Customer Reviews

Edges of Darkness

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

As I have more important things to do like re-arranging my belly lint collection, I shall keep this one short. This opened with some decent zombie carnage then it quickly went all downhill. What we have is a convoluted mess of 3 tales that take place during the zombie apocalypse. In the final analysis the zombies play a minor role, thus leaving one to grapple with these stupid sub plots, two of which arguably don't even belong in the film. Although not the worst "Z" flick out there, it still wallows in a cesspool of mediocrity. Of interest only for the keep case art and those glorious opening scenes of zombie carnage, which were "splat" on.

I wasn't going to review this flick until I read the other reviews and saw the unwarranted hatred being heaped upon it. First of all I will admit that it's not for everyone; if you can't stand low budget, independent flix then you would best be advised to run the other way because this flick is the definition of low budget. If you don't want to see anything that attempts to stray from the beaten path then avoid this at all costs. If you confuse easily scratch it off your list. And lastly, if your zombie flix MUST consist of nothing but wall to wall zombie mayhem, well just forget it 'cause it ain't happening here. On the other hand if you can overlook the usual "flaws" that come with low budgets, if originality and creativity are your bag, if you don't mind occasional confusion and have no objections to a zombie movie where the zombies are more of a backdrop than the main feature, then EDGES OF DARKNESS may very well entertain you as much as it did me. It's not the best movie I've seen lately but it's a good attempt at blazing a new trail. And, NO, I had nothing to do with making the film and I don't know anyone connected with it either. I just appreciate different approaches to tired genres, and the zombie holocaust is fast becoming a cliche.

Recommended to those who like low budget goodness. Rating--3.50

The best part about this DVD is the cover art. After reading some reviews where people talked the movie up it's B grade at its best. Looks like it was shot using a handy cam and very B grade acting. No new takes on anything.

Basically involves a few interwoven stories of groups of people hiding and trying to survive with a zombie epidemic.

A couple of scenes worth watching for the slice and dice but a big let down story wise. Personally I'd rent it - you wouldn't watch it more than once.

I read the reviews so I expected garbage and that's what I got. Hollywood Video was closing and I got it cheap, but even a couple dollars is too much. Don't let the cover art fool you-REALLY! The movie really is as crappy as everyone else says. No plot point was resolved satisfactorily. Why they tried to bring vampires into this, well, in capable hands that might have actually been interesting to mix the genres... but NOT here. We've got zombies, vampires, and the antichrist (who's a young black boy) in this movie, everything except entertainment. In some low budget films there might even be some redeeming nudity, but again, NOT here. I don't mind low budget, but this was just awful.

"Edges of Darkness" is not one tale of the zombie apocalypse, but three. And no, they don't all converge at the end. It's a storytelling format that turns out to be shockingly effective as the focus switches between several groups of survivors struggling to cope with this brave new world of the undead. It combines several different forms of social commentary (some of which is owed to Romero, some of which is not) and creates not just a story of a zombie invasion, it paints a picture of a world invaded by zombies. I was extremely pleasantly surprised by this film considering the low scores it has received. This is a perfect example of creativity trumping a big budget. I guess some people just can't get by without a shiny picture, lots of CG, and no celebrities in the cast. Their loss is our gain.

The cast of the movie is a diverse lot. One crew includes a hardcase hottie who takes in a parent with a child who turns out to be much more then anybody will suspect. Another is a married couple where the husband is so obsessed with his computer that the wife is forced to talk to and fantasize about the zombies peering into her bedroom window at night. The last primary group is two vampires who capture a bleating, sobbing girl to feed upon and find that things are not as they seem. Each story works as a self-contained narrative, but the way they are split apart and woven together is so seamless and natural that you never feel for a minute that the story is fragmented. The pacing is outstanding. It is almost scary to think of what these guys could have done with a modest budget.

So: the brutality. Well, it's fairly sparse and spread out after the wonderfully gory opening sequence, but when it's there it does not play around. A zombie father devouring his own child sound like fun? Ever wonder just how many times a woman would continue to crush the skull of somebody who killed her husband even after they were long dead? Hint: it's a LOT! Even I was appalled at some of the violence in this movie. And that is seldom a bad thing. The ladies are a lovely lot, but I'm afraid there is no graphic sex or nudity. Sorry boys. Thankfully, this one thrives even without it.

While this is a zombie film like no other, it does have a large Romero influence. Surprisingly, most of that influence has nothing to do with the legendary horror director's zombie films. The vampires in "Edges of Darkness" are not the traditional supernatural creatures of the night, but take their cues from the lesser-known Romero work Martin. Cred established. The story of the lonely wife and the computer-obsessed husband is actually the most unbelievable. It involves a supposedly experimental semi-biological computer processor that is obviously a metaphor for people allowing technology to drain the life out them, but it's a bit over-the-top, even in a movie with zombies and vampires. Plus, who would ignore their hot wife in favor of writing fiction that nobody will ever read? They could have at least had him surfing the internet or playing video games or something. Then again, his computer appeared to be from the 80's. The vampire couple's story is extremely strong in it's originality and suffers only due to the massive mystery the viewer is left with: who/what was that girl? The most ambitious is the tale of the sexy zombie huntress who winds up being captured by a group of sadistic priests and winds up becoming the protector of the the world's last hope. Or is it humanity's greatest enemy? Warning : blurry grey lines surrounding religious beliefs. This is a truly fantastic touch that elevated this film to much better then I expected even halfway in.

