REZISTANCE

REZISTANCE is a fun romp through some familiar zombie territory.  The story is about a small group of survivors trying to survive the zombie epidemic that has recently been released upon the world.  We have  a great little group of characters though.  We have a badass biker looking for his wife, a brother and sister who are just trying to survive, a kung-fu girl and a cop who thinks he knows what is going on with these undead shenanigans.  They must work together to stop the source of the zombie outbreak.


Director Mark Colombo has put together a great film for his debut feature.  It mixes the 'Grindhouse' look with the 'Comic Book' style rather creatively.  I am surprised no one else had thought of that.  Sometimes the film quality will get scratchy and worn out and then cut to comic book panels to bring us to the next scene.  The movie doesn't take itself too seriously but it does have a story to tell focusing on the relationship between brother and sister.  You have the two main characters who are brother and sister in contrast with the cop and his sister who maybe responsible for raising the dead with black magic.  The cop who is a badass wants nothing more to have his sister back who he believes he lost along time ago to a dark amulet she found in a cave when they were kids.  One brother tries to save his sister while the other may have to destroy his.

I love that there is a supernatural reason to the zombie outbreak.  I hate the word 'virus'.  It is too often used in horror movies.  I like a fantasy element to my horror sometimes like in the olden days of classic Hammer films.  That is another reason why REZISTANCE stands out from all the other zombie movies that have come out in the last few years.  Even at the end when all is said and done we are shown a little surprise with the undead that hasn't been done before.  I won't spoil it but I thought it was rather clever.  It couldn't have been done if the zombies were nothing more than the result of a boring old virus.

This film looks like a community effort with lots of extras to play zombies and local businesses using their places for settings.  I love that.  This movie moves about with many locations.  This isn't one of those movies where the entire story takes place in one or two locations.  It looks like everyone had a great time.  Even Hacksaw Jim Duggan makes a surprise appearance to add more awesome to the mix!  Mark Colombo wore many hats in the making of this film being not just the director but the cinematographer, producer, co-writer and actor as well.  He actually is the funniest part of the film with him and a buddy preparing for the zombie apocalypse adding alcohol and guns together.  Whoops!

A sequel to this would be great.  I would love it if the biker was roaming the country on his bike still looking for his wife and fighting vampires along the way.  He and the cop could team up once again to fight a different kind of undead with the help of the kung-fu girl and maybe Hacksaw too.  The movie could be called I HUNT DRACULAS!  Think about it!

It is a low budget film so like I always say there are things to forgive.  But if you love independent horror films that have fun and not try to bore the audience with excessive scenes of pain and suffering and nihilism then I suggest you give this film a try.  I always enjoy seeing what other film makers can do without the big budgets of Hollywood.  The great ones like REZISTANCE do not let the budget limit what they can do.  That is a hard challenge to overcome and should be appreciated.  Watch it for Halloween!


Jason