"Wyrmwood" was a tremendous hit at indie-festivals, in horror magazines and on genre websites it's often referred to as the best zombie movie of the past decade, and even around here you'll mainly find user-comments that are almost exclusively favorable. All of the above were additional indicators for me to be even more skeptical. Chances are big it'll be a disappointment, and in my humbly insignificant meaning there already are far too many "unique" zombie movies, anyways.
Throughout the first half of the film, it seemed as if my concerns and skepticism were more than justified. "Wyrmwood" is hardly more remarkable than 99.9% of every zombie movie ever made. The gore-effects are dreadfully computer-engineered, the camerawork is shaky, the editing is rough, etc. All the horrible clichés are present in the screenplay as well. Of course, the hero loses his beloved wife and daughter to the virus outbreak. Evidently, the military is involved and plays a filthy role. And as a matter of course, there are small groups of drinking buddies entrenching themselves in sheds and turn zombie hunting into a sort of sport.
Luckily for them, the undoubtedly devoted creators Kiah and Tristan Roache-Turner manage to come up with a couple of slick and original plot elements that make the rest of the movie more endurable. The undead produce a sort of gas in their mouth that functions as fuel, the survivors go "Mad Max" with an impressively armored truck and the sexy female lead has a sort of telepathic connection with the zombies. It's still not good enough to speak of a horror triumph, but at least it's solid entertainment.
*note: review subject line borrowed from the Dire Straits song "Heavy Fuel".
Throughout the first half of the film, it seemed as if my concerns and skepticism were more than justified. "Wyrmwood" is hardly more remarkable than 99.9% of every zombie movie ever made. The gore-effects are dreadfully computer-engineered, the camerawork is shaky, the editing is rough, etc. All the horrible clichés are present in the screenplay as well. Of course, the hero loses his beloved wife and daughter to the virus outbreak. Evidently, the military is involved and plays a filthy role. And as a matter of course, there are small groups of drinking buddies entrenching themselves in sheds and turn zombie hunting into a sort of sport.
Luckily for them, the undoubtedly devoted creators Kiah and Tristan Roache-Turner manage to come up with a couple of slick and original plot elements that make the rest of the movie more endurable. The undead produce a sort of gas in their mouth that functions as fuel, the survivors go "Mad Max" with an impressively armored truck and the sexy female lead has a sort of telepathic connection with the zombies. It's still not good enough to speak of a horror triumph, but at least it's solid entertainment.
*note: review subject line borrowed from the Dire Straits song "Heavy Fuel".