Zombie Aftermath [DVD] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

I bought a copy of Zombie Aftermath on DVD to replace my friend's aging copy on VHS. I bought this mostly for nostalgia reasons, since my old band had used a sequence from this movie in a music video back in high school. The video and audio quality are absolutely awful. This is due to the fact that it was obviously copied from a VHS version of the movie. There are occasional video glitches, and the whole package seems even worse than the original movie, if that's possible.

To prove this point, I loaded up my friend's VHS copy of the movie(originally titled 'Aftermath' in the US). Even though the VHS tape is 25 years old, the video and audio were sharper than the DVD. In fact, it's safe to say that my friend's VHS tape suffers from much less tracking noise and glitching than the DVD version. I believe this is a first for me, as I have never seen a DVD that made me yearn for the days of magenetic tape.

As far as the story goes, there are very few zombies in Zombie Aftermath. I believe the word Zombie was added to increase sales. It's the story of a group of astronauts who come back to earth, only to discover that there was a nuclear war that wiped out most of the population. There are 3 groups left---biker crazies(think Mad Max),regular people trying to cope, and mutated zombies. Sid Haig stars as the main baddie in the movie. I use the word 'stars' sparingly, since he was the only recognizable actor in the whole movie. The director did go on to star in several sub-B-grade movies, but most of those are rated worse than this movie.

Even with the quality issues and plot issues, there are still reasons to watch this movie. There is one scene near the beginning of the movie where an old man has his head blown off from a shotgun blast. The cheese factor of this effect is worth seeing a few times in slow motion, since it looks like a paper-mache head with a gray wig getting ripped off of his body. Some of the acting is decent, and Sid Haig is relatively believable. Also, the movie does have a fully-orchestrated score, which is amazing for a movie this cheesy. I have seen higher-budget movies take the canned-music route, so this was a real surprise.

Overall, this is not a terrible movie. My only real hangup is the price vs the video quality. If you can justify $13 for a cheeseball movie, buy it and enjoy it. If you ever see it available in VHS (As 'Aftermath', 'The Aftermath', or 'Zombie Aftermath'), pick it up for peanuts and forget about this dvd. Then again, this may be the last release of this movie, ever. I almost think that it should be given a viking funeral and allowed to fade into further obscurity.

Don't waste your money on these guys' junk. They're a total bootleg outfit, with homemade DVD-Rs 'mastered' from old VHS cassettes and color Xerox artwork. DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY. Wait until the actual rights-holder puts out a legit, remastered, letterboxed release of this title, with supplements, etc. Here, all you're gonna get is...well, read the other reviews and you'll what I mean. I'm not alone in trashing this company's worthless product.

The guy above me is telling the truth. Still a great flick! The 'head scene' is hilarious and I could tell that the folks behind this film really gave it their all for what they had to work with. If your vhs copy is good just stick with it for now. This disk has slightly poor quality, but hey, it's on disk man!!! Oh...one more thing, the futuristic background in this low budget flick is pretty impressive.

This is an interesting film from the 1980s. I recall seeing it when it was new, but it hasn't aged too badly, given what we had in the 1980s.

The first part of the film may confuse you with a Retro Media film, where a look-a-like actor is on a space ship, returning to earth, before an accident happens. However, in this film, the accident isn't on their part, but the earth's. Then, similar to DefCon-4, they crash on earth and lose a member of the crew. From there, however, you have a rather interesting story-line, completely unique, that can keep some interested right up to the end.

While most of the cast is unknown today, one does stand out. His films read like a nightmare legacy, with most knowing him from "House of 1,000 Corpses" and "The Devil's Rejects." If you are older, you will recognize him from dozens of films where he has played the ultimate scum-bag. Here, his role is the same, and he does it very well. His fitting end at the stories "twist" ending, is a mix between heart-warming and heart-piercing, .38 Special style. After this high point, the film goes dark (depressing) and ends leaving us with a possible sequel, that never survived the end-times.

I can't come down too hard on this film, really. In the 1980s, such a conflict wasn't expected to end on a cheery note. However, there are no zombies involved in this film. Where the title came from, I have no idea. You have surviviors, some very attractive (dressed or not), and a few mutants, but nothing close to our definition of a Zombie. In fact, very few bodies at all, until the cast starts dying off at a rather quick pace. The special effects are very minor, but somehow I suspect that they weren't high on the list to begin with.

I think it would be interesting to see a re-make of this flick, set today, with some decent standards in mind, and not a cheesy laugh-fest type of deal. The budget here was limited, with the rifles being .303 Enfields, and the revolvers appeared to be Webley .455's, but given the effects, I assumed they were .38 Specials instead.

The film itself is a transfer from a rather rough video, but it isn't too bad after the first 30 minutes or so, when the lines disappear. Not an award winner, but still fun to watch and remember how bad the 1980s were for 'terror.'

As others have obviously stated about this release it is pure junk. I have never seen a transfer this awful. I bought another copy of this from another dealer under it's legit US title The Aftermath. All be it I'm pretty sure I ended up with another DVD-R made copy. Still it looks worlds better. I've only previewed it though. You can read my review of the film there too. I'll also state that Zombie Aftermath was the Australian title and therefore I'm presuming cut. There are at least two scenes cut from this version. Pass this copy up. You can still buy the VHS on here and get the full cut and far better quality. Love this movie. So bad it's a masterpiece in that.