Customer Reviews

Exhumed

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

EXHUMED is the new movie from BRIAN CLEMENT and FRONTLINE FILMS, the guys who brought us the legendary no budget gems " MEAT MARKET 1 and 2 ". Call me crazy but those two classic, cult, cheap, sleazy, dirty and gory Zombie Flicks are masterpieces to me. So no need to tell you I was expecting EXHUMED like mad.

First impression, the production values are higher on this one than on the MEAT MARKETS as it's obvious that FRONTLINE FILMS have raised more money to make this Zombie dream come true. Then, Brian Clement has really improved his skills and mannage to give us some more beautiful shots apparently using a better camera than before.

The Stories are original and different. The first one is a SAMURAIS VS ZOMBIES thing that really rocks. The second one is shot like a 50's NOIR ( Black and White picture, lights play and all that stuff ) and by being more classy than trashy it looks like one. The third story is basically UNDERWORLD with balls, gore, Nazies and rotten zombies everywhere. The three of them are awesome ( especially the first and last one ) and make you feel like you have actually watched three different movies and I think they should have kept it that way. Unfortunately, the stories are related and it gives EXHUMED one of the most messy ending EVER. I won't reveal it but it implies time space travelling and in my opinion it just ruins the, so far, great plot by adding nothing but mess to it. Overall, it's alright and it sure didn't keep me from having a groovy time.

The make ups and Fx,as usual, are just great. The Gore is still effective and gross but lower than on previous FRONTLINE efforts. Still they deliver their share of dismembered bodies, blood and guts, it's just a litle bit less extreme.

In conclusion, that flick could have been much better. Knowing what BRIAN CLEMENT is capable of, there is no doubt about it. But anyway, it's awesome no matter what and FRONTLINE FILMS will grow bigger and bigger because they are talented people and it shows. So if you love graphic violence, sexy vampires, samourais, werewolves,decayed corpses and trash movies in general, MR GORYSSIMO strongly advises you to order EXHUMED in a heartbeat. What are you waiting for ?

I had high hopes for this film since I enjoyed Meat Market 1 & 2 but this latest film is horrible. I went in thinking there would be some sort of plot I could follow, but by the end of the DVD, I was left wondering if some how I skipped over several chapters. The first story of the trilogy was in my opinion the best...and the sad part is that it wasn't even spoken in English!

Although polished and professional - I couldn't help but think as I watched EXHUMED that I was watching a treatment for a bigger and better film. All the elements for both a blockbuster and a cult classic are inside, and they work... just what EXHUMED lacks is a bigger budget and a better editor.

While the direction is fine - the pacing of the film drags. When things should be moving slow, it works - but when the film calls for a quicker pace, it simple lays there. Scenes run too long, and in some of the action sequences you are totally removed from the film because the lack of editing allows you to see the actors "thinking" through their moves and lines. There is a hesitation that simply jolts you. And it gets even more strange when in the second chapter of the story (THE SHADOW OF TOMORROW) when the reporter in the story gets something like eight or nine different edits in one scene - as if he couldn't remember all his lines at once, or string two of them together at the same time - so the director has him deliver each line solo and then edited them all together afterwards... which is fine, we've seen this before in major films - but here the camera is all over the place. Up close, wide, medium, cockeyed, straight on - it just skips like a record and you're not sure if this was something the director wanted, or hoped we wouldn't notice. But you do - and you can't help but wish he had saved some of them for the rest of the film.

Of all three stories - THE FOREST OF DEATH, THE SHADOW OF TOMORROW and LAST RUMBLE - THE SHADOW OF TOMORROW is the most comprehenisve and complete (it's film noir, it's black and white and features one of the oddest moments ever put to film when the MAD DOCTOR of the piece tells us of his mad plans, his mad dreams, his mad designs for the world with his BACK TO US for the ENTIRE speech. He raves to a brick wall while the cast looks on - it seems no one told him to actually TURN AROUND and deliver his lines to the audience - very strange). The first story works very well - but needed to be ramped up. It's not VERSUS, but it clearly draws one some of the same tone and feel. The LAST RUMBLE is the most difficult - not just because the performances are pretty much across the board terrible - but that the set designs are very weak. It could either be one hundred years in the future, or tomorrow in your High School band room (you make the call).

All three stories are linked - for this is not really AN EPIC ANTHOLOGY OF THE UNDEAD - it's really one movie, but it's made up of several well known ones as well. Like VERSUS, PLAN NINE FROM OUTER SPACE or SUNSET BOULEVARD? It's in here - all tied together with a HEAVY METAL like linking story surrounding an "ancient artifact".

EXHUMED is a good film. It's worth the time spent watching it and has a good twist and great plot (and some great moments to simply "hoot" at as well - watch for the Drunken Sailor in THE SHADOW OF TOMORROW and prepare to laugh)... it just lacks a bigger budget and a faster pace... and, oh yeah, more zombies!

I hate giving Clement a bad review, but this one was a let-down. The only installment of the three vignettes I enjoyed was the final one that involved werewolves/vampires/and zombies. If the entire movie had this kind of hook, I would've enjoyed it as much as the Meat Market movies and Binge and Purge which are excellent films.

It was the confusing, purposefully vague ending that made me dislike this movie so much. I do look forward to his next film, this one is just okay, but nothing to write home about.