House of the Dead (DVD, 2004)

A lot of people hate this flick, but in my opinion, any zombie movie with this many hidden trampolines can't be all bad!
Okay, it's no classic, & Uwe Boll is probably the most hated director in the history of the Internet, but come on, it has a sense of humor so why don't you?
It's brainless fun full of beautiful babes (sorry, my feminist friends, but there is no other way to describe them...), lots of bullet-blasting action & tons of walking, running and not to mention leaping undead, & on top of all that it has a great rock score & is gorgeously photographed in the rain forests of beautiful British Columbia. A perfect popcorn pick for someone who just wants a fun fright flick.
Sure, it's based on a video game, & Boll can't stop himself from editing actual footage from said game into the film (& no, it is NOT "over half the film" as some reviewers have said, but more like about 30 seconds of quick cuts sprinkled liberally through the running time), but I look upon that as a creative artistic flourish that, like the wonderfully weird camera tricks he pulls during the fight scenes, adds to the uniqueness of the film.
Besides, I like my game-based movies like I like my women...willing to show their roots!
As for some of the more supposedly 'unbelievable' parts of the story like a lost island of Spanish zombies off the west coast of Canada...well, to tell the truth, I live in the area, & let me tell you, the Spaniards really were the first white explorers to plant their flag here, naming most of the major landmarks & waterways as they went through.
And if you every take a ferry trip past some of those forest-covered, seemingly deserted islands on a misty day, you can't help thinking, well, maybe...
The DVD comes with tons of extras too, including a couple of commentary tracks, a making-of documentary/history of zombie flicks, a training film showing the movie's young actresses learning how to use the firearms they wield so expertly on screen (with some poor unfortunate interns acting the part of their zombie targets!), deleted scenes, storyboard comparisons, & a selection of trailers.
Now I should warn that this, of course, is a review of "House of the Dead" & not the more comedic "House of the Dead: the Director's Cut".
I haven't seen that, although I have heard that it consists of such filmed-on-location changes as having the movie's shady, cigar-smoking Captain Kirk (yes, that's his name...) smuggling not guns but David Hasselhoff CDs (oh, these Germans & their famous sense of humor!).
You have been warned...

Well 1st if your not a fan of series of Video Games.
You won't appreciate it as much as you would other zombie films.
I mean even when you put in the DVD.
The start menu has each character with a weapon & it says insert coins just like the arcade game.
They gave it a good storyline that was believable why these people would go to the island. Plus the editing with graphics from the arcade game inserted in to jump from scene or in real-time made this excellent in my opinion.
It goes right up there with Resident Evil Apocalypse which is based all on the Resident Evil 3 Nemesis game for PlayStation.
With not as much of a budget to spend of course.
I never got tired of watching it as many times as I did & think they did an awesome job. Keeping it in line with the video game as much as possible.

Not the best horror movie, but it's watchable. The suspense is not too bad. The acting leaves something to be desired, but lots of horror movies are campy. This movie is based on a video game of the same name. This might spark interest in gamers who just happen to like horror flicks with zombies, partying teenagers, and an evil house. It's all rather cliche' and redundant. It's ok to watch on Halloween-maybe as part of a Horror movie fest, but not worth much more.

I'll be brief, I wish I could get the time I wasted watching this movie back. This movie doesn't deserve a review, but a warning. It's crap! No movie should have clips of the video game it is based on cut and pasted into it. Don't even bother with this one.

Rating: Dud

I am a big fan of Zombie films. This film takes a bit of a different approach to the genre. It is not of the same quality that you'll find in a George A. Romero film. But thats comparing apples to oranges. The plot itself is pretty good. The special effects are very good. For a movie inspired by a video game, it's worth a look. Just be a bit open minded or you'll probably hate it.