Outpost (2008) User Reviews

Surprisingly well shot and acted, but the script has serious problems...

[imdb-20078 · 5/10 · 4 June 2008]

This film has become famous due to the relatively small budget it was produced on. The result is actually a well produced and shot film.

However, what is unforgivable are some terrible areas of the script. Any sense of some simple rules which the audience can follow are thrown away and instead we see absolutely random rules and behaviour by the 'creatures'.

Early in the film the 'creatures' just appear and disappear purely to scare (the audience), but doing thing more. Later they appear and disappear from thin air to then kill. Later they then seemingly lose this ability and instead have to move from (A) to (B) by walking, purely to provide some action sequences for the script.

When will writers realise that a good simple set of rules are mandatory for these sorts of films. Without them, the audience soon realises that anything can happen, so why care? In short, the audience soon realises the 'creatures' could have just appeared straight away (out of thin air) standing next to the 'heroes' and just killed them instantly... So anything else is just convoluted writing purely for the sake of 'staging' action.

Shame such poor writing spoils what could have been a good film.

nice little Brit supernatural movie big on atmosphere low on FX

[inkslug · 6/10 · 22 February 2008]

Us Brits have got reasonably good at producing limited budget scary flicks like this where a group of armed protagonists are stuck in an isolated location and have to fight supernatural forces (Dog Soldiers, The Descent, Deathwatch). I enjoyed most of this movie. It only started to get ridiculous towards the end. Anyone who gets the twists in movies easily will have the entire film sussed in the first twenty minutes, and anyone who doesn't might be pleasantly surprised by it. Either way it makes it difficult to comment directly without spoiling it.

However I can say this. A rag tag group of mercenaries are hired on false pretences to accompany and protect a scientist in search of something in an abandoned bunker in Eastern Europe. We get to this point fairly quickly without a laborious preamble. Once there, strange things begin to happen and the soldiers begin to get picked off. There is a reason for these goings on, and to start with it is handled quite well but the writer/director messed up big time by not exploring it more and because early on walls and doors are no obstacle to the enemy, and claymores and trip wires remain untriggered. The enemy does not do what they want it to, it cannot be predicted and comes an goes in small groups. However in the climax the walls and doors are an obstacle and suddenly the enemy is very helpful in it's own possible demise, setting off claymores and tripwires and coming at them en masse and predictably.

Additionally I would very much like to have seen more exploration of why these things were happening and the motivation of the enemy. But alas there isn't and in the final act it just becomes silly, their actions show they have an agenda but earlier on it was explained that they were just doing what they knew.

Because of budget limitations there are very few special effects but be clear this isn't a 'low budget' film with all the negatives that go with that label. what is done is done well, it's very atmospheric, and the lighting and cinematography is very good. The actors all put in decent performances, there's a couple of good lines, one very iconistic shot with a flag (you'll know when you see it) and some good gruesome deaths.

All told this is quite a good movie given it's limitations, but what a shame the story gets silly in the final act. I came away having enjoyed it but for once in my life wishing it had had some big US money behind it.

Worth watching. Not as good as Dog Soldiers, or The Descent but better than Deathwatch and The Cave.

A good way to spend an evening

[Frostborn · 7/10 · 14 March 2008]

I had no expectations when I started watching this movie. I had some time on my hands and it seemed decent enough to kill some time with. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised.

The idea around the movie isn't all that unique but it delivers it with an atmosphere and style that is nothing short of wonderful. The acting in this little gem is top notch. The setting itself enhances the story and events that take place, and with minimal special fx I might add. I am somewhat of a veteran to the chiller movie genre, but this one did send a shiver or two down my spine. Nice to see something that can provoke a reaction without relying heavily on gore.

All around I would say that it is well worth watching.

Great acting and story carry this one.

[stormruston · 7/10 · 27 February 2008]

This was a treat to find. I went into it with no expectations, as I do will all "B" movies, and really enjoyed this movie.

There is no weak acting so once you get into the story you are not tossed out. The story is very good, a clever twist on hauntings ala "From Beyond".

The special effects are well done and the gore is good. I personally think the first two death scenes should have been a bit more horrific, but I am not complaining. Sound effects are perfect and that helps to bring you into the movie a lot.

I can easily recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys a good ghost story with lots of mood. As good as "ghost ship"

Hey hey!

[Matador07 · 6/10 · 18 July 2008]

Hey, what do you know? Just about at the time that you get totally beaten down by godawful Z grade horror movie after godawful Z grade horror movie, along comes a super low budget little flick like this to show how it is done. Not much happens, the entire film is shot in greys and in a very limited and very visually unexciting locale. But there was a lot to like about this attempt.

