Review by Keri O’Shea.
I’m going to start this review with a confession. When Ben, the UK editor, asked me to cover the DVD release of The Dead for this site (Ben’s note: I had already reviewed it at FrightFest 2010, which you can read here), I made a glib joke about not wanting to get in trouble with the director if I didn’t like the film: some of you who follow horror news online may know why I said that. When the movie trailer was first released last year over on twitchfilm.com, one of the film’s two directors – Jonathan Ford – launched into some incredibly irate responses to negative comments left on the site. This attracted attention to the trailer, but for all the wrong reasons, and it was down to Jonathan’s brother and co-director Howard Ford to come along and smooth over the ruffled feathers – which he did with good grace, I might add.
I haven’t relaxed my attitudes on how directors should act towards fans and fan writers, and as I’ve talked at length about this elsewhere, I won’t repeat myself here. However, having actually seen the film, I find myself in the position of sharing some of Jon Ford’s exasperation with judgements which were – even at that stage – being confidently handed out by a small number of posters at Twitch. Specifically, charges of racism were being made against the film; Jon Ford reacted badly to these. I can understand why. Once something or someone gets misidentified as ‘racist,’ that shit sticks. It’s a difficult label to remove: say nothing and suspicion grows, argue against it and find yourself evermore on the defensive. So let me just say clearly, before I move on with my review of this well-shot, strangely-beautiful and competent zombie movie, that I could identify absolutely nothing of racism therein, and if others have done so, consider me baffled and depressed by that fact.
Two military men are desperately trying to make their ways back to their families in an (unnamed) African country compromised by a blood-borne infection which is spreading out of control. When the last evacuation plane crashes on its way out, US military engineer Brian Murphy seems to be the sole survivor in a land now filled with dead men walking; as slow, deliberate and unsteady as they are, they are relentless. As he wonders what to do and where to go, he has his life saved by absconding local soldier, Sergeant Daniel Dembele – played by Ghanaian superstar Prince David Oseia – who had returned to his village, found his wife dead, and his son departed to a military base in the north. Whilst Daniel is grateful that his boy is apparently safe, he wants to find him. Despite expressing surprise that there are any Americans left in the country, Daniel suggests that Brian accompany him to the base: two people stand more chance of getting there safely, after all.
So far, so familiar. Yet, despite the fact that The Dead deals in these recognisable zombie movie motifs, what it does with them is both entertaining and proficient. It takes something of the spirit of much older films – think early Romero, or perhaps Fulci’s Zombi – in that there are no fast-moving zombies here, and we’re back with the (infinitely superior and far more sinister) plodding, inescapable dead. Having presented us with an old school version of the undead, the film chooses as its background somewhere quite new, at least to most Western audiences. The film was shot in the country of Burkina Faso, and as such, familiar horror is juxtaposed with unfamiliar, varied landscapes which are striking to look at. The Ford Brothers play to the great strengths of the appearance of the country, giving an impression throughout of beauty compromised. A vivid palate of golds, reds and sea-greens and a variety of styles of shots maintains this idea throughout. Dialogue is used sparsely: this, together with the slow-moving zombies and the sense of vastness communicated by the long shots lends the film a dreamlike quality, which when it gives way to moments of tension, feels like a well-handled change. Despite not being about to reinvent the wheel, The Dead is a well-made film which largely plays to its strengths.
Despite the fact that we have two soldiers as lead characters here, political explication is kept to a minimum: you could spend a great deal of time drawing out every mention of politics, or looking for symbolism, but for me the driving force of the film is family, with the inclusion of friendships, rather than being a treatise on militarism. Daniel is a strong character (and actually, a more effective soldier and rescuer than Murphy): his determination to see his son again makes up the most part of the plot, and Murphy depends on him. Murphy also shares his motivations: he is a family man, and his driving force is also to get home. The friendship between two men in extraordinary circumstances is believable, moving and nicely-drawn, despite the relatively low amount of dialogue. That is what I mainly took away from the film – that human relationships can endure, or develop, even under the most extreme duress. It’s a humane touch which only underlines the horror of the situation.
Like any indie, it’s not a perfect film. The sombre pace starts to stretch a little thin in places, although the film moves on just steadily enough to maintain interest (and, despite having seen hundreds of zombie films in my life, despite having a reasonable idea of what was going to happen, I was never bored here). The lead actor Rob Freeman maintains a po-faced militarism which renders some of his lines flat, and I’d have liked to see a more low-key performance from him. That said, things come together here in a moving way, there’s lots to like here, and fans of the genre will find enough gore and enough humanity to render this an effective story.
If the initial wave of nervous – and stupid – negative opinion surrounding The Dead stops people from giving it a chance, then that is, quite simply, a fucking shame. Getting films made anywhere in Africa isn’t the easy option, but the Ford Brothers did it, and they did a good job. This is a worthy addition to genre film which deserves our time and attention as fans. As an addendum: look at the film credits. Every single extra involved in the making of this film gets a credit, making this one of the most exhaustive lists I’ve ever seen, and if you’re interested in supporting the region where the film was made, there’s a link for you to do so.
Anchor Bay Entertainment will release The Dead on DVD and Blu-Ray from 10th October. You can also read Marc Patterson’s extensive interview with Jonathan and Howard Ford, from FrightFest UK 2010 Right Here.
‘The Dead’ TRAILER from Bryce Holland on Vimeo.