Watch Undead

Undead is a 2003 Australian horror-comedy film directed by Michael and Peter Spierig. The film follows the story of a small fishing town called Berkeley, which gets hit by a mysterious meteor shower. The townsfolk start to behave strangely, and the surrounding area is suddenly filled with the walking dead. A small group of survivors, including a beautician named Rene played by Felicity Mason, a local gun-crazy maniac named Marion played by Mungo McKay, and a drifter named Wayne played by Rob Jenkins band together to fight for their lives against these strange, bloodthirsty zombies.

Upon the opening scene, viewers will instantly know that the film is chock-full of over-the-top and absurd humor mixed with suitably gruesome gore. The Spierig brothers used their knowledge of classic zombie films to create the strange but familiar world that our characters navigate. The movie's story is pretty simple, and it does have its own sense of humor, unlike other zombie apocalypse films that are often very mean-spirited. The film's small-town community, whose roads are blocked by the walking dead, feels more natural than the usual zombie chaos. The characters' endurance of their circumstances and each other reflects typical Australian banter in awkward and quirky situational humor.

Felicity Mason's Rene is the standout character for the movie; she is a badass, no-nonsense woman who can handle herself in combat or consultation. Her role is fundamentally more confident and empathetic but not limited to a modest horror heroine. Her skills already know from the outset, but Mason gives the character depth and sincerity that many actresses would struggle to bring to this kind of film. Mungo McKay's Marion is another character that steals the show. He is a gun enthusiast living in the town and provides the movie with a couple of good laughs due to his over-the-top reaction to the zombie outbreak. Rob Jenkins' Wayne is the only member of the group who is not from the town. He is a drifter passing through when the outbreak occurs and joins the group on their journey.

The special effects of the zombie outbreak are incredibly well done, whether it is the gore or the transformation of the town's residents. The Spierig brothers used a combination of practical and computer-generated effects to create the zombies, and the result is impressive. The makeup effects used to create the look of the walking dead are done exceptionally well, resulting in some genuinely stomach-churning visuals. The zombies in Undead are impressive not just for their sheer numbers, but their bizarreness as well. They are not the typical zombies audiences are used to seeing. For starters, they can shoot out projectiles from their stomachs, and that's just the beginning.

The film's setting is a small fishing village, which adds a lot to the atmosphere and the overall tone of the movie. The tight-knit nature of the community allows for a more personal and intimate storytelling experience, where you see how each character is affected by the outbreak in their own unique way. The town becomes a character itself as they are cut off from the rest of the world and must fend for themselves. The setting is a stark contrast to larger, more expansive locations seen in other zombie movies, and it is refreshingly homely.

Undead might not be as well-known as other zombie movies, but it is undoubtedly worth checking out for fans of the genre. The film's unique blend of horror and humor make for an unforgettable and joyous experience. The performance of the cast alongside the well-executed creature makeup and practical effects create memorable moments of suspense and horror that will keep viewers hooked from beginning to end. It is proof that small-scale, well-made Australian genre films deserve more recognition. So if you are in the mood for something different and enjoyable in the undead genre, Undead is definitely worth checking out.

Undead is a 2003 horror movie with a runtime of 1 hour and 44 minutes. It has received mostly poor reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 5.4 and a MetaScore of 34.