I think much of the credit has to go to the script writer and director in this one, who make the most out of the little they have on hand. They stress atmosphere, sharply drawn characters, and then, in an almost unprecedented development in low grade horror, people who actually act in smart and logical fashion. The squad of soldiers in this one really moves and acts like a squad of soldiers. There is a reason for them to be where they are. There is a reason they are trapped. They take cover, lay claymores, worry about high ground and suppressing fire, pair off in twos to search, and in general never give you any reason to question whether they are actors rather than military men. That is INDCREDIBLY refreshing, and adds a remarkable degree of believability to the whole exercise, in much the way that the marines in Aliens (obviously a vastly superior movie) acted like actual soldiers and made you believe it. And in the same vein, all of the characters here have solid, believable dialogue and react in believable fashion when put under stress. The acting is solid, nobody is flat, there are no stupid joke characters, few cheap scares. The whole thing is just very intelligently done.

Now of course in the end, its still Grade Z horror. They have almost no budget, not much goes on, the premise is both clichéd and shaky, and most problematically the intelligence shown toward the characters is not duplicated in the highly erratic depiction of their opponents (the rules change every time they meet for no apparent reason). But it is the sophistication of the overall attempt here that lets me give this one a solid ranking. They had little to work with, but they actually made a real effort to turn out a quality product here. That deserves something, and in the future it would be nice to see these same people involved in a project with more ambition and money behind it.

Good ideas, risible villains... a chance missed.

[isomerase · 4/10 · 23 March 2008]

Although the idea of this movie is not entirely new (similar plot lines can be found in older movies like "Shockwave" from 1976 and computer games like the "Castle Wolfenstein" series) it is still rather original and appealing: Nazi scientists attempt to create indestructible "super soldiers" in order to achieve world domination.

The acting is very good.

The movie's special effects are also well realised and a certain amount of suspense is undeniable, especially at the beginning of the movie.

However, there were some inconsistencies that ruined the movie for me.

Firstly, the explanation given in the movie about why the paranormal phenomenons happen is incomprehensible. I would have preferred no explanation at all than a badly researched pseudo-scientific one involving some obscure Einsteinian theory. It makes it impossible to understand what the scientist is actually after the whole time.

Secondly the director seems to bend and adapt the "powers" of the undead at will, making them devoid of any credibility. Sometimes they materialise in sealed rooms and attack with great speed and deadly accuracy but in the next scene they stumble around like brainless zombies and can't even open doors. This fails to create the feeling of the main characters actually being stalked and hunted in a claustrophobic environment. I did not get a feeling of urgency and even felt a little bored at some point.

This movie disappointed me because I believe a chance has been missed to make something truly creepy and scary.

If you are just looking for gore and horror, however, you might still want to watch this movie. I would not actively recommend it though.

Rather good military horror movie

[Aaron1375 · 7/10 · 2 April 2008]

This movie is kind of a combination of a couple of other movies. "Dog Soldiers", "R-Point", and "Shock Waves". The story has these mercenaries escorting this one guy to this area of woods in the middle of a war torn country. Once they get there, the hardest part of the job should be over, but not quite. In the middle of this field there is an underground bunker and what this man who hired the soldiers wants is apparently there. The soldiers soon are fired upon by unknown assailants and they also discover a collection of bodies, that even includes someone alive. Well they soon discover this place was a Nazi bunker and the one guy is there to find out just what the German's were experimenting with. Let's just say it was not quite what I was thinking, but then it was. There are things lurking about and they begin to kill the mercenaries, just what they are is not quite clear even after the explanation. However, it is a bit more original than the typical zombie. The movie has a couple of faults though, one the set up is a bit long. It takes a good bit for the movie to get going, though once it gets going your in for a lot of action and blood. I also was not thrilled with the ending, though that is just a minor gripe, it was not all that bad, but I was hoping for a different outcome. Other than those two things and a couple of minor points though this movie was entertaining enough to me.

It could have been a great movie ...

[dtrip-1 · 4/10 · 5 May 2008]

I didn't know anything about this movie until I picked it up in the DVD club. I read the back cover summary and was happy. I mean how bad can a combination of zombies and Nazis be ? But I was not happy after watching it. Many important details deviate from what could have been a classic, without apparent gain. I mean, why did it have to take place in the present ? And, most importantly, why did the zombies have to be able to materialize at will all over the place ? I mean they are zombies, undead, you shoot them and they don't die, isn't that enough ? Maybe it's me, but I always thought invisibility to be an idiotic and cheap trick to create an atmosphere.

