What we have here is a series of intertwined zombie stories, linked by a narrator in the form of a drunken old geezer with a secret, all filmed on an ultra low budget and making no effort to look like anything else. The stories themselves aren’t really going to set the world alight, they’re really little more than an excuse to get people into the zombies clutches, but at least they lend it a little character of its own, and in places do a few interesting things. That chick may look hot, but let me tell you that her daddy is one ugly bast!
Action and effects wise, the low budget shows through clearly, but the cast and crew have made a good enough job with what they have that it works. The gore scenes deliver in that cheap, not quite real looking way, but if you’re gonna sit back and pick fault with them on that front then maybe the low budget zombie arena isn’t for you, bugger off and watch Saw or I Am Legend instead. Every zombie fan is familiar with effects like it, and you’ll either love em for their brave attempt to pull it off, or despise em for not quite making it.
Zombies look good enough, dry and withered bastards that they are, though don’t expect hordes of them, there are only a handful, probably all friends of the director who got told they were going to play dead for the day. There’s enough of them to go around at least, you only need a couple of the undead for this kind of narrative linking small tales to work.
You probably already know from the opening paragraph naming it a “low budget zombie” if you want to watch it, don’t let me try and swing you either way. It does exactly what it says on the box so to speak, delivers a low budget zombie which doesn’t really distinguish itself in any direction, but which makes a nice watch for those of us who like that kind of thing. Oh, and the DVD artwork is sweet, I like it a lot.
Overall, The Zombie Chronicles is a decent zombie film. It is not the best of its genre, but it is worth watching if you are a fan of zombie films.
Synopsis
The Zombie Chronicles is a 2001 American horror film directed by George A. Romero and written by Stephen King. The film stars Bruce Campbell as Ash Williams, a stock boy who becomes a hero when he is able to stop the spread of a zombie plague. The film was released on October 5, 2001, and grossed $11.5 million at the box office.
The film begins with a group of teens break into a house in the middle of the night. They find a man who has been infected with a zombie virus, and he attacks them. One of the teens, Ash, is able to escape and warn the others. The group decides to go to a remote cabin in the woods in order to avoid the zombies.
Once at the cabin, the group realizes that they are not alone. There are other people there who are also trying to escape the zombie plague. Ash is able to save a girl named Linda from being attacked by a zombie, and the two of them begin to develop a romantic relationship.
As the group tries to find a way to escape the cabin, the zombies begin to close in. Ash is forced to use his chainsaw to kill a zombie, and he becomes a hero in the process. The group is eventually able to escape the cabin, but they are faced with a new problem: the outside world is now overrun with zombies.
Ash and the others must find a way to survive in a world that is now filled with the undead. The Zombie Chronicles is a heart-pounding thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end.
Movie Details
Director : Brad Sykes
Writer : Garrett Clancy
Actors : Greg Brown, Garrett Clancy, Mike Coen, John Kyle Grady
Release Year : 2001