I am a big fan of this franchise in all its forms.
United States Special agent Leon S. Kennedy sneaks into a small Eastern European country to verify rumors that Bio Organic Weapons (B.O.W.s) are being used in war. Right after his infiltration, the US government orders him to leave immediately. Determined to uncover the truth, Leon ignores the order and enters the battlefield to end the chain of tragedies caused by the B.O.W.s. Available September 25th 2012.
Derek Wan's Shadow: Dead Riot is an affectionate homage to; prisonploitation, sexploitation, Kung Fu and zombie movies. If you have no interest in any of these sub-genres you will find nothing to like here.
However if this sounds appealing to you on any level you will find much to like here. The plot revolves around Tony Todd's Shadow being executed for murdering a pregnant woman. Twenty years later Solitaire played with incredible gusto by Carla Greene is sent to the same prison which no operates as an experimental woman's prison.
The effects are well done, and the kung fu sequences are amazing especially for the budget. The makers of Shadow: Dead Riot went out and got some of Jackie Chan's crew and it shows. Carla Greene performs admirably in these sequences and is a true standout in the film.
Shadow: Dead Riot has strong production values for its low budget, and never looks so bad it takes you out of the film.While there are some obvious lapses in logic and a couple plot holes and actions of convenience if you want to see a woman's prison kung fu zombie movies that molds these elements into a clear fast paced coherent film, I challenge you to find another flick meeting all this criteria. This is a bloody entertaining movie.
This film is available in a DVD two pack with Flesh for the Beast and is filtered to look like a distorted out 70's reel. Or you can rent it from youtube below.
Kevin Tenney's Brain Dead is a film with a very specific audience in mind, and he does not want to disappoint, and he doesn't. With filmography including Witchboard, and Night of the Demons Tenney knows genre fare.
Brain Dead moves at an incredibly fast pace, wasting no time establishing its characters and set up. The cast is strong with Joshua Benton's performance great as the semi capable wise ass forced to lead the rag tag group against an alien zombie onslaught. Michelle Tomlinson also provides a strong role. The interplay between the assembled group including an adulterous minister an escaped convict and two grad students works well. This comes from having a group of strong personalities stuck together. No one is a simple follower or immediate zombie fodder.
Tenney's action set pieces are strong with a followable sense of movement and incredibly strong practical effects department, especially for low budget fare. The few horrible CG shots are really the only weakness.
This is not a film that will convert someone to a genre fan, but there is much to appreciate in this little gem. It held my attention and was not soon forgot. Click any of the images to watch the film online for free. Those of you with netflix can also stream it.
Before Neil Marshall scored big with The Descent he directed Dog Soldiers. This is a criminally under seen flick. It follows a group of British Special forces guys on a training exercise, who are then attacked by werewolves. The film is a down to earth version of Predator, except with multiple werewolves attacking there is a greater tension. If you are not sold yet you won't be. Embedded below is the full movie.
While the film series is unquestionably flawed I still highly enjoy the Resident Evil Series. Click Below to watch the first film.
Also available is the CG movie Degeneration. The opening sequence in an infected airport is incredibly cool. Click below to watch.
Lastly Resident Evil 4 was just re-released in HD as a download on the playstation and xbox networks. If you have not played it, the game is by far the best of the series.