Next, the script misses opportunities for great horror sequences, with the Nazi experiments on prisoners (they don't actually elaborate on that), or making the zombies able to use guns (they don't), etc.

In all, I expected to see a movie where a WW-2 squad enters an abandoned Nazi experiment camp, push some wrong button on an occult machine and Nazi zombies rise all over the place and all hell breaks loose. What's better than this ? Instead, we get a modern squad that goes into an abandoned German bunker, simply turns the power on, then zombies materialize about half a mile away in the woods and start walking towards the bunker, powered by some advanced physics machine that controls them. I don't know, it just doesn't feel very right.

Claustrophobic Atmosphere, Many Unexplained Situations

[claudio_carvalho · 6/10 · 29 May 2009]

In a European country devastated by the war, a group of six mercenaries leaded by DC (Ray Stevenson) is hired by the engineer Hunt (Julian Wadham) to protect him in a travel to a no man's land. In accordance with Hunt, he is the representative of a group of investors and he has been assigned to visit one facility in one of their real estates. When they arrive in the spot, they find an old Nazi bunker with a pilot machine and evidences of gruesome experiments with human beings and one survivor. While protecting the outpost, they are attacked by invisible enemies; when Hunt discloses the truth about the mysterious device, DC realizes that they have to fight to survive to an invincible supernatural army.

"Outpost" is a horror movie that keeps a claustrophobic atmosphere, but has many unexplained situations. Why the fiends did not kill the whole group at once? Why the fiends became corporal? Why the leader of the fiends stays in the bunker? Why the mercenaries keep shooting the fiends if they know that their bullets and mines are ineffective? In the end, "Outpost" entertains, but I really prefer the South Korean "R-Point" or the British "The Keep" (1983) that give better explanation to the supernatural events. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Missão de Risco" ("Risky Mission")

A little bit dreary, dull, depressing and unexciting.

[seawalker · 4/10 · 18 May 2008]

A scientist, bankrolled by a mysterious organisation, hires a motley group of mercenaries to get him safely into a long forgotten bunker in Eastern Europe, abandoned at the end of World War II. There he find evidence of a secret experiment and something that should have died long ago...

(Makes spooky noises.)

Sounds good. Yes? OK, maybe not, but I have always thought that the success of a generic 'group of people facing unbelievable horror in a remote location' movie is mainly dependant on the execution of the premise rather than the originality of the premise. Neil Marshall's "Dog Soldiers" is an example of a brilliant soldiers vs. the supernatural movie. Such a shame that "Outpost" didn't try to rip off "Dog Soldiers" for enthusiasm, humour and, doggone it!, profane Britishness.

Because, sadly, "Outpost" is just a little bit dreary, dull, depressing and unexciting. It makes me really unhappy to write that, because I have read all about Arabella Page Croft's and Kieran Parker's struggle to get "Outpost" made. How they were rejected by Hollywood and had to finally re-mortgage their house to raise the funds to make "Outpost". I wanted "Outpost" to be a brilliant slice of low budget, energetic and inventive gore. It wasn't.

Oh, well. Maybe the next film will be better? I hope so. I am glad that this film got a theatrical release and that my 3 quid and 25 pence went towards a British production. Please don't waste that investment next time, guys!

A very nice surprise!

[hereugo · 8/10 · 22 February 2008]

Outpost was quite a surprise for me, and that means in a good way. I remember hearing about it a while ago but forgot all about it. I had the chance to see the movie recently and I sat down without any expectations at all. I figured it would be your typical B movie with horrible acting, but boy was I wrong. The first 10 minutes of the movie had me convinced that it would be a lot better than I had anticipated.

Memories surfaced of Dog Soldiers, mainly because a large portion of the Mercenaries team were of British, Scottish and Irish background. The cast mainly were from UK, which was nice to see them all acting different roles (Russians, etc, however poorly they did the accents).

One of the great things about Outpost is the setting. You really get a feel for a war torn country and the bunker itself seems rather eerie. The cast did a great acting job and to actually see some proper firefights for once was nice and realistic. The Mercenaries acted in a team, calling out when they are moving, setting, reloading and giving off information that would help the group move to cover, etc. Nice touch! The actual story was pretty good as well, but I won't ruin that here. Basically it is a mixture of horror and action with lots of suspense. The director deserves credit for being able to make a lot of things believable, as well as putting together the story into something that isn't a mess.

