CHRISTIAN MOVIE (TV Miniseries) REVIEW: Dead Set (2008)

The movie reviewed here is definitely NOT for children, and probably not for most other people either. Please see my previous post on why zombie films are reviewed on a Christian website like K_Line Christian Online.

Dead Set

  • GENRE: Zombie Horror
  • ACTORS: Jaime Winstone, Andy Nyman, Riz Ahmed, Warren Brown, Liz May Brice
  • RATING: UK rating: 18. In the US, it would probably be NR (not rated); or “R” or higher.
  • PARENTAL NOTE: Strong caution: This movie contains almost non-stop cursing in most of the dialogue. Most of the worst curse words used in the US are featured, together with additional curse words that are peculiar to the UK. The zombie violence is extreme and include graphic killings, biting and disembowelments. Not intended for children. Strong sexual content, although the nudity is brief. Bad language and questionable situations, to say the least. Extreme zombie violence.
  • INTENDED AUDIENCE: This movie is intended for fans of the genre, and may not be appreciated by others. As indicated above, the content which obviously disqualifies this series for children will disqualify it for viewing by many adults.
  • GENERAL PLOT: (No spoilers) Actually, this review is for a short, five part TV miniseries from the UK, not a movie. However, the full story was intended to be told within this format. For reasons obvious after you’ve seen the full series, the story has a definite beginning and end. The story itself involves the set of the UK version of the TV series, “Big Brother.” As with all movies (TV series) in the genre, zombies get loose, and mayhem ensues. These zombies are of the extremely fast moving variety, but most rules of the genre apply. For example, the only way to kill these zombies is to shoot or stab them in the brain. One interesting limitation of the zombies in “Dead Set,” is that they seem to function at a fairly high level–but they inexplicably cannot manipulate doorknobs.
  • REVIEW: I debated taxing this series one star, based on the rating criteria of “Subtract STARS for extreme overall INCREDIBLE trashiness” (i.e. constant cursing). But actually, the better solution is to just not watch the series if you don’t like to hear cursing–and I do mean a LOT of cursing. Other than that, the acting is good, the characters are interesting (though profane), and the zombies are realistic. There are a lot of graphic zombie kills and killing by zombies. Even the plot is plausible and somewhat interesting. In short, there is a lot to like, for fans of the genre. One side note is that this TV series is not widely available. However, as of February 2013, registered users of YouTube can watch it for free.
  • RECOMMENDATION:1 This is a zombie horror movie. Many people will be highly offended by every movie in this genre because of the graphic violence, gore, language and other questionable elements. If you are a devoted fan of this genre–I highly recommend this short TV series.
  • RATING (out of 5 stars):

MOVIE RATING SYSTEM:

Start with zero (0) out of five (5) possible STARS

  • Add one STAR if it looks like the movie was made by professional film makers–not 4 or 5 guys with a camcorder.
  • Add one STAR if the film has a story, theme or plot (optional for horror and/or zombie movies); or if the movie makes any sense.
  • Add additional STARS for special effects, acting, good moral message(s), realistic zombies, scariness,
    interesting theme or plot and the like.
  • Subtract STARS for extreme bad acting, COMPLETELY awful themes/messages, overall INCREDIBLE trashiness, graphic and persistent lewdness, and the like.
  1. If you wonder why zombie themes and horror films have space on a Christian website like K_Line Christian Online, please see my blog post on point

MOVIE REVIEW: The Dead (2010)

The movie reviewed here is definitely NOT for children, and probably not for most other people either.

