The Dead and the Damned
(aka Cowboys & Zombies)
Directed by Rene Perez
Courtesy of Inception Media Group
Released: Today (July 26, 2011)
Man, am I ever a sucker for a good zombie flick, especially one that crosses the boundaries of genre stereotypes. THE DEAD AND THE DAMNED is a hybrid that puts zombies running rampant in the Old West. Its definitely “Clint Eastwood meets George Romero”, just like the DVD cover claims. This movie is a lot of fun and one that you should definitely check out soon.
If you are not familiar with THE DEAD AND THE DAMNED, here is the plot synopsis courtesy of the DVD cover:
When a group of gold miners unearth a dangerous meteorite, they unleash an intergalactic plague that ravages their town and turns the population into blood-thirsty mutants. It’s up to a high plains drifter and his arch-enemy, an Indian warrior, to battle the zombies and save the Old West from the horrors of THE DEAD AND THE DAMNED.
First of all, you cannot take this movie too seriously. If you do, you won’t like it. Think of this film in relation to some of Sam Raimi’s earlier works: they’re awesome films, scary as hell in certain scenes, and great effects…but they have to be taken with a slight tongue-in-cheek attitude.
THE DEAD AND THE DAMNED has some excellent camera work in it for being a low budget feature. I especially enjoyed the wide-lens scenes that capture the sweeping forest landscapes. And there are several great moving shots as well, especially during the gunfight scenes.
The zombie effects and gore are well done as well, although the splatter-shots are very lacking; the production team went cheap and used CG splatter-shots instead of practical splatters. I can understand if the budget was hurting, but I think anyone can scrape up $20 to buy corn syrup and food coloring.
THE DEAD AND THE DAMNED has a couple of intense and downright chilling scenes, including a long sequence where a girl is trying to get away from a zombie that has lost its sight (if you can say a zombie has sight). I especially enjoyed this scene because it literally had me on the edge of my seat.
This film is not the greatest zombie flick in the world, but it’s certainly a worthy addition to the zombie genre. The main point here is that it is entertaining and that’s what counts. Check this one out for sure, and soon.
MSB
This is a nice review thank you for the kind words about the ZOMBIE Special Make -up FX I was the artist that did ALL the ZOMBIE Make-up, it is sad but true we were on a very low budget, the cg blood thing was not my choice, I did the best I could under the situation. Ed Martinez
hell I just watched your movie and I always like indi films cause they show the beginnings of an up and coming director and artist and everyone that goes with them when they get big I am a musician that is looking to get some of my music into film the music in this movie hit me because its a similar style to what I play any way would love to put a song together for your next one or I can send a recording of stuff I’ve already done (not mastered yet) but either way would love to work with your crew on your next film. liked this movie by the way I love westerns and this one had a slight difference to it I like that as well
This movie was garbage…If i was in this movie I would be so embarrassed as an actor to be in this crap…Dont bother ever watching it you will regret it
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Wasn’t a good movie. But let’s forget about the low budget for a moment and concentrate about the “spirit” of the movie. The characters were two-dimensional and poorly acted, there were a lot of slow moments (mainly involving the protagonists walking from point a to point b) that didn’t add anything important to the movie and only made me take a look at my watch, and there were a lot of mistakes (such as scenes that show the houses in the town being empty and even lacking walls). Low budget or not, that’s is not excuse for poor dialogue and bad acting. Now, I’m not saying everything in the movie was bad. I was very impressed by the zombie make up, and I think Ed Martinez should be proud of his work. The movie is not to be taken seriously, but I’m afraid it failed to provide the action and suspense the concept behind its title and synopsis made us believe