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I always say, if you’re going to feature a
priest as the center of your horror movie, however extreme or dramatic,
make the priest a demon stomping hard ass and not some moaning pussy
that holds the bible out in front of him at every chance. The hero
Christopher is a little of both. A pacifist in some ways who is drawn
into the front lines of battle, once evil comes a knockin’. “Awaken the
Dead” (our press
coverage) is a mixed bag in terms of what it offers, but most of the time it
hits more than misses. And for that, it deserves to be seen. Director
Brookshire offers up yet another zombie apocalypse tale, this time
dipped more in the religious themes and with characters that almost seem
to know ahead of time, what the world is in store for.
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Brookshire’s eye for detail and choreography
shines on in this horror flick, with camera angles that work
to the benefit of the story. There is one great sequence
involving priest Christopher finally battling zombies at the
resolve of his own pacifism, a view he holds even during the
zombie apocalypse plaguing the city they’re in. He refuses
to resort to violence, since he was indeed an ex-assassin,
but desperate times call for desperate measures.
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Gary Kohn is very entertaining as
Christopher, and is one of the few characters on the film who
warrants an audience, because even when he’s refusing to butt heads,
he commands the screen and everything around him. “Awaken the Dead”
may be another zombie film, but it aligns the zombie takeover with a
religious prophecy, and also doesn’t hesitate to turn our heroes on
one another while cooped up in a safe haven. But they can’t stay
there forever…
Christopher is perhaps the only character in
the film that I could properly stomach. The rest were about as
irritating as a cheese grater on my temple. Most notably, there’s Mary
who is a brutally repetitive unlikable character. She does nothing but
bitch about the situation, repeatedly declares, “You know for a priest
you’re not very (insert jab here),” which annoyed me to no end. In one
scene she even proclaims, “Saving innocents is one thing, but letting
gun happy psychos in is another.” This was after watching this “gun
happy psycho” and his girlfriend chased by a group of flesh eating
zombies, mind you. Logic, you’re not welcome here. Aside from Mary,
there’s also the disappointing cut away from the most annoying
character, Stanley, which is sad. I was hoping to see him ripped to
shreds. Brookshire greatly meanders from the plot by forcing comedy
relief through the character Stanley, as well as a romance with
Christopher and Mary, neither of which were ever as entertaining as
alluded. It all just felt like padding from the premise at hand which
was basically zombies taking over the fucking world. Throw us a bone
here.
I’ve seen much better in terms of zombie
apocalypse tales, but “Awaken the Dead” is still an above par zombie
epic. While the many caveats drag it down, it’s saved by an exciting
atmosphere, and eye-catching direction.
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