The Dead 2 (2014/Anchor Bay Blu-ray)

Picture: B+ Sound: B+ Extras: B Film: B+

The Dead 2 took me by total surprise. I hadn't heard about it really much up until it had been released on Blu-ray disc and think it has all of the right makings of a really good Zombie film: gore, tension, and the feeling of being outnumbered and on the run. The Zombies in this film are great too because they are slow until alerted of you and then become very fast paced up to the actual attack. They aren't super fast like 28 Days Later but more akin to the Romero Living Dead zombies.

The film takes place in India, which gives it a great foreign tone and makes you feel almost like an outsider watching this horrible zombie outbreak occur. The filmmaking is also top notch. The Ford Brothers got some shots in this that made by jaw drop. Some of the camerawork must have been achieved through the use of a remote drone or something because there are moments when the camera soars over a hoardede very fluently and when first introducing our lead Joseph Millson (Casino Royale) working on an American turbine, the camera pulls back in a super wide shot in an almost Hitchcock-ian manner.

When an American Turbine engineer learns that his pregnant Indian Girlfriend (whose dad is not to found of him) is stuck in the slum of Mumbai during the midst of a massive Zombie outbreak. He must battle his way through a 300-mile wasteland of the ravenous undead and into the nightmare city. Along the way, he steals a couple cars, a motorcycle, and befriends a young Indian Boy with no acting talent.

The special effects and makeup in the film are also pretty impressive. All of the zombies have very creepy eyes that really make them appear unhuman. These are probably some of the best zombies I've seen recently aside from The Walking Dead. After just watching and reviewing Hell of the Living Dead, this film I could definitely feel took some inspiration from that film with the exotic locale and some of the moments of characters barely escaping the clutches of the undead enemy. Some cons in the film is that some of the editing feels a little off. Some shots could have been let go a little longer instead of some of the fast cutting. Other issues lie in shaky camera shots during high tension moments that feels a little too Bourne Identity. The plot in the film itself is slightly predictable but overall it was a very good watch.

The Sound and Picture on the disc are both pretty crisp and clear. Anchor Bay always does a great job with their transfers. The 1080p High Definition image preserves the 1.85:1 widescreen aspect ratio of the film. Sound is notable with a lossless Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track that's pretty impressive. English and Spanish subtitles are also on the disc which clocks in around 98 minutes.

Special Features are a little scarce here with The Making of The Dead 2 and Deleted Scenes.

All in all, The Dead 2 is a great Zombie film that you may not have heard of yet or had the chance to see. It's really a shame that this film didn't get a wide theatrical release as I feel that it is every bit as good as the 28 Days Later films and certainly better the Purge or VHS catastrophes.

- James Harland Lockhart V

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