What first hooked me with Code Red when I saw the title at Amazon.co.uk was of course the title, which made me think - in my infinite stupidity - it had something to do with the distribution company with the same namn. After reading a little bit it felt more like a rip-off on Outpost and its sequels. I was wrong. Instead this is pretty basic zombie/infected human on an island in Bulgaria (they don't even pretend its some other country) starring the stiffest lead since that tree I saw outside in the forest the other day, Paul Logan.
No, he's alright. But he sure is stiff, just like heroes in movies like this should be. It's a co-production between United States and Bulgaria and my expections - which thought it would look like Horrors of War or some other terrible, shitty WWII-related "horror" movie - went up a lot higehr than I ever could imagine. In all fairness, it's a decent looking horror movie with an impressive flashback to the war, with the traditional Saving Private Ryan shaky cam, lots of blood and explosions and a nice set-up about Russian poison gas transforming the soldiers to bloodthirsty zombies.
All the evidence was destroyed - deliberatly - during the battle of Stalingrand - and now the American forces want to get their dirty hands on any surviving gas that might be hidden in an eight level deep base in Bulgaria. It was here I thought it would be set deep down in the catacombs of the Bulgarian soil, but noooooo... instead he infection spreads when the evil local military blow up the base and soon we have a real Nightmare City on our hands, with bubbling, gory faces running around craving the blood of innoncent Bulgarian extras.
Like most movies starring these two fellas...
...this is prime Bulgarian cheese, and its not that bad either. The gore is cheap, but still bloody, but the special effects is focused more on gory squibs and juicy and slimy make-up effects. There's of course a few gore effects here and there, but most of the focus is on shooting and running and blowing shit up. The best scene is without a doubt the evil old lady who storms out from her apartment, banging her head against a door when chasing a little girl. Fun, fun, fun! The zombies - or what you can call them - are violent fuckers, and more than once they're using the bodies and heads to slam into people and non-people things. It's a lot more ambitious than in many other similar movies I've seen.
The action is plenty, the blood is plenty. What's missing is a decent cast. The two men above always do good work, but they're hardly the leads. Paul Logan have a very limited range of acting. He looks like a hero, but it would nice with a little bit more charisma. The same thing could be said about Manal El-Feitury as Anna, the heroic doctor who wants to save her little girl from the zombies during the main duration of the movie.
Everything leads up to a ton of hints saying there will be a sequel - and why not? It's not a bad movie. It's one of those you will see, be entertained by and then forget. Just like a one night stand with a Romanian waiter on the weekendboat to Helsinki.
"starring the stiffest lead since that tree I saw outside in the forest the other day, Paul Logan."
hahahhahahhah....never seen the guy, but he sure does sound stiff.
"The gore is cheap, but still bloody, but the special effects is focused more on gory squibs and juicy and slimy make-up effects."
How nice....
"Paul Logan have a very limited range of acting. He looks like a hero, but it would nice with a little bit more charisma."
Too bad, a hero without charm.
"The same thing could be said about Manal El-Feitury as Anna, the heroic doctor who wants to save her little girl from the zombies during the main duration of the movie."
Manal.....dating one of the producers perhaps?
"It's not a bad movie. It's one of those you will see, be entertained by and then forget. Just like a one night stand with a Romanian waiter on the weekendboat to Helsinki."
Hmmm....had you said slovakian 18 year old girls, I would have understand but now....I´m confused....hahhahhahahh....good review and thanks.
Posted by: Megatron | January 18, 2014 at 14:27