Director: Jeff Broadstreet
Year: 2006
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Zombie
Plot:
Arriving at their aunt's funeral, a woman sees that he escort has suddenly been attacked by zombies emerging from the rest of the graveyard and drives her and another survivor to a remote farmhouse nearby where they're forced to join the family living there into battling the undead horde.
Review:
For the most part, this was a much more enjoyable effort than expected. One of the strongest areas at play with this one is the manner in which it plays around with the expectations of the original in a rather fine turnaround. The idea of still opening on the two going up to the funeral is a nice way to get this going, but the action of separating them and getting them to the point of the outbreak is a somewhat enjoyable switch around. Likewise, the fact that there's some other subtle changes here that placate matters a little more smoothly, starting with the change into making the family they run into not only helpful but completely willing to buy into whatever she has to say on the matter which makes them far more likable and on our side with them from the start as the focus is shifted to the zombies breaking in. There's less of a focus on the political struggle inherent in the original which is greatly appreciated here as the film goes for more of of an emphasis on the action of the zombie encounters.
That is one of the other finest points here as the film manages to feature plenty of strong action throughout here featuring the zombie hordes amassing and attacking. From the graveyard emergence and the flee through the graveyard to the eventual discovery of the creatures taking over the area to the chase through the woods and the later series of encounters getting to the house where they converge in huge numbers to break in quite nicely, there's a lot of rather fine action to be had here with the overwhelming numbers getting to the victims. Especially true of the encounter in the farmhouse and also of the zombies crashing through the house barricades to get to the group inside as well as the eventual charge back through the horde of zombies to get away from the house. These here come complete with some solid zombie makeup and plenty of zombie gore to really make for quite a lot to like overall here to hold it up over it's flaws.
One of the main issues really holding this one back is the fact that there's just nothing really all that much different from the original in this one. It tends to run through the same storyline beats and hits many of the same points overall here that the original did, with a few small differences granted but overall it's still done with the idea of making this one get to the same overall place as the original which makes it all the more questionable why it's even done that much differently. The one major change here is the 3D aspect which isn't even done that often here to really mean much of anything as it's featuring in just a few occasions so it's rarely even prominent enough to be a worthwhile aesthetic to be featured prominently. The last minor problem is the fact that the finale's diversion back to the mortuary where it all started doesn't seem needed at all, as it's just a tacked on and wholly unneeded part of the story that doesn't need to be there for the most part. These here are what hold this one back.
Overview: ***1/2/5
While it does have some minor issues that crop up in terms of some questionable storyline tactics and a troubling production decision, beyond that there's some enjoyable elements featured here if you're willing to go along with it. Give this a chance if you're a decided fan of these zombie efforts or are looking to complete all the different remakes and variations on the original as you can, while those looking for more in-depth work from their films should heed caution.
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