Undead (2003)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Directors:

Michael Spierig
Peter Spierig

Writers:

Michael Spierig (writer)
Peter Spierig (writer)

Release Date:

4 September 2003 (Australia)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Prepare Yourself

Plot:

A quaint Australian fishing village is overcome by meteorites that turn its residents into the ravenous undead, leaving a small group of those unharmed to find a way out.

Plot Keywords:

Basement | Killer Fish | Fish | Shot In The Head | Shot In Half

Awards:

2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Felicity Mason	...	Rene
Mungo McKay	...	Marion
Rob Jenkins	...	Wayne
Lisa Cunningham	...	Sallyanne
Dirk Hunter	...	Harrison
Emma Randall	...	Molly
Steve Grieg	...	Agent
Noel Sheridan	...	Chip
Gaynor Wensley	...	Aggie
Eleanor Stillman	...	Ruth
Robyn Moore	...	Officer in Locker Room
Robert Jozinovic	...	Man in Office
Peter Mensforth	...	Cricket Batsman
Jacob Andriolo	...	Yougn Cricketer
Michele Steel	...	Screamer

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence and gore, and for language.

Runtime:

USA:97 min | Australia:104 min | Canada:100 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A (Ontario) | Canada:R (Manitoba) | Australia:MA | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:III | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | Singapore:NC-16 (original rating) | USA:R | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Queensland, Australia

Company:

Spierigfilm

Trivia:

The original screenplay did not have any swearing. Most of the swearing in the film was ad-libbed by the actors.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the first zombie attack at Marion's house occurs, he throws his guns in the air, takes the cops shotgun and shoots a zombie. He then drops the shotgun and grabs his handguns. From the aerial shot the shotgun has disappeared from the floor. Then the copper picks it up off the floor a few minutes later.

Quotes:

Alien #1: [to other Alien without suit] Put you clothes back on.
Alien #2: I'm comfortable with who I am.

Movie Connections:

References UTU (1983)

Soundtrack:

Little Green Men

A must-see splatter comedy!

I caught Undead's second and final Festival screening last night, and it is just fantastic. I cannot understand how a film so cheap (cost about two million Australian, as I recall) could look so incredibly good. Most of the visual effects were done on a laptop, and they are just stunning. According to one of the Spierig brothers (the identical twins who wrote, directed, and produced the film, as well as managing the effects) the film contains 305 special effects, and maybe ten of those effects shots don't quite work.

Technicalities aside, it is also damned funny, extremely gory, and a whole lot of fun. The humour is not just slapstick gore, either - there are some priceless moments of character humour and a handful of absolutely classic lines, arguably the best of which can be heard at the end of the trailer. Surprisingly, the plot is quite strong, too, with a ripper of an ending that left me deeply impressed.

It isn't without its flaws - a few gags fall flat, the dialogue can be a bit hard to hear at times, the pacing is a tad shaky, and the final reel or two could do with a little bit of fat trimmed, plus the hero of the piece is just a bit annoying, with a whole lot of dialogue that is meant to be cheesy, but gets a bit TOO cheesy more than once - but for a first film made on a shoestring, it is just incredible. We are talking about the Bad Taste of the digital age.

I know it is getting a small mainstream cinema release here in Oz in early September, and I have heard it is getting a little release in the US and UK as well. Fans of early Peter Jackson, Sam Raimi, and George Romero owe it to themselves to go along and laugh themselves sick.