-top marketing decisions hopefully won't disappoint fans with the implication that

Siege of the Dead is a big budget extravaganza to rival 2012. For those who enjoy the zombie genre, it is thoroughly recommended. Grab a copy and prepare for a "sick" Halloween weekend!

8 out of 10 (Wayfarer)

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