I gave this an 8 out of 10, because in my opinion, this is on the same level/quality as Dog Soldiers. Not a mega budget, but the actual story/acting/casting/direction all deserve credit. I would have paid to see this in the cinema, it was just that good. A movie that will probably go missed by lots, but for those who watch it then it most likely will be a surprise just like it was for me. If you watch it, don't expect too much from it and then you'll be able to enjoy it that much more as everything unfolds into "Wow, this is much better than I thought it would be".

Don't miss this, it's definitely worth it.

Down in an abandoned bunker in Eastern Europe...

[hitchcockthelegend · 7/10 · 24 August 2010]

Outpost is the feature length directing debut of Steve Barker, it's written by Rae Brunton and is produced by Arabella Croft & Kieran Parker; who financed the film themselves by mortgaging their own Glasgow home. Starring are Ray Stevenson, Julian Wadham, Richard Brake & Michael Smiley. The plot sees scientist and businessman Hunt (Wadham) hire a mercenary crack team headed by DC (Stevenson) to protect him on a perilous mission into Eastern Europe. There they are to locate an abandoned bunker in no-man's land and seemingly gather information to aid Hunt's research. However, once at the outpost, the men make a horrific discovery - one that is only the start of the terror to come.

Lets get the blatantly obvious negatives out the way first, the kind that pithy critics enjoy beating an independent film with. Outpost is not fresh, certainly not in story, setting and god forbid -- logic. Channeling (by the makers own admission) John Carpenter's spooky 1980 movie The Fog - with more than a nod towards Michael Mann's The Keep & Ken Wiederhorn's Almost Human - Outpost does, from the off, have a familiar ring to it. Yet Barker's movie can stand on its own two ghostly feet on account of it having heavy atmosphere that's nicely blended with no short supply of the grisly. This is not about cheap shocks, though. Barker slow burns the first half hour and then steadily turns up the heat as the secrets of the "Outpost" start to unravel, with the sense of dread that accompanies said unravelling palpable in the extreme.

Away from the rewarding creepy vibe that dominates the piece, the technical aspects also stand up considerably well. Barker's directing is unobtrusive and aware of its genre roots, with a cartoon/animation section deftly effective, while Brunton's screenplay is lean and lets the characters breath. That it has commentary on the barbaric nature of the Nazis and slots in a Die Glocke for its core, also, should not be understated, war is hell is as apt a saying here, as apt can be. Note worthy on the war is hell theme is that here the makers are saying war is always and everywhere, not only is the film set with one foot in a historic war and the other in a "today" war, but each of the mercenaries represent a soldier from a different war-zone around the world. With the wooded valley of Dalbeattie near Castle Douglas in Scotland standing in for Eastern Europe, Gavin Struthers does wonders on photography. Smartly stripping the colours down to a near monochrome finish that lends weight to the historical context of the story, he also makes the interiors claustrophobic and captures rich detail for the exteriors. The score from James Seymour Brett is one of the better ones for a low-fi British horror, suitably pulse like, and the acting is no-nonsense and befitting the characters within.

With a no cop out and suitably bleak ending, Outpost isn't after the popcorn crowd. It may be heavily influenced by past down in the woods army like shockers, but it sure as hell shows the likes of Rob Green's awful 2001 movie, The Bunker, how it should be done. 7/10

If the zombies don't get you the dullness will

[JoeytheBrit · 5/10 · 7 October 2009]

This British horror film is pretty unremarkable in all respects although it does boast a satisfyingly claustrophobic atmosphere and decent performances from a relatively unknown cast. The story follows a group of mercenaries as they accompany a sinister scientist into a Nazi WWII bunker beneath an Eastern European forest. Before long, it's increasingly clear that the scientist hasn't been entirely forthcoming about the true nature of their mission, and that some supernatural presence isn't pleased about them being there.

Filmed in a grainy fashion with colour so bleached that the film looks nearly black and white at times, it nevertheless looks very good, reinforcing the oppressive atmosphere and painting on the faces of the increasingly rattled soldiers of fortune the fate that awaits them all. Where the movie fatally suffers is that it isn't really all that interesting. The characters are all fairly one-dimensional – apart from the shared characteristic of not really being very likable – and aren't particularly bright. The reveal, when it eventually arrives, is a bit Indiana Jones-ish with its rather silly premise about Nazi super soldiers trapped in some kind of limbo, following the last orders they were given as they wait to be brought back to life by scientists who are long dead. They look cool, but we don't see enough of them.

What lies in the dark.

