my thoughts on.... 'Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead' (an original Creepercast site review)

As with all of my reviews of the independent films I watch for The Creepercast, I fully recommend that you check each and every one of them out. I am one man and this is my opinion. I've seen plenty of movies that received reviews that were the complete opposite of how I saw the film. These writers, directors, producers and actors all put a lot of time and love into these projects. They deserve to be seen and appreciated for what they are. Everyone has a dream and I fully support the people that take the time to make theirs a reality. With that being said....
Obviously, from my last two 'Top' lists for zombie films, I'm a huge fan of the genre. Therefore, any time there's a new release that gets any kind of good notices, I'm eager to check it out. The whole genre is so over saturated with amateur outings and sub par fare, that it's rare to find anything new or worthwhile. Not that there aren't a few diamonds in the rough, but they are few and far between. Keeping that in mind and realizing the sheer scope of the overloaded market, when I first saw the poster for 'Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead', I was a bit excited. It came across more as another installment in the 'Mad Max' franchise, than a zombie film. But the more I read about it and after seeing the trailer, I went from a little excited to flat out geeked! Not only was it a zombie film, it was an action movie and Australian to boot! All of the elements of another 'Undead', but with some cool post apocalyptic twists thrown in for good measure. It felt like forever before I finally got around to seeing it, but it was more than worth the wait. From start to finish, this was something new and all of the things that are right with zombie film making.

Written and directed by Kiah Roche-Turner, 'Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead' tells the story of 4 unlikely men who end up joining forces to survive after a zombie outbreak has overtaken the world. Meanwhile, a woman is kidnapped and forced into some experiments that involve zombies and control tactics. Not truly realizing what she was about to discover about herself and the future of the human race. That's the basic breakdown of the story, without giving away too many of the plot points. This is one that you just need to watch, with minimal knowledge, so that you can enjoy all that it has too offer. Despite the low budget, this film puts some similar big budget competitors to the test and the payoff at the end more than outweighs the budget constraints. It's an incredibly simple plot, that plays to so many different things on so many different levels, it demands that you watch it more than once.
From the first 5 minutes of this film, you know you're in for something special. It's fast paced, intense and funny in all the right places. You also quickly realize that these aren't your Romero style undead. They are way more agile and seem to be hiding some kind of unknown power. This creates a different feel then I'm used to with most of the movies in this genre. It takes a little bit to get used to the thick Australian accents, but luckily there isn't that much dialogue to have to decipher. (Plus, subtitles are a wonderful thing!) It's also not the Australia that you're used to seeing. It's very lush and green and made me question if it was even in the outback originally. There's plenty of references to other zombie films from the past for the hardcore viewers and lots of new stuff for people who may not be familiar with this type of horror. It plays to the audience on every level. Every thing about this movie felt fresh, even if the territory is well worn. If I had any complaints at all, it's that the last 20 minutes of this film, slows down for just a beat or two.... but then has an amazingly cool and kick ass ending that will make you long for a sequel. (Which is currently in the works!)
There's so much more I want to say about this film, but I just feel like I would be being redundant at this point. Stop reading this review and just go and watch it. Check your brain at the door and keep your expectations low and you will be rewarded in a BIG, bad way! 4 out of 5 stars. This film has re-watchability and will long be remembered as a cult status. It is also going to spawn a franchise, mark my words. Hopefully some action figures too. I think I'm going to go and watch it again right now.

If you like this, check out: the 'Resident Evil' franchise, 'Undead' and 'Zombieland'