Same rake again. The theme of the zombie apocalypse was, is and will be one of the most fertile foundations for creating horror films. Since 1968, when George A. Romero directed his landmark Night of the Living Dead, movies about walking corpses have become constant guests on big and small screens around the world. The audience invariably gave the creators of such films attention and voted for their creation with a dollar, but at some point the slowly moving dead, who fall apart along the way, annoyed fans of the genre and even subsequent creations of Romero could not attract the spectator’s attention to a kind of sub-genre of horror. But the zombies did not disappear, but simply waited for a favorable time for their return. And the Walking Dead was resurrected again in 2002 thanks to the efforts of Danny Boyle, who directed one of the best zombie horror films in decades, called 28 Days Later. It is noteworthy that this film was shot mainly by the efforts of British filmmakers, who marked the beginning of a new era in the life of restless corpses. It is quite natural that the American was not sitting on the sidelines, but picked up all the best that Boyle had and created his “Dawn of the Dead”, fondled by the attention of both viewers and critics, and subsequently released a phenomenally popular and main quality television series “The Walking Dead”, breaking all rating records one left. But no matter how successful the Americans are in the field of the zombie apocalypse, the audience still expects the British again and again that they will not let down and will be able to adequately continue Danny Boyle’s work. Of course, filmmakers from Albion after “28 days later” released a dozen films on a popular horror theme, but, unfortunately, almost all of these projects disappeared immediately after their birth. It would seem, well, how much longer can you wait for the appearance of the second truly worthwhile film from fellow countrymen Boyle? It feels like forever. From time to time, when watching British zombie movies, you are terribly disappointed. My attention was attracted by the recent tape "Zombie district", which boasted a rather interesting synopsis, but, as expected, the process did not go further.
The plot of the film takes place in a small provincial town. The creators introduce us to a number of completely unfamiliar characters who were caught off guard by the country’s exciting zombie apocalypse. Crowds of the walking dead roam the streets in search of profit and spare no one. The main story begins in a crowded nightclub, in which young people traditionally spend their free time. Heroes rest, have fun and do not think about anything bad. However, all their positive attitude ends immediately, because among the guests of the club there is one suspicious girl who clearly feels bad. It is quite natural that soon she loses consciousness and dies. But only in order to soon degenerate into a zombie and infect half of the club's regulars with a dangerous virus. Crazy panic engulfs the building and the factory disco instantly turns into a bloody orgy, to avoid which is a real miracle. But each rule has its own exceptions and a couple of young girls avoid a sad fate, going in search of other survivors in order to survive in a large group. Subsequently, the heroines come across a night bonfire, which warmed grandfather and little girl. They were then joined by a middle-aged man and two guys. Not knowing what to expect and what to do, the heroes accidentally get on the wave of a certain radio station, which broadcasts information, according to which a military camp is located near the place of stay of a group of survivors, where you can find protection, shelter and food. So the heroes go on a journey, hoping for the best, but in their hearts they understand that the journey can be one way.
To understand the aspirations of the debutant in the cinema Steve Best is not at all difficult. The novice director and screenwriter decided to make a name for himself through the use of popular zombie themes without spending an exorbitant amount of money on the production of the tape. But Best clearly did not calculate his powers and decided to show us the zombie apocalypse as a large-scale, all-consuming disaster that spares no one. And if the director quite unexpectedly managed to show us really deserted streets and squares of the town with crowds of make-up extras, then the semantic part of the tape is very depressing. The first third of the timekeeping is a form of confusion. Steve Best saturates the narrative with dozens of useless characters that instantly fade from memory. The idea of showing the disaster through the prism of personal tragedies of many strangers is interesting and, if properly implemented, it could work. But when viewing, there is only a feeling that the picture is a priori incapable of catching something. At one point, we meet a couple of lovers, and at another, they are already at each other’s throats. And so on and so forth. Steve Best did not know how he would stop in time and showed us again and again the next unfortunate inhabitants, fleeing and, of course, dying at the hands and teeth of the walking dead. That's the impression. That the filmmakers simply did not know how to refine the main line of the narrative, giving each member of the group of main characters individual traits of character. In fact, Best came up with cardboard characters who do not move beyond their schematic image at all. So we have a middle-aged man who tries to lead a group, proves his effectiveness and ability; a grandfather who at first seems like someone akin to a pedophile, but in the end we realize that he really just wanted to help a little girl without thinking about anything bad. Also in the group there is a mandatory guy who annoys everyone by waving his gun, as well as an indecisive loser who is supposed to be eaten. There are two girls who escaped from the club, but their characters are so similar that it seems like they are clones, not self-sufficient personalities. This is what the main characters of this film are. And no revelations related to their images can be expected at all.
The only advantage of "Zombie District" is its numerous extras and shots with abandoned streets, which could become a decoration of many more box-office zombie horrors. However, all the advantages are instantly overshadowed by the confusion of the production, ignorance of what to do with the leading characters and disgusting camerawork, which can boast of nothing but shortcomings. The camera, and then the editing, now and then cut off the footage in the middle, leading the scenes into darkness, as if “Zombie District” was created exclusively for television. It is also disappointing to have no soundtrack. Or rather, it seems to be, but absolutely does not feel. So I can’t recommend Zombie District to even the most ardent fans of the genre. Believe me, it is better to review the classics for the hundredth time.
2 out of 10