[lost-in-limbo · 7/10 · 10 May 2008]

A weary team of mercenaries are on a mission in war-torn Eastern Europe to uncover an abandoned WW2 underground bunker, which their mysterious backer wants them to safely get him there as he leads, them to it. He seems to believe there's something of great importance within. They learn that it was used by Germans, who were performing unusual and theoretic experiments on their own soldiers. However its dark secret is soon revealed and the soldiers struggle to survive against something unimaginable.

Think of 'The Bunker (2001)' meets 'Dog Soldiers (2002) 'and with a touch of 'Shock Waves (1977)'. Wallah you got the British low-budget supernatural war-themed chiller 'Outpost'. For this horror hybrid sub-genre, there's not too many about and it's quite sad because there are varied possibilities to stew up something interesting. In recent times there have been such films like 'The Bunker (2001)' and 'Deathwatch (2002)', but 'Outpost' actually does a better job with the context and psychological thrills than both of them put together. That's not saying 'Outpost' is flawless, because pacing wise it does have some problems (a sluggish mid-section) and characters are superficially tailored. However Michael Mann's surrealistic bound 'The Keep (1983)' would still remain my favourite of a short-listed sub-genre.

Now that artwork cover seems to advertise something that's it not quite. I mean it looks like it'll go out with a bang, and those soldiers can be seen as zombies. But really it's a ghost story set in a bunker which does hold the answers. Sure it's outlandish, but there's nothing enigmatic about it at all. It's doesn't build on the character's fears to end their demise, but it's an unstoppable force (which has to with the Nazis and their interest in the occult to find any sort upper-hand to winning the war) that eventually picks off the mercenaries one by one. The direct plot mixes the unconventional (the reasoning behind the unusual events) with the standard clichés. The compressed set-up is simple, and old-fashion, but it still the story has a backbone (involving the motive of the businessman) that holds it together. Atmosphere, atmosphere and atmosphere. It's the forlorn, bleak and claustrophobic type. Boy is it effective too! The colours are dourly saturated, and it saps the life out of the picture. The bunker's interior is filled with gloomy lighting, shadowy corridors and a real uneasy sense of something is always lurking in the dark. The edgy imagery can be hair-raising, and the tension gradually builds upon every revelation. But it's no scare-fest. I see some complaints about the ending not being satisfying, but I thought it couldn't be anymore appropriate with what has gone before it.

The slow burn style is deliberately executed to draw it out, but really it could've been much tighter and the film only goes for just over 80 minutes. A lot of the time is spent on the soldiers of fortune wandering the spooky bunker or trying to figure what's going on, which the script could've used some time to explore these characters. Instead it's quite thin, but at least they were believable in their actions. When the macabre horror eventually breaks out, and the ghostly SS German soldiers appear (after doing a lot of looming in the background) to hand out some bayonet happy punishment. This is where the nightmarish intensity and cruel-streak comes through and leaves its alarming mark. The violence can be grisly, and slightly unnerving. The Nazi soldiers look menacingly imposing and are lethally efficient, especially with the scenes when there's a whole battalion of them. Thank god there's no CGI getting in the way. Steve Barker's confined direction engineers a gritty, but atmospherically haunting and ominous ambiance that inserts itself in early to never leave. There's the usual style and some ambitious strokes that hold your interest. The eerily downbeat music score subtly serves well to the moody nature of the situation. Performances are nothing special, but are sure-footed. Ray Stevenson gives an admirably gruff turn and Richard Brake's grizzled red-neck is the only ones to stand out.

'Outpost' holds a brooding, curious idea, which highly entertains even with its hovering faults.

Effective Low Budget Horror

[garynorton · 6/10 · 1 May 2008]

A well produced, horror flick that follows some many traditions in this field. A good "hook" script idea with a poorly thought out, daft explanation. Too many horror films-when dealing with out of this world concepts-do exactly the same. Lets have a brief 10 minute exposition of the just read out from the script by a leading character! Still, it has some creepiness and fairly good cinematography, a muted. bleached colour/contrast (ala Saving Private Ryan). The plus points are the enemy-shadows of their former selves; shadows of SS army ghosts (or ae they?). Aside from the problems with the "lets quickly make up an explanation" theory thrown in, the main problems are as follows: The mercenaries seem to made up of a spectrum of foreign soldiers-which is fine-but the accents of some are amusingly bad! "You can be sure o one ting. No-bod-dy gives a foook about oz!" says the "African" guy. The accents didn't totally kill the films "playing it straight" approach, but did bring out a wry smile!

