The Norah Zone Review from TerrorVisions Productions!

There’s just something about a low budget post apocalypse film which totally thrills my Creepy bones. It just works so well. Mad Max 2: Road Warrior began the long journey for many who, back in the day, hunted and watched the endless parade of Italian and USA variations on the theme. Some say “knock offs” but near enough every movie had an imaginative storyline and characters so found their own niche place.

In recent years I’ve gladly embraced many underground flicks such as Savage (read review of Savage here) and South Mill District (read review of South Mill District here) plus its sequels for a couple of examples. Gimmie a wasteland, empty buildings, guns, and brutal animal-like people then I’m all in… finally give me a post apocalypse film to watch as well… The Norah Zone, from Bart (Entity F) van Dekkan is the latest to come my way and believe me I possibly did come whilst viewing this short little beauty.

We’ve gone old school – a huge part of Europe has been wiped out by an experimental weapon infection thingy, leaving only a few haphazard survivors. A write up for us concludes that everywhere from the Middle East, to Africa and onwards has had issues through these times. It’s Mad Max style. The oil supply has stopped. We briefly see Salina, mask wearing in a rad suit, wandering the lands, then cut to the loud and heavily tattooed fat cretin, Dennis, who is riding a car around with his disabled sidekick, Mongo, shouting and just being obnoxious. He shoots a dying infected woman on the roadside then takes her lead pipe weapon. He’s also a cannibal, by the way.

Meanwhile, Salina is sifting through the lands whilst talking through CB to her girlfriend, Norah. She finds a Return of the Living Dead DVD and a few other things before suddenly being spotted by Dennis who starts yelling about her being a canary pussy. Salina produces a blade, he shows his gun and shoots her in the legs before attacking her, then takes her.

Time passes. Norah searches through the days and heads back into hiding as night falls, scouting areas on the map bit by bit looking for her lover. On her travels she meets an injured man, Leonid, who can supply her a lot of immunity pills against what is sweeping the globe. Could be this chap had a run in with Dennis earlier off screen, as the cannibal brute was snarling about a man with pills in his backpack and a painting.

Back at her hidey-hole (after he kills a looter) he tells her his story, which includes Dennis, and what has happened to Salina since. How she became his favourite toy, being whipped and raped until it was over for her. He also speaks of Moscow, because the air seems to be cleaner there, and they could make it to safety. Everything is going okay for him, until a videotape in his bag reveals some more truths about what actually happened…

The Norah Zone is an enjoyable romp through the Badlands. Director Bart makes it all feel rather authentic. You can almost smell the decay and urban collapse. This one doesn’t need mutants, telepathic dogs, or ratted up vehicles storming compounds. It just needs subtitled aggression and complete violence.

Back in days gone by, this would have been a middle of the shelf on the right videotape (well, with an extra 20 minutes or so of padding) in the store rental with a superb cover. It has all the right ingredients plus a decent cast. Some of the locations and builds are rather cool in their simplicity, allowing concentration on what is happening, as is the gore and FX work. Splatter and pouring blood are the name of the game right here ladies and gents, and Jess Berndsen gives us lots and lots.

The Norah Zone is a decent homage to the after-the-nuke/virus splatter fests a lot of us grew up with in the golden era of anything goes cinema. It knows its roots, quoting and then naming the original Mad Max at one point. The cast run with the nods to us all. Speaking of the cast, Dorien Rose Duinker and Dennis Overweg are both outstanding in their roles. I like the fact so much aims us towards what should be an inevitable showdown between cannibal maniac and revenge filled fighter… but… a Severed thumb up to Marco de Vries as Mongo. He also played a zombie in Rob Ceus’s Zombies from Sector 9 (read review of Zombies from Sector 9).

This writer could have done without the after credits behind the scenes shit, but at least it didn’t begin immediately as the film ended like something else I reviewed in recent times which I cannot remember the name of now.

Overall Score 4

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The Norah Zone Review from TerrorVisions Productions!

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