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Re: The Dead

Posted: Wed Sep 01, 2010 6:27 pm
by Howl
Hi,

It may be a medical fact but the film also has a narrative and inner logic to serve that the audience has to understand. The film had clearly established that the dead are everywhere even when you least expect it so to light a fire, not extinguish the fire and fall asleep right after a big scene where having a light on or off is the focus was rather jarring.
The camp scene could have been clearer and more suspenceful if there had been footage of one of the characters struggling to stay awake whilst watching over the other as they slept (they are militairy right, this would have been part of their training when in hostile territory, watching over one another in shifts). With one of the characters struggling to fall asleep would have also bought a little more tension to the scene as the audience would have felt 'oh shit' there's going to be trouble. Let's say the white guy (can't remember his name) fell asleep, this would have bought an extra dimension of guilt to the outcome as he stuggled on with the bitten African fella and added a little more character to their relationship, one let down the other in a momentary mistake. The eventual finding and saving of the boy would have bought a sort of redemption for the character no matter how small a plot device.

Anyway I did like the film but there were some elements I wish had been tightened and focused a little more.

All the best.

Re: The Dead

Posted: Wed Sep 01, 2010 8:34 pm
by lupogirl
The best film of the day.

Loved the stunning setting. Great performances from the two leads. Had me near to tears during one of the scenes. The grim ending. I thought there was no way they will escape. I thought they were facing their fate.

Re: The Dead

Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2010 1:56 pm
by trueblood22
Pacing was intentional i feel, a lot of people i was talking to after the screening loved this fact, it had such a unique feel to it that so many films such as slashers are just gory and cover the weakness of the overall film, The Dead had such isolation, better visuals then anything else on the festival thanks to it being on film, truly stunning and the buzz around the whole 5 days was that this was the best film there.

Re: The Dead

Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2010 2:07 pm
by sallyt
The Dead... truly superb can't wait to see it again on the big screen!

The Dead

Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2010 3:14 pm
by daveroughcut
sallyt wrote:The Dead... truly superb can't wait to see it again on the big screen!
Or a smaller big screen unless you live near the Empire you lucky sod.

Re: The Dead

Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2010 3:38 pm
by chary
Glad that there was a zombie movie in the line up and being one set in Africa made it suitably different from zombie movies that have come before. I would of liked to see more camaraderie between the two leads but it was beautifully shot and hope to see more from Prince David Osei in the future

Re: The Dead

Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2010 7:48 pm
by BabyJaneHudson
I liked the story and I thought the idea to set it in Africa was great and the zombies were very creepy. There were some genuinely scary moments. I thought the African actor was very good and I swear I have seen him in something before. However, I don't think that the landscapes where done that must justice to be honest. I think the cinematography was seriously lacking. I have watched wildlife documentaries and the skills are apparent for all to see in terms of how they are filmed. When a reference was made to documentary filming, I had not seen anything that related to that. Also for some reason the colour in the film was too harsh, which made a natural landscape look less so for me.

This idea that you have to have a white lead with a supporting black actor in order to get across the idea of peoples coming together is a bunch of bull in my opinion. If its set in Africa have a entire cast from there. Also slapping yourself on the back because you got local people to play roles in the film and paid them is bloody patronising. Damn right you should pay them. I don't work for free!! They would have saved a fortune making a film this way and probably paid them £5 a day if that.

Stereotypical white middle class smugness of the highest order.

I think I need to have a quick vomit.

Re: The Dead

Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2010 8:56 pm
by Grindhouse
The dead i thought was an excellent return to the zombie genres original incarnations,lush landscapes visually striking,its looks amazing and the zombies are relentless flesh eating ghouls.
i take on board the points raised by nagelfar but they dont stand up so well,.
the wall was bricked up,but it was at its weakest point and looks like it was hastily done,walls easily tumble down under much battering,and with the rushed job and dry heat it wouldnt take much.
of course hes a soldier or naval engineerand would surely have the knowldge training and skills to use weapons and fix a radio,after all it was a field radio.
the only weak point was the scenes back to the hq,it would have been more interesting if it was localised to the west african continent.
The acting was superb and the effects too.
a top film.

Re: The Dead

Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2010 9:32 pm
by mamawaldi
On the plus side, the fx were really good and the zombies really well done (loved the twisted round knee on zombie#1).
I do agree with some of the other posts here though that the american lead was a bit...well ....dull and that there were a few naff bits - the easy to climb impossible cliffs, the baby that he has to look after for about 25 seconds before palming it off on some other guys, the radio chat, the final shot of daddy america and brave young africa hand in hand... but to be honest they've done a great job in difficult circumstances. A 3 out of 5 for me. Oh, and they could have given the soldier guy that he teams up with a better ending than being chewed in his sleep.

Re: The Dead

Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2010 2:44 pm
by maxmum
As a big zombie lover I was glad we had a zombie movie in the mix - La Horde was my fave of last year but this one didn't hold up to the high bar set by La Horde. Of course different strokes for different folks but I love a good bit of macho ness (not a word but hey ho) in my zombie movies and the lead in this one didn't do anything for me, he just seemed a bit wooden. But yeah nice landscapes, good quality zombies.

Re: The Dead

Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2010 1:11 pm
by Alex J
A very good addition to the zombie sub-genre, with plenty of action and gore sequences, in this homage to Romero and others. I thought the settings really added flavour to the movie, while the Daniel character added good support. I agree with maxmum on Rob Freeman - I thought he was a little wooden too, although perhaps we should give him the benefit of the doubt as he was ill during the shoot. Sometimes the slow pacing also verged on being a little too slow. 8 / 10

Re: The Dead

Posted: Mon Jan 15, 2024 1:48 pm
by zappa fan
Currently on FreeVee