THE PLOT THUS FAR
In this ferocious sequel to the worldwide horror hit THE DEAD, an infectious epidemic spreads through India as an American turbine engineer (Joseph Millson of TV’s 24: LIVE ANOTHER DAY) learns that his pregnant girlfriend is trapped near the slums of Mumbai. Now he must battle his way across a 300-mile wasteland of the ravenous undead.
WHAT WE THOUGHT
“The Dead 2″ is an odyssey through waves of zombies, as a man tries to rescue his pregnant girlfriend. Unfortunately, he’s having to haul ass through one of the most populous regions in the world. The push to make this one more of a melodramatic mainstream appeal movie ends up hurting it when compared to the first film. There’s a ton of cliche, which ends up cutting into the horror elements. While it might win over more viewers, any gain feels short-term.
Zombies on an international scale rarely get done to the level that most fans desire. If you haven’t seen the first, this movie follows the Escape from LA handbook while still trying to carve out its identity. The zombies felt a little too stagey and the environment seemed to be more of a threat than the walking ghouls. Oh well, maybe I’ve become too much of a zombie snob over the years. For those that care, our hero gets an orphan sidekick. He’s no Short Round, but he manages to steal a few scenes presented here. I will say this, the Ford Brothers staged shots better in this sequel and it makes the film look 800 times better than the first movie.
The Blu-Ray comes with a featurette and deleted scenes as the special features. The A/V Quality is pretty sharp for a foreign horror movie. The 1080p transfer seems a little too bright at times. But, the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track has dynamic range. In the end, I’d recommend a purchase to the curious.
RELEASE DATE: 09/16/2014