Zombies from Sector 9 Movie Review!
There are two types of movies which attempt to re-capture the feel of the old Grindhouse material. One sort is a joke, so everything it does, and states is a wink and a nudge to say, “Look how clever we are!” as they insert guns and women’s tits pointlessly. The other polar opposite is a film which has low budget and even lower standards of creatures, make-up, etcetera, but also has a balance of fun and seriousness so you can see exactly the care which has gone into the product.
Zombies rom Sector 9 kind of tightrope-walks both sides of the camp. On one side it is imitating both the original Grindhouse flicks, but also Quentin and Robert’s infamous creation. Yet to throw in homage nods to classic trash films along the way gives it a booster, as does the obvious affection which has been lavished upon it.
Quentin has a lot to answer for really, most of it good. I’m not one of those blokes who fall at his feet in worship. Reservoir Dogs, to me, is still his greatest film. Aside from The Hateful Eight, and Death Proof, I haven’t truly enjoyed any of his films – no, not even Pulp Fiction! However, he and Robert brought back a huge interest in an almost lost era of movie making, the ‘throw it at the wall see if it sticks‘ format where anything goes!
Bringing us nicely to Rob Ceus’, Zombies from Sector 9, originally planned as a short, and part of that above mentioned once endangered species of movies, the “fuck it let’s do it” school of thought is rampant in this one, and all the more better for it. Rob is the chap behind the short film, Dismembered (see review here) well, shared with Inge Vanleene of course, plus Rob has acted in a few films like Death Files and Variant (see review here) and he’s been an FX guy numerous times. Anyway, you get the idea. Rob Ceus has a reputation in the underground worlds and will continue to do so.
To make us feel truly at home in the sweaty theatre of our mind, our nostrils stinging with the scents of beer, semen, and oil, Rob and Inge (like the Grindhouse double) gives us a trailer for an upcoming attraction called, Necro. No, not the horrorcore rapper, but a cheaply made and tacky slasher wherein girls run, are caught, then are dead. Additionally, a bucket of body parts plus occult stuff feature. So far so cool.
The first thing that hits me as we hit our main feature is the music. Long-time readers of Severed Cinema will know I’m a lick the milk kitten sucker for a pumped up electronic moody film score. I love this so much already. From Bonehill Road to the Maniac remake, if a flick I review has that kind of atmospheric shit, sorry, I’m getting my horror soul vibe on. Two fellas in a huge power plant which is straight up Zombie Creeping Flesh, are walking along with their hard hats on, discussing a zombie film which was on channel five the night before. “Yeah, the way they blew its head off!” chuckles one. As they pass a service duct, we hear a noise within.
We then shift location to meet a large bearded bloke, Matt Bookwalker, who owns some pretty good posters, video tapes, etcetera in his home, as he motivates himself to clean up his place. Then the doorbell sounds and it’s his buddy with beer ‘n’ pizzas. Yes! Pizza, cans, and Night of the Living Dead. “How many times you seen this?” asks Matt. His buddy smiles. “I don’t know, five hundred?” We learn he’s trying to clean the place because his son is coming over, he’s trying to alter his slob like ways.
Back at the power plant and the two workers are faced by a kind of hanging rubber toy cretin which has wires holding up its tentacles stuff. This obviously freaks them out a bit, and one guy is overpowered in a rather long uninspiring fun way. As he rips his shirt off, green ooze all over his face, the rubber thing drips slime all over a terminal and blue static flickers around. Ooooh, now the victim’s eye is popping out and his body is a mass of steaming bloody holes and sores. This is a cool but a rather agonising death scene for him as he melts into a putrid crimson pile of mess. Then the alarm klaxons out. As the plant collapses, there’s a flying saucer above it observing proceedings.
Returning to our duo of wasters, who are stoned out of their heads, as Ben’s corpse is hauled onto the pile of cadavers, a glowing light illuminates the window. They head outside and are met by the flying saucer.
The next day we see the start of the zombie epidemic, accompanied by that thumping funky electronic music. They stagger around a field for a bit. I could have done without the silly bastard having an epileptic fit right into the camera whilst chewing on some fake guts though.
Time has moved on since that day and the town, Crittersville, is a very different place. The government has cordoned off the region making it Sector 9. Our boy, Bookwalker has become a machine, battling the dead and fighting raiders. The military are also around, and have their own Dr. Logan, who carves up zombies for his experiments and yep they’re rounding up subjects for him. This is so Day of the Dead, like watching The Dead Next Door but less awkward and clunky.
However, we venture back a bit and see how Bookwalker changes, what he faces, and who he loses, whilst we meet various other survivors and the raiders who are stereotype kind of apocalypse world goons. Meanwhile Bookwalker hacks, shoots, chainsaws, and punches his way through the hordes of walking cadavers like a man with nothing to lose because he has lost everything he cared for. And Bookwalker does it all with Lord Crumb of Bad Taste giving the world a podgy finger off his t-shirt. How it should be.
“Look man, that thing is like Bub from Day of the Dead….” I love the little quips in this flick. Makes me feel warm knowing a true crimson blooded zombie fan has made this. I felt the rumble of 2014’s Wyrmwood and The Battery from 2012. It has that vibe to it but totally takes things to the next level. Truthfully, the first fifteen minutes of the actual flick kind of tested my patience. It dragged and felt like a parody. Then it found its feet and became quite a thrill ride.
Rob Ceus and Inge Vanleene have collected the budget together, the cast, plotted out some set pieces, then just gone all out with the gore and mayhem. Zombies from Sector 9 is a rotted slab of beautiful meat. The choice of locations outside and then the derelict buildings are all masterfully incorporated into becoming part of such a fun film. The effects are a brutal onslaught of red moist glistening gore in almost every scene. Entrails, bites, dismemberment, bullet hits, chainsaw destruction, the list goes on. As for the shuffling and staggering ghouls, ranging from Dawn of the Dead to Zombie Creeping Flesh-style, there are a lot of ’em and all are made to be individual.
Oh yes, I must say, top marks and a Severed thumb hacked off then thrown in the air for Steven Daemers who plays Bookwalker. He stole the film. In fact, he stole just about any recent low budget zombie flick in existence with his frantic but believable performance. Look out for Severed Cinema regulars, Joe and Cidney Meredith amongst the chaos by the way.
All in all, in this age of over saturation and overkill when it comes to the walking dead, Zombies from Sector 9 has the edge above most for the simple fact it isn’t afraid to be itself – an over-the-top, out-of-control train filled with decomposed savage flesh eaters ready to violate your senses. It comes highly recommended to be watched with a beer and a pizza, of course.
Directed by: Rob Ceus, Inge Vanleene | Written by: Rob Ceus, Inge Vanleene | Produced by: Rob Ceus, gary Gooch, Philip Brocklehurst, Inge Vanleene | Cinematography by: Ruben Goffin | Editing by: Inge Vanleene, Ronnie Sorter | Music by: Stephan Ortlepp, Amer Shihab | Special Effects by: Rob Ceus, Wesley Remory, Inge Vanleene, Floris Vanderkerken, Johanna Cool, and many others. | Cast: Steven Daemers, Veronique Seghers, Nele De Mol, Ellen Fierlafijn, Tim Dedobbelaere, Manoussh, Ignace Paepe, Richard Raaphorst, Joe Meredith, Rik De Clercq, Cidney Meredith | Year: 2020 | Country: Belgium | Language: English | Colour: Colour | Runtime: 1h 27min
Studio: TerrorVisions Productions