Unlike Neil Marshall's Dog Soldiers effort, this film lacked any sense of humour at all and might have been better for a "Hicks" type character from "Aliens" to have a mordant black sense of doom and humour. There seems to be one Irish soldier employed for this purpose but most of his lines fall fairly flat for the most part, although he is merely unrecognisable from the Simon Pegg/Nick Frost "Spaced" series, where he played (a v.funny) cycle courier with a mind messed by drug use! Overall, the visual design was very good despite its obvious budget constraints, such as the ghost/zombie elements-notably the Nazi approach from the back-lit tree-line. Are they underfire, or not? Well worth a watch then but I walked away feeling that it could have been so much better. I think the writer of this might have been influenced by a few films but...... Many years a go (back in 1977) I went to see cheap schlock horror movie starring Peter Cushing, about a zombie U boat crew who rise from the depths to kill the cast one by one. It was quite effective for the time-probably a bit daft and tame now-but the memory of it stayed with me. Shock waves, Almost Human and Dead Corps were the titles it ran under.

Somewhat enjoyable action horror

[Siamois · 4/10 · 1 January 2010]

In this little action horror film, Ray Stevenson of Rome fame plays the leader of a group of mercenaries sent on a secret mission in Eastern Europe. Stevenson does an OK job, although with the direction firmly focused on the horror and action, not much effort is made to provide us with character substance. An effort is made to make each mercenary somewhat recognizable, at the level you would find in the first Predator, but it's not as successful as far as I am concerned.

The supernatural element pops up once the mercenaries (accompanied by an agent of their mysterious employers) find the location of their mission, a bunker used by the Nazis in experimentations.

From a character development standpoint, the mercenaries arrive so fast to the bunker that their badass aura is not clearly established. And then horrible things happen, due to some mystical Nazi mumbo jumbo. The weird science involved is poorly thought out and explained but the actual result makes for typical action horror, although nothing to write home about.

The action is not very spectacular, nothing is particularly scary but fans of horror movies will probably find this entertaining enough. The director went for washed color scheme that doesn't seem terribly appropriate to me, the dialogues are rather flat but it obeys basic rules of the genre. The acting is not terribly convincing. It was a disappointment after seeing Ray Stevenson do such a good job in Rome.

Giving this movie some credit.

[JoeB131 · 7/10 · 25 August 2020]

Okay, so this is a typical "Nazi Zombie" movie - where the Zombies are extra evil because they are Nazis. Except this one has more of a plot to it. The Nazis were working on Einstein's Unified Field Theory, and somehow turned their Crack SS Troops into Nazi Zombies.

Our focus is on a team of multi-national mercenaries hired by a shadowy corporation, who are trying to find the bunker somewhere in Eastern Europe that is war torn, and no one found this thing during 45 years of Communist Rule, for um, reasons.

Now where I give this movie a lot of credit. They get the military stuff RIGHT. Automatic weapons sound like they are supposed to sound, they employ sensible tactics for a small infantry team. In short, the story seemed like it was written by someone who actually served in a military organization at some point in his life. .

Our heroes (if you want to call them that) are slowly picked off by the Nazi Zombies, and some of the effects are truly eerie. they made good use of what must not have been a very large budget to create atmosphere.

The downside...There are places where the plot drags.

But a good watch for Military Horror fans.

A wasted opportunity

[situationuniverse · 4/10 · 9 October 2008]

Nazi Zombies. Is there any greater combination of words to entice a viewer to grab a DVD from the shelf? Not likely. On the one hand you have the vilest, sickest, most pure form of evil known to man. And there's Zombies in it too.

The story concerns a group of war-embittered mercenaries, who've been hired to escort a businessman through hostile territory to an abandoned Nazi bunker. They're led to believe (mostly by their own greed) that they're in search of lost Nazi gold. Once there, things take a turn for the supernatural as long dead German soldiers appear, killing without a whisper. The businessman finds a strange device that is likely causing the re-animation. Thanks to some well placed instruction videos, we find out that the device was being used to create an unstoppable super army.

Sure they're undead and they like to kill the living, but that's as far as the similarities go. These Nazi's ain't no zombies by my book. They don't try to eat anyone for a kick off. They also don't look like your ordinary everyday zombie either. These guys have no torn limbs and they don't moan as they shuffle towards you. What a gip!

The mercenaries are made up of actors you might recognise, but can't quite place. Oh, look, there's the guy who killed Bruce Wayne's parents in Batman Begins(Richard Brake). Hey, isn't that the bloke from Rome(Ray Stevenson)? Their characters are just as disposable as the actors themselves. Not one of them generates any sympathy, making their deaths pretty incidental.

