Last of the Living [DVD]

The emphasis of reviews of this movie seem to be centred largely on the budget, or lack therein. I'm a fella who enjoys his zombie horror and I have trolled through a hell of a lot of them. A lack of budget is something this genre as a whole generally has to compensate for in other ways; i.e. cinematography, storyline, acting... Most fail miserably, particularly with the 'gore' focused attempts. Many of these movies have such laughable effects and more often than not this is pooled in with an appalling script and terrible acting, resulting in a disappointing jaunt of visual tedium that is often unwatchable. This movie, despite what many of the reviews may suggest, doesn't fall into that catagory.

To begin with, The Last Of The Living was concieved, written, performed, directed and produced by a small group of mates from New Zealand and Australia. They have a few other no-budget shorts circulating on YouTube but this was their silverscreen debut. Take THAT into account and this movie becomes an achievement of epic proportions! In my opinion, The Last Of The Living was beautifully filmed and blows most low/no-budget horror movies out of the water entirely!

The story focuses on three central characters existing in a post-apocalyptic zombie plagued New Zealand, generally by lounging around in various 'mansions' and keeping themselves entertained much the way any of us would in that situation. During a shopping expedition into town, the friends happen upon another pair of survivors - a girl and her father - who claim to have discovered a potential cure for the virus that has all but irradicated the human race. When the girl's father is attacked, Ash, Morgan and Johnny take it upon themselves to assist the girl in her mission to deliver the cure to the relevant authorities. Very much a 'get the girl, kill the baddies, save the planet' formula.

Ok, so The Last Of The Living doesn't exactly push the envelope on the genre and doesn't bring anything particular unique to the table. I just found it to be especially well delivered and it immediately leapt to the higher ranks of my zombie horror favourites list. You get to know and like each of the characters (often the downfall of this type of movie, often with wooden characters so bland and unlikeable that one really does not give a shiney rat's ass which of them get munched) and there is a certain cool and feel-good factor in the way in which their adventure plays out. I was gripped from beginning to end and found myself watching the movie again the next day.

In short this movie is an absolute gem, plucked from the brains of a few good mates and crafted from a shoestring budget. And it has an awesome soundtrack, largely contributed by The Frank Woo (also friends of the bunch, from what I can gather. There is even an onscreen nod to the fact that the band has yet to finish their debut album as Johnny sidetracks to the local music store in search of it. The album still doesn't exist yet, by the way. I searched. A lot. I even asked the band themselves) who perform 'Last Of The Living' over the end credits, bouncing about in front of the kick-ass car featured in the movie. It concludes the movie perfectly.

I can see how a lot of viewers wouldn't appreciate this movie, especially when there is now a plethora of zombie horror blockbusters to pick through, but for me this movie was an instant cult classic! As I mentioned, I have seen a LOT of zombie movies (I'd go so far as to say I've seen most of them, I really do dedicate a lot of my time to the genre) and by extension it really does take something special to catch and hold my attentions and stand out to me. The Last Of The Living did precisely that! It's an awesome little beast and is absolutely worth your time and pocket money! At the very least, give it a try and reach your own conclusion. If you're disappointed you'll hardly need to remortgage your family home to pay for it (I bought it from Amazon for around £3) but you just might find yourself with a new favourite zombie movie!

Other zombie epics I found among my travels that I highly recommend to any fan of the genre are:

* [Rec] & [Rec] 2 (Both are absolutely fantastic! The American regurgitation Quarantine is less appealing but still worth the watch, as is the sequel, Quarantine 2 - The Terminal).
* Mulberry Street
* Le Horde
* Eaters
* Dead Snow

All low/no-budget gems worth scoping out!

Yes, its low budjet...but the characters lines provide many silly giggles a plenty. The film is pure zombie slaying, battering and hands on combat and the characters enjoy it! ...One even plays guitar from his rooftop to entrtain the zombies....not to mention it features an old classic cortina as transport! This film is fun from start to finish. As a zombie lover, of the highest class, such as The Walking Dead series, I was pleasantly suprised by this funny, entertaining film....I ask anyone who watches it, who also has a slapstick silly sense of humour, to give it a chance and watch... you will not be disappointed. Trust me, I am a Zombie fanatic...I wouldnt lie to you!

Not a bad effort for a small budget script, but its certainly no "Shaun of the dead". Essentially, it looks like a bunch of mates got together to film a zombie movie, this certainly shows in the script and story. There is no tension and few laughs and I found myself fast forwarding through much of the last third of the film.