  • GENRE: Zombie Horror
  • ACTORS: Rob Freeman, Prince David Oseia, Dan Morgan, Glenn Salvage, David Dontoh, Julia Scott-Russell, Katy Richardson, Sergho Dak Jean Gustaphe, Ben Crowe, Anne Davaud
  • RATING: R
  • PARENTAL NOTE: Not intended for children. Unlike most zombie movies, the language was not overly profane. Other than extreme mayhem and zombie violence, there were no real questionable situations. Graphic killings, including a few disembowelments. No nudity or sexual situations.
  • INTENDED AUDIENCE: This movie is intended for fans of the genre, and may not be appreciated by others.
  • GENERAL PLOT: (No spoilers) The living try to avoid being bitten by the undead. The undead try to eat the living.
Warning: The following clip is the extended, RESTRICTED official movie trailer, for mature audiences–NOT for children, or the squeamish. It contains actual video of zombies biting humans and of zombies be shot at close range.

  • REVIEW: This film is almost non-stop zombie violence, from start to finish. The violence is “realistic” and extreme. The zombies in this movie are the slow moving variety, as in the original Romero films, Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, and Day of the Dead. No running zombies here. Personally, I think that fast moving zombies are a bit scarier, but there are those who disagree. There is an subtle element to this movie–never explicitly mentioned, but which, in the end increases the terror level by at least a thousand percent. Specifically, although extremely slow (think of a minimum wage sales clerk at a low end department store, who is working with a hang-over), the zombies are innumerable, and relentless. They just never stop coming, albeit slowly, no matter where you go. There is no rest, and you can’t hide. If you stop to rest, a few will show up, looking to gnaw on your limbs. Wait long enough (a few minutes in most cases) and their zombie friends with join them. There will be dozens of the undead in a matter of minutes. Remember the 1994 movie, SPEED? It’s the movie, where the people couldn’t stop the bus, because it was rigged to explode, if its speed dropped below a certain level. THE DEAD is the zombie version of SPEED, in slow motion. You can’t stop. You can’t rest. If you do, you’ll die. …before you rise again as one of the undead.
  • RECOMMENDATION:1 This is a zombie horror movie. Many people will be highly offended by every movie in this genre because of the graphic violence, gore, language and other questionable elements. However, if you are a fan of this genre–You need to watch this movie. It is one of the best zombie movies I have seen in a long time. In fact, I call it one of the best films ever made. Terrifying, realistic, and eXtreme. You can’t ask for much more in a zombie movie. In short, this is a MUST SEE MOVIE! Highly recommended.
  • RATING (out of 5 stars):

MOVIE RATING SYSTEM:

Start with zero (0) out of five (5) possible STARS

  • Add one STAR if it looks like the movie was made by professional film makers–not 4 or 5 guys with a camcorder.
  • Add one STAR if the film has a story, theme or plot (optional for horror and/or zombie movies); or if the movie makes any sense.
  • Add additional STARS for special effects, acting, good moral message(s), realistic zombies, scariness, interesting theme or plot and the like.
  • Subtract STARS for extreme bad acting, COMPLETELY awful themes/messages, overall INCREDIBLE trashiness, graphic and persistent lewdness, and the like.

FOOTNOTE:

  1. If you wonder why zombie themes and horror films have space on a Christian website like K_Line Christian Online, please see my blog post on point

Autumn (2009)

The movie reviewed here is definitely NOT for children, and probably not for most other people either. Even fans of the zombie genre will be sorry for wasting time on this movie.

  • GENRE: Zombie Horror
  • ACTORS: Dexter Fletcher, Dickon Tolson, Lana Kamenov, Anton Brejak, David Carradine1, Tricia McMurtry, Jody Willis, Marisa Zaza, André Bharti, Leanne Dixon
  • autumn
    Autumn, R (2009)
  • RATING: R
  • PARENTAL NOTE: Not intended for children. Some bad language. Extremely disturbing imagages and situations. Violence.
  • INTENDED AUDIENCE: This movie is intended for fans of the genre, and may not be appreciated by others.
  • GENERAL PLOT: (No spoilers) A mysterious virus “kills” most of the population in a matter of seconds. The dead don’t stay down. The survivors cope.

  • Continue reading “Autumn (2009)”

  1. David Carridine has a cameo role. His bizarre life and death include credits in the 1970’s TV show, KUNG FU, and the 2004 movie, KILL BILL vol. 2

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