There are some genuine scares to be had though. Especially with the catatonic bald lad who turns up at the beginning. Don't take your eyes off him for a second.

All in all, this feels like a wasted opportunity. Note to Director: If you write Nazi Zombies on the box, there damn well better be Nazi Zombies inside.

Verdict 4/10 A movie non-event.

Some two-fisted mercenaries commanded by Ray Stevenson fight against dark forces

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 25 June 2010]

Eastern Europe , present day . A regular team is hired by a retainer (Julian Wadham ) to a company that acquired some real state there . They must go a place where every couple of months it witches between government and insurgent hands . The leader is a tough mercenary (Ray Stevenson ) . He'll operate six-man fire team , the money is six thousand US per man , cash , payable only on the safe return . Equipment (Richard Brake , Michael Smiley, Frost , Blair , among others ) will run to another five , up front. Then the regular army has positions to the south and insurgent to the north UN safe area is southwest . Then they encounter a German bunker plenty of relics where happen weird events. The group meets a pale man and they reckon the locals used this location for a little bit of the ethnic cleansing and they moved on . It was like a slaughterhouse down there . Then the employer communicates : ¨ On site , item located . Take all necessary steps ¨. Later on ,they encounter a machine which could be the Holy Grial of physics , there are four faces that control matter , the key has been trying to find how those forces interact . If they can do that , then they can explain the behaviour of all the substance in the universe. Einstein coined a phrase ¨ unified field theory ¨. Many people thought he was close to finding a solution . But when he saw the atomic bomb test at Trinity , he abandoned the research and destroyed his notes . Nobody has even come close to finding a solution since . Then the Nazis were working on the same thing , a machine designed to manipulate an unified field and the chamber above it where they found the bodies was built to control the resultant energy , contain it . As the Germans were trying to win a war . But with this technology , its application and impact in the modern world would be limitless and probably priceless . After that , they watch some Nazi footage as : the Third Reich was renowned for dabbling with the occult . Fantasy blending with scientific research , the ¨Field Theory¨ would have been perfect for them . An equation that could bend space and time , potentially alter reality . They were running some kind of trials on these soldiers . Exposing them to the energy harnessed in that chamber above , they were trying to enhance the men . Theoretically , the human body could become fused , disappear , interwoven with the magnetic fields themselves . The American tried something similar in 1943 . An attempt was to render a warship the USS Eldridge , invisible , using Einstein's theories , ¨The Philadelphia Experiment ¨ . Urban myth has it they were partially successful . The Nazis were attempting something similar , maybe even more ambitious . A soldier that was invulnerable and unstoppable . An army that could travel thousand of miles and nobody would be any the wiser until it materialised at the gates of the White House .

This exciting movie displays thrills , chills , warfare action and lots of blood and gore . Well played by Ray Stevenson as tough commandant , he is doing an interesting career in strong roles as Rome and Punisher 2 . Dark cinematography by Struthers and suspenseful musical score by James Seymour . The flick is professionally written and directed by Steve Barker in his only film and he is preparing the second part . Rating : Good . Nice thrilling movie full of action and violence.

Boinky bunker

[p-stepien · 4/10 · 30 October 2010]

A group of ragged war-weary mercenaries led by DC (Ray Stevenson) are hired by a British doctor to venture into the middle of a war-zone in order to find a Nazi bunker. Planned to be in and out withing 48 hours it seems to be a simple operation. That is until undead Nazis start appearing and physics gets hijacked by some wacky Second World War experiment...

I wasn't naturally expecting Shakespeare with this movie, but I was really hoping for an interesting scare. However it is a far cry away from similar tales (from ones I've seen lately it is highly reminiscent of "The Stick" by Darrell Roodt). The story remains very fragmented and is never really built up to a satisfying degree. Also the film almost totally lacks any horror save for the first 20 minutes or so. After that its a typical who-to-whack-next flick with no suspense or interesting plot points to pull it together. The ending standoff is the worst of it all, as it forces rules that were previously non-existent (with undead following DC's game plan without much fuss or objections).

All in all despite some good manly performances by Stevenson and Prior (Richard Brake) it's not worth the time invested into it. It's a shame, because the location as well as the basic premise could have given a much better end result.

Nice scifi/horror/war/action movie

[charlesdias · 8/10 · 9 March 2008]

If you ever played the famous game (PC and console) Wolfenstein, you will love this movies.

