DEAD CREATURES

DEAD CREATURES

Andrew Parkinson's debut feature I ZOMBIE: THE CHRONICLES OF PAIN was celebrated by UK video distributors Screen Edge and cult US horror mag Fangoria as one of the most intelligent and worthy indie horror films of the 90s.

Well, it was certainly intriguing in the way it took the zombie genre and concentrated on an isolated case of infection - an essay on the loneliness of suffering from an alien condition, and a possible allegory into the modern plague of AIDS into the bargain …

But, it had its shortcomings. Most of them were financial, admittedly, and I for one was always curious as to what Parkinson may be capable of if he ever got his mits on a bigger budget.

With the release of DEAD CREATURES, said curiosity has been sated.

The film opens in broad daylight with two women - Ann and Sian (Antonia Beamish and Anna Swift, respectively) exiting a hospital grounds with their incapacitated, masked friend Ali (Lindsay Clarke), confined to a wheelchair.

The two girls push their disabled friend across a poverty-stricken, graffiti-strewn council estate whilst unwittingly being followed by a middle-aged man in a car.

The man is Reece (Brendan Gregory). Knowing nothing of his background, we first get a glimpse of his true colours as he halts a young man following Ann in the street to promptly frisk him for weapons. "Are you the police?" asks the young man. "Sort of" replies Reece. Hmm, methinks perhaps not - judging by what Reece has in store for his youthful friend in future scenes …!

But why would Reece be following two girls wheeling an invalid fresh from hospital back to a high-rise apartment? Why indeed. It doesn't take long for parts of the plot to reveal themselves: Ali's hideous disfigurement; the fact that the three ladies (and their two friends, Fran and Zoe) have been contaminated with a bizarre disease that has left them as 'zombies' craving human flesh; Ann's role as meat-provider, posing as a prostitute then bringing home the remains of her kills for her infected posse to digest, etc.

Unfortunately for peripheral cast members, we are privy to what the girls are up to (in-between female-bonding nights of getting stoned, sharing embarrassing sexual anecdotes and, er, over-indulging on raw cadaver meat), whereas Reece is not. Which means he has to kidnap, tie down and torture acquaintances of the girls in order to find out their whereabouts. He also has a novel, satisfyingly gory way of disposing of his victims once they have finished being of any use to him …

The film basically moves along alternating scenes of the girls feasting on flesh whilst trying to evade Reece, and scenes of Reece interrogating poor souls in a darkened room. There's very little else going on - unless you count the copious kitchen-sink dialogue and numerous scenes of post-slaughter gore (most of the killing is off-screen).

Don't get me wrong, DEAD CREATURES is stylishly shot (some of the exterior shots are just beautiful - really!) and intelligently written. It's also well acted, and the FX of Paul Hyett are impressive.

And for a film where most killings are delivered off-screen, we do get a whole heap of bloody severed limbs (very convincing), plus delights such as slashed wrists, metal poles rammed through skulls, characters pissing blood, gaping stomach wounds, decapitation by handsaw, and more!

While shot on digital media (and, later into production, 35mm), it's worth noting that this looks very much like a film too - the best comparison I can draw visually would be Danny Boyle's 28 DAYS LATER.

So it's original, stylish, intelligent, gory, and bleak. All the makings of a great horror film, in my book. BUT - and I hate saying this, because DEAD CREATURES really does deserve your attention as it has so many good points - it falls short of it's initial promise by frankly being boring in the long run.

It's commendable that DEAD CREATURES has strived for realism and to deliver a gore film that can rise above accusations of exploitation, and it works on these levels (it really does - see it for your yourselves!) but the fact remains that perhaps a little more cheap sensationalism wouldn't have gone amiss. It's a fine line …

All in all, it's a good film and very worthy of 90 minutes of your time.

The presentation here is brilliant. The film is presented in anamorphic 1.85:1 (OAR) and 2.0 stereo sound. Both are very impressive in their execution.

And, if in doubt about the worth of the film itself, Hardgore's disc will bowl you over in terms of sheer quality and abundance of first-rate extras.

The commentary from Parkinson, director of photography Jason Shepherd and dubbing mixer Tudor Davies is excellent. It offers a consistent narrative (recorded before the film was released, in one of the rooms used as a set in the film!) and embraces all technical aspects of low-budget shooting while taking the time to inject humour, anecdotes and more into the bargain. Well worth a listen - it improves one's appreciation of the film greatly! Note that Parkinson sounds like camp UK TV presenter Dale Winton on occasion!!

A making-of featurette runs for 20 minutes and, again, is immensely enjoyable. From revealing how certain FX were conceived to offering interviews with the actors and beyond, it's a great insight.

Alongside a generous stills gallery there's also a 1 minute trailer for DEAD CREATURES that, in fairness, doesn't really do justice to the end result.

Outtakes offer glimpses of mainly alternate angles of existing scenes, many of which should have been included in the final cut. There's a couple of great effects of metal bar slamming their way out of the front of victims' foreheads, and additional flesh munching - I can't believe these weren't used?! A nice addition to this extra is the commentary track from Parkinson.

A video diary of the film's premiere at the Fantasia festival in 2001 follows (sponsored by Playstation!). After an indecipherable intro from some long-hair type, Parkinson ambles on stage to present his film to an enthusiastic crowd. After a fade-out, we return to Parkinson post-screening as he answers a few questions from the audience. Approx 20 minutes in length: a very worthy extra.

SAD MAN is a short by the director from 1993 that is included for hardcore fans and DVD enthusiasts. It's a silent, arty picture that combines live-action acting with stop-motion grainy photography. Nice to view once, I guess! 4 minutes long.

There is a wealth of trailers for other great Hardgore trailers (intake of deep breath) - INTRUDER, I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE, DON'T MESS WITH MY SISTER (recommended), DEEP RIVER SAVAGES, LAST CANNIBAL WORLD, AENIGMA, DEMONIUM, NUTBAG, HUNTING HUMANS, REIGN IN DARKNESS, RED MONKS, and BANGKOK HELL (which looks great).

Rounding off the phenomenal extras are cast and crew filmographies!

The disc offers 28 chapters over the course of a 90 minute main feature, via static, silent menu pages. It's Region 0 PAL encoded and comes in a clear plastic keepcase …

An interesting, thought-provoking (and certainly visceral) film then, and one that deserves the attention of any self-respecting zombie fan out there - and while the film may fall short of it's potential to rise above the realism and genuinely titillate upon occasion, this quality disc from Hardgore definitely compensates for that fact!

A real treat for UK horror fans …

Review by Stu Willis


 
Released by Hard Gore
Region All Pal
Rated 18
Extras :
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