| "Corpses
Are Forever"
The zombie
movie makes its splashy, crashy reappearance following a brief hiatus,
now measurable in picoseconds (and for those of you who don't habla,
picoseconds are 1 / 1 billionths of a second, or how long Britney
Spears' first marriage lasted. Specifically, EIGHT picoseconds.).
But they've
been on a real roll lately, with quality that can only be described
as hit-and-miss. From utterly smashing zombie survival horror
/ comedy Shaun of the Dead, to the utterly faithless but fair in
its own right Dawn of the Dead theatrical re-release, to the utterly
without hope Zombies Vs. Vampires, to the utterly surprisingly good
Japanese import Junk, it's been a real mixed bag for zombie nuts
lately.
Corpses
Are Forever, from newcomer The Asylum, takes a run at being of the
better class.
First off,
kudos to Corpses Are Forever for its fantastic opening menu, that
parodies the classic James Bond films with its clever moving-sight
visual. This
is funny stuff right here, and terribly original.
What we've
got here is the story of Malcolm Grant, a CIA agent who just suddenly
for some reason woke up and discovered that the gates of Hell had
opened on
earth. Which is, by itself, the single most original impetus
for a zombie movie
yet. Normally, it's a virus or biological agent reanimating
corpses. I have
yet to see demons responsible. But anyway, there are now hordes
of corpses
walking the earth, and Malcolm's got to try and fix things by wandering
through
and experiencing (via a complicated chemical process) the memories
of a dead
serial killer, which contain the necessary information on how to
save the planet
and most of the folks on it.
Okay...that
right there gets me. I mean, we're trending into some ridiculous
ground plotwise. It started off with some excellent innovation
and I give
Corpses Are Forever all the credit I can for that, but it just couldn't
seem to
hold it together. But it's not all about plot, it's also about
execution.
And the
opening ten minutes are a real surprise. This is ORIGINAL.
It's James
Bond with ZOMBIES. No one's done this before, and I'm incredibly
pleased with
it. Check out the film style they're using, too...just MORE
originality on
their part.
Although
the fight scenes, especially like those at the fifteen minute mark,
are
such obvious fakes that occasionally the impact sound effects don't
match the
moment of "contact" on the punches and kicks.
The George
Romero influence is heavy throughout, but nowhere more so than at
the nineteen minute mark. Check it out and see why.
Perhaps
the biggest disappointment about Corpses are Forever is the fact
that,
while there's plenty of "The Cell"-esque memory crawling
going on, there's
almost NO ZOMBIES. I mean, come on! They hawk zombies
on the box like there's no tomorrow and then they show up for ten,
fifteen minutes of footage? Talk about your disappointments.
And yet,
somehow, despite all this, Corpses are Forever still manages to
be a
fairly satisfying endeavor. As a spy thriller, it's solidly
done. As a horror
movie, it's a little on the lower end. But put together, it
works.
The ending is a cinematic slush pile that leaves more questions
than answers,
and disappoints on several levels. The plot is left largely
unresolved, and
with good reason...there's going to be a sequel.
The title? Why, what else but "The Corpse Who Loved Me."
Oh my.
I don't
know whether to be roaringly amused or soaked with sweaty dread.
This
was, quite possibly, one of the most outlandish yet incredibly original
yet
shoddily done movies I've seen YET. I can't even categorize
what I've just
seen, and I'm a professional humorist. Is it horror?
Maybe. Comedy? Could
be. A spy thriller? Sure, why not?
Even more
interestingly, check out the outtakes over the closing credits.
The special features include director's commentary and a mind-jarringly
boring
featurette called "Welcome to Linnea's", involving Linnea
Quigley and her cats
showing you around Linnea's house for reasons that defy all logic.
Plus, we get
trailers for "Vampires Vs. Zombies," "Insight of
Evil," "Pandora Machine," and
the producer's trailer for "Corpses Are Forever."
All in all,
Corpses are Forever is a surprisingly original, yet shoddily done,
film that truly makes you wonder just what's going on over at The
Asylum. It's
fairly enjoyable, and only technical glitches and a couple disappointments
in
the script keep it from aspiring to the highest calibre of movie.
Corpses
Are Forever
DVD
**1/2
Directed by
Jose Prendes
Written by
Jose Prendes
Cast
Jose Prendes .... Malcolm Grant/Quint
Richard Lynch .... Gen. Morton
Linnea Quigley .... Elli Kroger
Conrad Brooks .... Mr. Fairbrass
Bill Perlach .... Preacher
Debbie Rochon .... Marguerite
Brinke Stevens .... Dr. Thesiger
Don Calfa .... Jack Stark
Kwame Riley .... Maj. Anderson
Felissa Rose .... Gina
Rachel Chin .... Pvt. Lee
Luis-David Madera .... Pvt. Raymond
Jessica Lewis .... Pvt. Crisp
Erik Herbster .... Pvt. Rip
C. Davis Smith .... Roman On The Radio
R
92 mins
|
