REMAINS (Shout Factory, 2012) D: Colin Theys, w/ Evalena Marie, Grant Bowler. Rating: NN Blu-ray package: NNN Rating: NN
Another day, another zombie apocalypse. This one’s in Reno, where an alcoholic blackjack dealer (Grant Bowler), a nihilist cocktail waitress (Evalena Marie) and a few others hole up in a casino and fend off the hungry hordes until the army shows up and makes matters worse.
Technically, these zombies aren’t the walking dead. They’re science-gone-wrong victims, but they are rotting and aggressive and eat human flesh, so there’s no shortage of action. Some of it is inventive, some not, but it’s all handled as competently as director Colin Theys’s minimal budget allows.
The dialogue scenes fare less well. The acting is adequate, but the characters make less sense than the zombies, and conflicts erupt from nowhere.
Theys, his producer and effects technician deliver a jokey commentary on the joys of low-budget filmmaking, but you’ll have more fun with the three-part short film. It’s a better zombie flick than the feature.
EXTRAS Commentary, short film, bloopers, more. English audio. No subtitles.
