Sequel finds Rhys (Luke McKenzie), brother of The Captain (also McKenzie) from the first film, capturing living subjects for a bunker full of military and scientists to experiment on. He thinks they are using them to find a cure for the zombie outbreak. When he crosses paths with sisters Maxi (Shantae Barnes-Cowan) and Grace (Tasia Zalar) and then siblings Barry and Brooke (Jay Gallagher and Bianca Bradey reprising their roles), he finds out he’s being used and that the bunker’s occupants have a far more sinister intent.
Flick is once again directed by Kiah Roache-Turner from a script by he and Tristan Roache-Turner. As with the first film, they achieve a lot with a small budget and there is plenty of gore splattered action. It’s an entertaining enough sequel, though sadly lacks the first film’s sense of manic fun and frantic exuberance. It’s a bit more moderately paced, though when the action does come it’s fast, furious and bloody, though overall, the film seems to take itself maybe a touch too seriously. It was cool to see returning characters, mixed in with new characters that link to those who met their ends in the first flick. The cast all perform well in bringing these comic book-like characters to life and there is definitely plenty of carnage to please fans of the first installment. Not quite an equal, but still a solid enough second chapter that leaves us looking forward to a Wyrmwood 3.
Rendel is a Finnish film about mild-mannered family man, Rämö (Kris Gummerus) who after going to work for the wrong people and seeing the wrong information, finds his family murdered and he left for dead. Now Rämö transforms into the masked vigilante Rendel, who sets himself on a path of bloody revenge against crime boss, Mr. Erola (Matti Onnismaa) and his cruel son, Rotikka (Rami Rusinen).
Jesse Haaja’s film tries to carry a Batman-ish superhero vibe, but it’s hard to view Rendel as an outright “hero” when his revenge is so brutal, bloody and deadly. He is more leather clad Michael Myers than Bruce Wayne. Nobel as his reasons may be, he is more straight-up vigilante even with the mask, which is permanently attached to his face…begging the question how does he eat, drink or breathe. There are some intense and bloody fight scenes and Tero Saikkonen’s cinematography does make a modestly budgeted film look very good. Running Rämö’s story-line alongside Rendel’s revenge story-line is a bit distracting till an hour in and we find we are seeing Rendel’s origin and not a sub-plot, but, once that is clear, it works in retrospect. It also works having one of Rendel’s daughter’s favorite characters of folk-lore acting as a second personality/guide inside his head. It was a nice and original touch. Aside from a throwaway line about a possible military background, it is also curious that the mild-mannered Rämö has become such a skilled fighter as Rendel, but it is a comic book style movie after all. Director/writer Haaja has given the film some nice atmosphere, has a solid visual style and the fight scenes and filmmaker’s effort do make it worth a watch. Also stars Wyrmwood’s Bianca Bradey as sexy, bad-ass killer, Stacey and is titled Rendel: Dark Vengeance here in the U.S.
The Australian zombie flick Wyrmwood was a deliriously fun and delightfully gory flick that left fans wanting more! Now creators Kiah and Tristan Roache-Turner are working on a series based on the cult hit film and it looks like Wyrmwood: Chronicles of the Dead could rivalAsh vs. Evil Dead for blood spattered fun. They’ve released a preview scene of a nimble young lass (Nandalie Campbell Killick) fighting to escape those villainous scientists from the first flick. This blood-spattered sequence also indicates ass-kicking Bianca Bradey is back as the zombie controlling Brooke and Jay Gallagher will return as Barry. No word yet as to where and when this will be available, but MonsterZero NJ can’t wait!
