Awaken the Dead (2007)

This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

The acting in this movie is really good.

I love zombie movies and especially no budget ones. So this should have been ideal for me. Unfortunately it was not. Awaken the dead is about two strangers that meet up in a safe house. One is an ex-assassin haunted by horrific events in his past. The other is a woman who, we find out later, is a prostitute and the daughter of the priests ex-colleague. They are in the safe house protecting themselves from a horde of zombies. The story is their plight to find the girls father and the people that they meet on the way. I found this a struggle to sit through, as there are long stretches of times when nothing really happens. The way that it was shot did not add to the enjoyment value as it was very grainy with washed out colours. In fact most of the film looks like it was filmed in black and white. The acting was (as expected) of the amateur variety. On their travels they meet a lady who follows them round for about 15 minutes, adds nothing to the story, says about two lines. Is she there for fodder for the zombies, well of course she is !!! There is not that much gore and the zombies looked OK (some better than others). I really just lost interest quite quickly and nothing really kick started me back to attention. There are some positives. I liked the music kinda like a haunting rock soundtrack. A couple of the zombies look quite cool. The director tries to shoot the scenes in a different way, with some of the camera set up's. Eg in one scene there is a spider that crawls down the lens and then stops and frames a zombie coming toward the camera. I just felt that it needed something more and came away disappointed.

Recognizing that any creative endeavor in today's society is easy fodder for the listless would be critics who hide behind the anonymity of the internet, I want to thank everyone who contributed to this movie. Within the limitations of time and budget, this film tries to break out of the muck of the indie horror world ruled by blood, tits and self adoration. I doesn't rely on gallons of blood, extended nudity or fall prey to the "I made this movie so I'm going to star in it" trap to get it's audience going. It makes a genuine effort to entertain and provide an interesting story in an interesting style. So judge it on its own merits.It was not developed for horror genre fans. It was not intended to complete with the polish of Hollywood production. It was intended to tell a story and be entertaining. It's not perfect. Few ultra-low budget films are. So, if you genuinely enjoy movies of all types and wish to be entertained, watch it. If you only like big budget films or dedicated genre films, then pass on it. Every movie has hype. Take that into account. Every movie also has armchair critics who bash everything from AVATAR to BRUNO to CITIZEN KANE. Take that into account as well. Ultimately, only you will know whether you will enjoy it but there's only one way to find out.

I would have to dis-agree with the comment "Awful sums it up". This movie wasn't all that bad. There were only a few weak points in the story, but overall it was good. It's a zombie movie with a different slant on why there are zombies. The two main characters seemed real to me. Those two actors did a good job. And the lead actress is some sweet eye candy.Most of the movie was grainy, probably due to low light levels because it was less to none grain for the exterior shots. The makeup was cliché. But then again this is a low budget movie, however it did cost approximately $100k. I would have expected more for $100k. This movie looked like it could have been done with $10k, unless the location at the end of the movie cost $90k. Anyway, I really appreciate low budget movies and I weigh the budget with the final product. So this one is a disappointment in that ratio, yet it was a better movie story-wise and feel-wise than bigger budget "Hollywood" movies.The movie kept me watching and I liked the ending. The story had a beginning, a middle and an ending. It had some decent actors. It even had a bit of humor added. All the elements of a good movie. Not great, but good.I wish there were more movies of like this out there.

I tend to be undemanding with micro-budgeted horrors, especially when they are made by inexperienced filmmakers. I'm predisposed to look on the bright side, to excuse technical limitations, clunky scripts, plot holes, incompetent direction, bad acting, etc. Instead, I'll focus on the positives: the odd witty line of dialogue, a gripping plot, interesting characters, an unexpected exceptional performance, isolated pieces of directorial flair, surprisingly imaginative and effective special effects and stunt work, or even a well-chosen soundtrack. Things that show promise of future growth, of better movies down the line.This movie contains none of these things. In fact, it may well be the worst movie I've ever managed to sit through from beginning to end. The barely competent direction and cinematography tries for style, but ends up pretentious and annoying. The grainy and colourless (almost monochrome) visuals don't seem to be the fault of technical limitations, but rather an aesthetic choice that simply doesn't work. The plot is senseless, the characters worthless clichés; the dialogue tries to be witty, but fails. The effects are unconvincing even when the budget is taken into account. There are no shocks, no scares, no laughs, no thrills of any kind. There are a lot of tracks on the soundtrack (in fact, much of the movie plays like a series of music videos), but they are uniformly lame. The acting never gets above adequate, and is often far below that level. You can tell that the three lead actors are better than their material, but there is nothing here for them to work with. As bad as this movie is, I recognise that completing any kind of movie is very difficult, and I have to give the filmmakers credit for their effort. I wish them all the best for their careers. From here, the only way is up.