5/10
Flawed but Enjoyable
26 September 2009
After killing four persons in his home with a shotgun, Dee Travis (Brandon Stacy) claims that he had accidentally ingested an experimental biotoxin that the company Blackthorn where he worked was researching. Travis is sent visibly ill to the Harwood Maximum Security Prison and the Security Officer Sweeny (Chriss Anglin) sends the inmate to the infirmary. Meanwhile the CDC Agent Samantha Beckett (Bay Bruner) comes to the prison to interview Travis and is received by Warden Mahler (Bobby James). While they are having a conversation, they are informed that Travis has been transferred to the solitary confinement and his infected blood has caused an outbreak among the prisoners and guards. Samantha calls the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the responsible advises the warden that the prison is in quarantine.

The gore "Dead Men Walking" is a zombie movie underrated in IMDb. I have just watched this low-budget movie with the lowest expectation based on the 3.1 User Rating and in the end I found it a flawed but enjoyable feature. The story has many flaws, like for example, how could Travis be only affected by the virus in the prison? The "shotgun killer" killed four people; then he certainly went to the court for the judgment of his crime. Therefore, months (or even years) have passed until he was sent to prison. Even if he was sent directly to prison to wait for the trial, how long have passed for the manifestation of the effect of the virus? Further, he claimed that he had contaminated his friends and none of them was sent to an autopsy to prove his words. Samantha tells that they are in quarantine and if anybody including the warden's son leave Harwood, it would be "hell on Earth". However, she spends half the movie trying to escape with Johnny. The FEMA authority tells that the prison is in quarantine. However, there are only two snipes eliminating any escapee instead of the building under siege by the police. The reverend that believes in God committing a capital sin with his suicide is also weird. I could list many other flaws in the story, but these examples are the worst. Another bad point is the cinematography, too dark and greenish and the camera work with unusual angles and edition. Last but not the least, there are many bad acting among the unknown cast. There are stupid lines but there are some very witty and funny. The good points are the gruesome make-up and special effects that do not spare children. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Os Mortos Estão Vivos" ("The Dead Are Alive")
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