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“The name of the star is called Wormwood; and a third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the waters, because they were made bitter.”- Revelations 8:11
Leave it to the Australians to give life back to the stale zombie genre with this delightful mash-up of Evil Dead and The Road Warrior. This fun and sometimes intense and gruesome flick, tells the story of brother and sister, Barry (Jay Gallagher) and Brooke (Bianca Bradey) during a mysterious zombie outbreak. Not much is given to us about the cause except for an abundance of shooting stars on the night it begins and a biblical reference to Wyrmwood, a star which falls to earth during Revelations and brings a plague of death. Barry is with his family and Brooke doing a photo shoot in the town of Bulla Bulla. Barry looses both his wife and daughter to the mysterious condition which, for some reason, spares those with A- blood. He eventually teams up Aborigine camper Benny (Leon Burchill) who lost both his brothers. Together they run into some locals and discover that while this ‘situation’ has rendered gas and fossil fuels inert, the zombies’ blood is quite flammable and the methane-like gas they exhale works as a fuel substitute. So, they go out armed and armored to gather ‘fuel’ and rescue Barry’s sister. Brooke, on the other hand, has been kidnaped by a sinister military group who keeps her restrained and gagged in a lab where there are performing experiments on zombie and human alike. Experiments, unbeknownst to her captors, that render Brooke with the ability to telekinetically control the living dead. Obviously the two siblings and their stories will come together…and then the bloody fun begins.
As directed by Kiah Roache-Turner from a script he co-wrote with his brother Tristan Roache-Turner, this flick is a blast of fun and a breath of bloody fresh air for the zombie sub-genre. A sub-genre made stale by an over-saturation of movies and weekly zombie TV shows. They make even the silliest aspects of the story work, and work very well. They take their story very seriously…though it is laden with that off-beat Australian sense of humor, which seems to fit in perfectly with the more gruesome aspects of this deviously twisted tale. The film has a really cool visual style and is obviously made by those who love these kind of movies and who also know what makes them work. This energetic mash-up is filled with subtle references to films like Dawn Of The Dead, Evil Dead, the Mad Max films and even a playful nod to The Walking Dead involving a Samurai sword. Roache-Turner, however, creates his own flick from all the hat-tipping, despite borrowing concepts from George Romero and George Miller and makes his homage to the movies he loves in his own style. One of the things I loved most about it was that the combination of eclectic elements is mixed so well and works far better than it sounds like it should…cause it’s mixed in the right amounts and given the respect it deserves. The film is action packed but, never at the sacrifice of it’s off-kilter story, or characters, and can be very intense at times. There is also a lot of gory violence, which appears to be mostly…and thankfully… well-rendered live effects, too. Abundance of action and bloodshed aside, though, what makes it really work so completely is a charming group of main characters and some delightfully eccentric supporting characters, such as a sinister scientist who prefers to listen to K.C. and the Sunshine Band while he conducts his gruesome experiments. There really is little to not like about this film, made by film geeks for the film geek in all of us. Roache-Turner is certainly a filmmaker to watch.
As for the cast, they are all engaging. Gallagher is a charming and solid hero as Barry. Despite his loses and what is happening, he is valiantly going to find his sibling, as she is all he has left. Burchill is delightful as the oddball Benny. The character is given a lot of charm by the actor and is extremely likable. He has some of the best lines and is a perfect side-kick for Barry. As Brooke, Bianca Bradey is strong and sexy and her tattooed heroine becomes quite the powerhouse once she learns to use the side-effects of the experiments against those who hold her captive. The actress spends about 75% of the movie tied up with a fetishistic gag in her mouth and has to express her emotions and thoughts in her eyes and body language and Bradey does a great job. Long before she gets free, we like her immensely and are rooting for her. The supporting characters are also an eccentric lot and help add an offbeat atmosphere to the story and film. They seem both over-the-top and yet, somehow believably human, at the same time.
What little faults the film has are minor and not really worth bringing up when the filmmakers get so much, so right. They somehow mash-up quite a few different genres worth of ideas to fuel their homage and, as such, make sure to give nods to the types of film’s that inspired them. It reminded me of Neil Marshall’s Doomsday in that the entire film existed to pay homage to others yet, somehow, is it’s own movie. Energetic, delightfully gory and with a fast and furious pace, Wyrmwood is a real blast of George Romero meets Sam Raimi meets George Miller and yet remains very Kiah Roache-Turner. One of the year’s best horrors, so far, in my book and by a filmmaking talent to keep a close watch on!
-MonsterZero NJ
Rated 3 and 1/2 (out of 4) Road Warrior-esque zombie fighters!
MonsterZero NJ's Movie Madhouse 