Mike_T-Little_Mtn_Sound_Archive Review of Dead Squad: Temple of the Undead

Dead Squad: Temple of the Undead (2018)

Zombie cheese, anyone? A fun romp of a super campy B-flick

[5/10 · 23 February 2019]

Short and sweet. No synopsis or spoilers.

Dead Squad is the epitome, the height, the very definition of zombie b-flick cheese. Super campy with tons of b-flick blood & gore, and a script straight out of the sewer.

There is NOTHING about Dead Squad that makes it worthy of being called a film. A movie? I guess technically, but it's really more of a flick. That doesn't mean it's without its merits or wasn't worthy of watch, 'cause it totally was!

Some quick notes:

• The sets are pretty darn good! Considering this is low budget schmaltz, they're REALLY good. The majority of the movie takes place in these underground bunkers beneath an old temple in the rainforest, and the entire time I was watching I kept telling myself that it is remeniscent of the old TV show 'Land Of the Lost' - not the show, but the Sleestack lair. You know...those killer reptile humanoids that walked around hissing? Yep...that's what the bunker beneath the temple reminds me of, and it looks really cool.
• The direction and writing was actually quite solid. Any zombie movie that invokes empathy toward a zombie is clever. Crazy & kookie, but clever. The acting was EXACTLY what you would expect from a cheesy b-flick zombie movie with lots of over-the-top, wooden dialog, although the lead (her name escapes me, but she is a young black girl who happens to be some kind of martial arts guru) did a pretty convincing job. Everything else was exactly what you wokld expect from a cheesy zombie flick.

Now, a few notes on parental content:

• PROFANITY: Yeh, there's some, but not a ton. Just a few places here and there.
• INTENSE/SCARY SCENES: Come on...it's a cheesy zombie b-flick.
• NUDITY/SEXUAL SITUATIONS: Now we're getting somewhere. While it's not loaded with hardcore nudity, there are the token b-flick "boob shots" several times, along with some scantily clad women (and zombies) and a few scenes of a sexual nature. Beyond the token few, however, it's not sex overload, or rampant through the film.

-VIOLENCE/GORE: This is the fun part. There is a fairly significant amount of blood and gore during the last 2/3 of the film...maybe closer to the last 1/2. While the fx were actually pretty decent for a super-camp production, there was nothing so disgustingly gross that would make a horror fan cringe, as it's hard to get a queesy stomach when you're laughing. But in all seriousness, people looking for gore should have their boats floated with this, and it looks pretty good.

All in all, this is a fun little romp. It's a little slow in a couple of places, but that doesn't last too long. If you like zombies and you like camp, with a bit of gore and a couple of boobs, this'll be right up your alley.