The October Zombie-Thon - Day 19: Gangs of the Dead
Posted by Trevor Snyder on 10.19.2008
He's a weatherman...named Dick Weatherman!! Get it? Hello? Is this thing on?
GANGS OF THE DEAD (2006)
(Last Rites)
Directed by: Duane Stinnett
Written by: Krissann Shipley & Duane Stinnett
Country: USA
In the recent Vice Presidential debate, most pundits agreed that Republican VP nominee Sarah Palin would only have to avoid looking like a complete idiot in order to consider the night a sort of win for her side. I apply this same mentality to today's movie, given my previous experiences with the "urban zombie film" (the politically correct term for zombie movies with a predominantly minority cast, targeted at minority audiences). Zombiez and Hood of the Living Dead, both reviewed in last year's Zombie-Thon – were so incredibly underwhelming that I couldn't help but go into Gangs of the Dead expecting another pitiful display of monotony.
And so it's with no small amount of surprise that I admit this one isn't all that bad. Sure, it's by no means a classic, either, but it at least suggests the "urban zombie film" isn't a complete lost cause.
Right off the bat, for instance, we're treated to a pretty fun opening scene, as a meteorite strikes a bridge in the city, killing the group of homeless people who have congregated underneath. It's a visually impressive sequence, especially for a straight-to-video film of this kind, and it gets things going on a good note.
From there, we move on to the movie proper, as a bunch of stereotypical black gang members head to a warehouse to make a drug deal with Phantasm's Reggie Bannister (whose part is far too brief, but at least lends the movie a little horror cred). Unfortunately, due to an apparent scheduling error, they show up at the exact same time as a bunch of stereotypical Mexican gang members. I guess proper scheduling isn't one of the criminal underworld's strong suits.
Anyway, these two gangs obviously don't get along, but that's only the beginning of their problems. For one thing, they're not aware that the warehouse is surrounded by police, ready to swoop in and bust everyone. That's bad enough, but even worse is the fact that the warehouse is about to be descended upon by the bums from the first scene, now resurrected as flesh-hungry monsters. Soon, all three contingents – blacks, Mexicans, and police…along with a weatherman named Dick Weatherman (apparently included just so the filmmakers could make that joke) – are forced to band together and survive the zombie onslaught. And although movies like Independence Day told me that apocalyptic scenarios would bring people of different races and beliefs together, that's definitely not the case here, as the in-fighting amongst the groups turns out to be just as deadly as the ghouls outside their doors.
This is a legitimately intriguing premise for a zombie flick, so it's frustrating that Gangs of the Dead never really capitalizes on it as strongly as it could have. I don't want to say the zombies here are a complete afterthought – there are a couple nice moments of undead mayhem, including a very cool effect where the zombies rip a main character's head in half. But, for the most part, the majority of the film's running time is spent showcasing the constant bickering between the groups, so much so that at times you'd be forgiven for forgetting you're watching a horror movie, and instead assuming it's just another indie crime drama. Heck, there's even an additional subplot involving the gangsters trying to figure out who among them was the mole for the police, obviously included to add a little extra tension to the proceedings.
Maybe this would be OK if the characters were a little more interesting, but we're instead stuck with boring, obvious stereotypes. The only real standout is Noel Gugliemi (here billed as Noel G.). Gugliemi popped up in last year's Zombie-Thon as well, in the lame 7 Mummies. In that review I wondered why Gugliemi "has played ‘the wise-cracking Mexican guy' in every movie I've seen for the past 5 years." That's pretty much the case again here, but at least playing the same role over and over has allowed him to perfect his schtick, and he turns in a fairly strong performance as the leader of the Mexican gang. Still, he can't be expected to carry the entire movie; not when he's forced to share the screen with bland characters like the gang-banger planning to get out of the game because he has recently found God, or the gangster's girlfriend who annoyingly reverts to the mentality of a six-year-old upon seeing her first zombie.
So you might be wondering why – if the characters and story are so pathetic – I said earlier that this really isn't that bad. It all comes down to style. In terms of technical quality, Gangs of the Dead not only stands heads and shoulders above the other urban zombie movies I've seen, but I would put it up against almost any straight-to-video horror fare I've seen in the last few years. Director Duane Stinnett has a good eye, and he shows it off with a number of stylish and engaging high-energy shots, not to mention very impressive use of light, shadow, and fog. This movie looks great, and is a far cry from the majority of similar films which don't look all that different from your family's old home movies.
True, a striking visual style isn't really enough to get by on when the film's other elements are so typical. But, like I said….low expectations and all. I was surprised to find anything worth raving about (and while I'm at it, I should also mention how much I enjoyed the clever, pessimistic ending). No one is going to accuse Gangs of the Dead of being a high-point in zombie cinema, but it's definitely a step in the right direction for urban zombie movies, proving that they don't all need to be miserable, embarrassing efforts. I might never watch this movie again, but at least I don't regret watching it this one time. That alone – like Sarah Palin's ability to not fall flat on her face in the debate – has got to be considered a small victory.