I like too much stories mixing horror and ominous Nazi scientific experiments. It's a very interesting and prolific genre. Sometimes you get some very poor stories, but it's not the case of this one. It's simple, it's plain and it's interesting with a nice mix of suspense, horror and action.

I like the way the actors played the characters, they are very realistic. Production is also very nice, no CGI at all, but only the good old way of creating weird and dark places.

If you want to see a cool mystery/horror movies with no fuzzy plot, this is the one. I recommend.

Familiar and ultra-grisly Nazi zombie tale

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 30 September 2016]

Believe it or not, the Nazi zombie is actually a staple of the horror film. Yep, enough of these films have been made to make the 'Nazi zombie' movie a sub-genre of cinema in its own right. It all started with the Peter Cushing film SHOCK WAVES made back in 1977, and then two Euro directors, Jean Rollin and Jess Franco, made their own low-budget variants on the subject with ZOMBIE LAKE and OASIS OF THE ZOMBIES. Now comes OUTPOST, a low budget British entry in the genre which also has much in common with recent war/horror efforts like THE BUNKER, THE TRENCH, and DEATHWATCH.

The film kicks off with a bunch of hard-ass guys, ex-soldiers all, going on a mercenary mission to Eastern Europe. As per usual for this genre, the colour stock is subdued, at times virtually black and white, and there's a depressingly lifeless look to the surrounds. The director goes out of his way to make all of these guys unlikeable, and he even says so on a behind-the-scenes documentary, arguing that most modern directors have to have at least one likable character and he wanted to change that. Fair enough, but it does mean that we're lacking in compassion for these guys when the nastiness starts.

My favourite character is the slightly sympathetic scientist, played by Julian Wadham, who investigates some misguided experiments with physics and eventually learns the truth behind the deserted outpost. The leading role is given to the gruff Ray Stevenson, who is also very good. Stevenson has plenty of experience playing these hard-man roles which is why he's so convincing. Other characters are fairly predictable – the twitchy Russian, the sarcastic Scots, the redneck American and the token black guy doomed to die a horrible death. The film takes a while to get going, but that's fine with me as there's plenty of atmosphere building up to the turning point. Then the director throws in a handful of very grisly death sequences and things start getting really nasty. It all ends with a massed attack of Nazi zombies which is extremely unsettling and effective, although the twist epilogue is a little staid.

So, yeah. I didn't find this as spooky as DEATHWATCH, but it does pick up towards the end and those Nazi storm troopers are an effective menace. The gore sequences are extreme and veer towards unwatchable, dragging out the violence to tortured lengths, but some of the (human) soldiers are so unpleasant that you're actively wishing that they'd hurry up and die already. That does rob the film of emotional involvement and attachment, but visually it works a treat and the climax is still superbly-done. Not a bad little movie at all, even if it does resemble the likes of DOG SOLDIERS and others a little too much.

Not in the same league as The Descent or Dog Soldiers..but its well made.

[gialli · 4/10 · 23 March 2008]

Strange businessman hires a group of soldiers to go to an abandoned Nazi bunker in the East of Europe.Strange things happen and the soldiers are killed of one by one.Something in the bunker have no plans to let the visitors complete their mission.This is an British Horror-film thats really well made,original plot and has great look and fine set-pieces.Acting is OK and it has some good and gory murders.But to be fair I tough it was a bit boring and not scary at all.Thats just the case ,its not one of the better films I seen recent.Its no new masterpiece like Neil Marshalls The Descent or his excellent Werewolf movie Dog Soldiers.Best thing about the movie is the ending and the scary look of one of the forces that killing the Soldiers.Sorry folks my rating is only 4/10.

Nazi zombie are always cool

[bloodmoviebeer · 7/10 · 7 February 2019]

Dark, gritty, and dirty. Really a great vibe and unsafe feeling during the whole movie. Highly recommended for all nazi-zombie fans

It's Not.a Bad Nazi esque Monster Movie

[jwfritz · 6/10 · 16 October 2021]

The big thing is, though the movie suggests it's supposed to be about zombies, it isn't. If I had to guess the titular enemies are more like vengeful wraiths. Even with the in movie explanation, zombie doesn't quite fit. I pondered many possibilities about who or what the nature of the antagonists were but zombie never quite fit. Any of the other half dozen or so thoughts I had would be far more suitable. While the story flowed well, the ending felt a bit lacking. The motivating factor for the antagonists fell a bit flat and didn't quite match what was revealed in the movie. The camera work was better than average and set a gloomy turbulent mood quite well. A couple spots had some plot holes like the room above the objective.