Throw in a bit of black comedy and you've struck micro-budget gold. The picture is subpar, but does not border on unwatchable as a lot of these kinds of independent film do. The acting is what you'd expect, but it gets the job done. I rather like the casting, and the directors (Blaine Cade and Jason Horton, who also shared writing duties) do so with a ton of style. Somebody give these two a budget! NOW! This may not be the best zombie film ever made, but it is certainly one of the most unique. Coming in at under 90 minutes, I was hungry for more. If you are of the type who can appreciate creative low-budget horror, then have a look at this. If you got this because you wanted to see Zombieland 2, you're barking up the wrong tree. Long live independent filmmaking.

IT STARTED OUT GOOD but then quickly went downhill. Zombie movies are supposed to be straight forward movies. Something happens to create zombies. People ban together to kill zombies with head shots. KISS. In this movie the people go against each other. The geek with the first person narration was idiotic. Apparently the zombies are somehow mixed in with a demon child of Satan coming to "save" the world from the mess God has made of it, although it is not well presented. The couple feeding off blood was confusing as well as the girl who killed them with her blood. What the heck was that thing in the computer looking for an energy source? How did that tie into anything? I would say that was from another movie they spliced into this one. The black male had a limited vocabulary dropping the MF bomb all the time for no real reason. HEY! The man is dead. And what is it with women? There are flesh eating zombies roaming outside bumping into walls and all they want to do is open the curtains. Do you really have to shout at a woman to make her understand to keep the curtains closed or die?

I like independent and low-budget movies. But they don't have to be boring, and this low-budget, independent movie, despite some early promise, was boring. It just didn't go anywhere. I'm giving it one star for the "dance with the dead" scene, but it's not worth watching just for that. This is one zombie you're better off avoiding.

Zombie fans BEWARE! This is a VERY bad DRAMA - Not a zombie movie! The positive reviews HAVE to be fake (created no doubt by the producers of this dreck) because this movie is AWFUL in EVERY possible way! I love very cheap horror / B-movies and have a massive collection of them but this is just an excruciating DRAMA with non-actors sounding like they are reading directly from a very boring and pretentious script! If your idea of a good zombie movie is to hear miserable 'characters' sit around whining about how lame it is to live in a world of zombies then go for it! However if you're looking for kickass zombie mayhem you will be SEVERELY DISAPPOINTED! This wretched flick has the least amount of zombie scenes of any so-called zombie movie I can think of (and I've seen almost all of them)!!! There are 20-25 minute stretches with no zombies ANYWHERE! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! This is one of the most disappointing 'movies' I have EVER seen!

Not entirely the best zombie movie I've yet to see, however is unmistakably worth watching if you're interested in the independent film world. I'm pretty open to watching horror indie film (especially if it includes zombies) and thought this one was pretty interesting. Don't get me wrong it's not night of the living dead, but the bloodshed and carnage speak for itself as zombies rip apart pieces of bodies limb from limb and makes you want to see more flesh-eating scenes. The thing is, this movie isn't entirely a zombie movie, it also includes vampires and other strange concepts that I thought were pretty cool. The movie could use more slaughter scenes (I like the bowling ball scene in particular). Some concepts of this movie left you hanging and a little confused but you got the basics of it but I think it is meant to lead to a sequel... maybe? I'm unsure. If there is a sequel, I hope they include more gore and even more strange concepts but overall this movie is worth watching especially for a Halloween zombie movie night.

As mentioned in another persons review, if you buy this as a blind purchase your completely mislead and lied to. Dont even bother with this. One low-budget horror fan to another... this doesnt deserve the crust in your underwear.

We'll start with the acting I guess... Its up to standards with a porn I suppose. The actors seem almost as confused with the script as the viewer half the time. More than a couple times they actually look into the camera.

Next off for the make-up, its not too shabby I guess. Things you could pick up from your local halloween shop. None the less the zombies look believable... Nice blood and tearing of the flesh. Maybe if this film were a 2 hour disembowelment it would have got a 3 star?

The camera work is what you would expect from a 15 year old doing a class project with their fathers camera. Extremely grainy in a lot of instances. Majority of the film your forced to stare at an extreme close up of a characters face while they talk to themselves... Great directing! *sarcasm*

Okay, now lets get to the story. You'll find yourself saying these three words to yourself the entire film.. "What The Hell?". Film starts off with boring introductions to rather boring characters and an obsessed cyber nerd narrating. Seems they all live in the same complex... or town... or something. Who cares. Heres a kicker.. Theres a black couple who appear to be vampires? Or just obsessed with drinking blood, im not sure and dont care anyway. They kidnap victims and feed on them for survival, and apparently must not have any powers or strength considering they are freaked out by zombies. The male vampire does seem to snap a zombies neck with two fingers in one scene though...? The next characters in this circus is the cyber nerd, whos obsessed with blogging? His wife is going through a mental breakdown and its about as boring as it sounds. The nerd installs a processor into his pc which somehow turns his cactus into a snail and spawns one of the dumbest comments i've ever heard in a film. I'll just leave that at that. The next character is this whore who becomes rambo after the apocalypse takes her husband and baby. She saves a mother and son... the mother sends rambo chick on a suicide run for medicine, meanwhile the son kills his mother? Yeah im lost too. He then tells his whole story of how he needs a body to vessel so he can bring his father back into this world? Which brings in two priests who are devil worshipers I... you know what .... Nevermind this.

Im confused even writing about this. If any moron writes a review stating this film as "Great" or remotely "Decent" they are lying and more than likely helped make it. Its HORRIBLE! Dont buy into the "It has a story/Twist/Original Idea" It does not!!! Go buy drugs instead. Forget this movie ever existed!

After this film an Aenima sounds fantastic! AVOID!AVOID!AVOID!