Rent Night of the Living Dead: Resurrection (2012)

Spoilers follow ... - Night of the Living Dead: Resurrection review by NP

This doom-laden cheap and nasty production comes from Andrew Jones, who produced and co-wrote it. Jones is a prolific film-maker who has made a name for himself producing micro-budget horrors through North Bank Entertainment; his most successful projects involve demonic doll ‘Robert’, who has starred in three films so far, with more to come. His productions polarise opinions – on the whole, I’ve enjoyed them, with only ‘Silent Night, Bloody Night: The Homecoming’ and ‘The Amityville Asylum’ (both 2013) disappointing. ‘Resurrection’ is one of his first productions, and as such, has mixed results – and it IS nasty.

In common with low-budget projects, the sound levels are erratic. Loud moments are followed with very softly spoken dialogue that is occasionally incoherent. Lee Bane, who stars in many Jones productions, is sadly guiltier of this than anyone, although his indecipherable ruminations are hardly the fault of the actor. He plays Kevin, a member of a fairly dysfunctional family, even without the influence of the current apocalypse.

He’s married to pregnant Jenny (Rose Granger), but seemingly having an affair with her young sister. There’s Mum and Dad too, and a teenage son. The influx of living dead only add to the complications.

One thing that annoyed me about this is that the characters seemingly know that once you are bitten, you become a zombie. This ruling is either forgotten or disregarded adding to the jeopardy, but making the characters inconsistent and seemingly stupid.

Interestingly, however, the ‘normals’ outside pose an even bigger threat. Dad Terry travels alone at night to get help (always inadvisable) and meets a group of these thugs, who have taken the law into their own hands. Rather than run them down, he stops, something that doesn’t him any favours.

This is a mixed bag, really. There are scenes of gore that turn the stomach, and Director James Plumb makes the most of his lack of budget to produce a raw, grainy, unglamorous horror show.

In a a vague homage to the Romero original, the character of Ben (Sule Rimi) seems destined to be the hero of the piece with a knowledge and resolve that would appear to earmark him as a main player. Like the Ben featured in ‘Night of the Living Dead (1968)’, played by Duane Jones, he is also unexpectedly shot and killed when the others mistake him for a zombie.