The October Zombie-Thon 2009 - Day 11: Sabbath
Posted by Trevor Snyder on 10.11.2009
I was thrilled to see the Grim Reaper...but mostly because I thought he was going to put me out of the misery of finishing this movie.
SABBATH (2008)
Directed by: William Victor Schotten
Written by: Laura Seli
Country: USA
Sabbath poses an interesting conundrum. How does one go about reviewing a movie when it barely even qualifies as a movie? Sure, on the surface, Sabbath seems like a movie, in that it features "actors" working from a "script," telling a "story." And it does feature little things like opening and end credits that help lend to the "it actually is a movie" argument. But this thing is more like a fever dream captured on film than anything that could remotely be considered an actual motion picture.
It can be a little tough to figure out exactly what is going on here, but let me give it a try. Judging by the opening Bible quote, taken from Revelations, and the preponderance of angels and demons constantly walking around in the background (not to mention good old Death himself), it would appear Sabbath is about the Biblical end of days. The main gist of the story concerns the gate to Heaven (conveniently located at a cemetery), and the idea that only one last human soul is going to be allowed in. Our candidates are a mysterious drifter, a stoned minister, two baseball-obsessed brothers, and a postal worker mourning her recently departed sister. No points for already guessing who's the most likely to get the pass.
Anyway, all of these characters must fight to stay alive against a horde of living dead and get to that cemetery. How do they know they have to get there? What are those weird black demons that keep whispering to them (but apparently cannot be seen by them)? What's up with the strange screaming lady with the melting face who keeps appearing and disappearing at random? Why is Death helping them? Is Death helping them? I don't have the answers to these questions, and quite frankly, I'm not sure the filmmakers do, either. If they do, they're sure not in any hurry to share it with us.
It goes without saying that the biblical apocalypse is a mighty big idea for a low-budget production to tackle, particularly one from filmmakers who struggle just to deliver a coherent story (a struggle they usually lose). On the other hand, I think those filmmakers saw the story's larger religious overtones as something of a free ticket for justified confusion. They can just keep showing us random events and images, and if it doesn't make a whole hell of a lot of literal sense, that's OK. Don't we get that it's not supposed to?
Well, hey, I'm all for symbolism, and I can enjoy David Lynch style mind-fuckery as much as the next guy. But is it too much to ask for a low budget zombie movie to make at least a little bit of freakin' sense? Or, fine, if you're so intent on going for metaphor and thought-provoking imagery, could you at least try to make it, you know, interesting? You might think you've come up with one hell of a unique spin on the zombie film – and you know what, maybe you have. But you're not doing it any favors by wasting it on a movie where characters spend what seems like eternity just wandering around in the woods, where the sense of proximity is so bad you can never tell where the zombies are in relation to the humans, where the main actor's mumbling line delivery renders him incomprehensible, and where the supposedly scary demons are visibly wearing black jeans!
You might think I'm being overly harsh, but I'm sorry, this movie is a total mess. I suspect if I had a chance to talk to the director, he would say I just don't "get it." That's fine…I don't really want to get it. Not when the "it" in question is this laughably atrocious. Actually, let me take that back – to call it laughably atrocious suggests there is some fun to be had watching this movie. But that's sadly not the case. Sabbath is bad, but it's not even the right kind of bad. It's just depressing. I could throw it some perfunctory compliments regarding its better-than-average cinematography or at-times effectively creepy sound design. But to what end? It's not like anyone should watch the movie just for some pretty shots of a cemetery. Sabbath wants to be the movie that elevates the zombie genre by upping the stakes and offering the real-deal "end of days" as outlined in the Bible. Sitting through Sabbath, you'll find yourself wishing the "end of days" was already here.
FINAL SCORE: 0 out of 4 Bubs (Avoid At All Costs)
For more living dead goodies, check out my countdown of the 10 Hottest Zombie Babes at Night of the Living Trev.
