Brian Clement?s Exhumed presents three short zombie movies that revolve around a mysterious object (loosely connected to Lovecraftian mythos) that can raise the dead. The three short stories are pretty entertaining and skillfully made, especially given the ultra-low budget background of the film company. Like Call of
Cthulu, I appreciate the skill in making movies on low budgets. A few other thoughts: * ?Shi No Mori? takes place in feudal Japan, following two warriors as they battle zombies in the forest. The film feels very Japanese, with excellent imitation of classic horror style (it felt like one of the segments from Kwaidan). Especially effective were the titles and the choice to use Japanese (rather than English). * ?Shadow of Tomorrow? brings the film to the 1948s in classic noir style. The lines are delivered at a quick clip, and the mise-en-scene evokes classic B noir. * ?Last Rumble? takes place in a post-apocalyptic future in which vampires and werewolves battle each other and some sinister human faction bent on maintaining their stranglehold on the world. I think. The style of this last film seemed, at first, to evoke the exploitation action movies of the 70s (like Human Tornado), but as the short progressed lost that flavor. * All three films mix these styles with the expected low-budget practical special effects. In these, Clement makes good use of quick shots and some striking images?particularly in part 3. One sequence in which a soldier?s face gets ripped off is striking and amusing.All three shorts are amusing and entertaining, though they work better as objects of art and style than as coherent tales. The complicated story weaving between the segments gets a bit confusing, but not so much that the film is hurt by it. The shorts use atmosphere and clever plotting to work well within the limits of the production. As such, they?re pretty satisfying. Overall, Exhumed is worth watching for fans of indie film and horror, but probably not satisfying for people expecting high-budget production values or vast armies of zombies.
April 23, 2009
