marcosxxxm Reviews

Mangue Negro (2008)

Best Brazilian Zombie Flick... Ever!

[12 September 2010]

This movie is awesome! Its "Evil Dead" meets "Night of the Living Dead", but with a VERY Brazilian look and feel.

The pacing and the dialogue can be a bit slow at times, and some of the animations is clunky, but who cares?? The makeup and the gore in this flick are awesome!! You could not ask for anything more!

It is a well written film (despite the pacing problems), and the ending is short of genius. Also, the directing is spot on.

And I must give props to most of the actors. The main duo is great!

Great job! A Brazilian zombie movie to be proud of!

I also recommend "A Capital dos Mortos", but it has a way lower budget.

Buy this Movie! Mud Zombies rule!!

Plaga zombie: Zona mutante (2001 Video)

Well...

[12 September 2010]

To say that this is a good film would be a lie, but to say that it is an entertaining film is an acceptable statement.

The budget in non existing, so is the acting, the story, the makeup, the script, the photography, the editing the directing, etc. But I already said this is not a good movie.

Neither is "Bad Taste", and yet I had fun with that one as well.

I honestly can't really explain why this movie in entertaining to me. I guess I just really admire people who make movies with no money whatsoever. But this flick has some cool stuff in it, it's that simple.

Of course it is an acquired taste. A great deal of people will absolutely despise this movie.

I think you can have a pretty good idea of what you are in for by checking out the cover, plot, trailer, etc, so if you are at all curious, I say give it a go.

28 Days Later (2002)

Best flick of the "new generation"

[12 September 2010]

This review has one tiny mini spoiler. But it is announced, so don't worry.

I am still not a huge fan of running zombies, and I realize that 28 Days Later is technically not a zombie (living dead style) movie, but it has made me see the scary potential that fast zombies have if directed correctly.

One of the things that make this movie great is the acting. The cast is seriously good, which is fantastic to see in this genre of film. The good writing also helps.

The fast editing and sharp directing, mixed with the feel of abandonment of the beginning of the film, is done flawlessly, and (mini spoiler ahead...) the rage of the infected and the fact that they are not dead (...end of mini spoiler), actually make them scarier creatures, yet still acceptable in the zombie genre.

It gets a little weird and off track at the end, but that's like a 15 minute loop.

I recommend you buy the DVD with alternate endings and other goodies.

Great flick!!

Beyond the Grave (2010)

Boring and disappointing in almost every level.

[12 September 2010]

I've been waiting a long time to see this film. It was announced A LONG time ago as the first Brazilian zombie movie ever made (which was a flat out lie, since there were three zombie flicks from Brazil out already), and it's release was first announced in 2008! Anyway, I finally got to watch the premiere last September 9th on the festival "Cinefantasy". There was a big deal about it, the director was there, it was supposed to be a very exciting event, at least I thought so.

Talk about disappointment! The movie is sooooooo boring, the pacing is just beyond awful. No movie that involves zombies, satanism and a serial killer should make you yawn every 5 minutes. I saw many people taking a nap, others were texting, others simply left the room.

Let's get to the specifics (without spoilers):

THE GOOD:

• The Photography isn't bad. You can tell that some work was put into making this film look as less amateurish as possible.

• The audio is OK, although I'm completely against dubbing. Makes the movie sound very 60s. I much prefer direct sound.

• The main character is not a bad actor, he delivers his lines quite well, but whoever decided on his wardrobe should never work as a costume designer again. He needs to lose those glasses, cut that mullet, lose the lame suit, and also a few pounds.

THE BAD:

• Script: I don't know the exact budget for the movie, but I know it wasn't low enough to justify not hiring a professional to supervise the script. The dialogue is boring, arrogant, unjustified and simply very very very badly written. Honestly, it's really bad!

• Lockheart?? Is that really the best name for the lead character of a Brazilian movie?

• Focus: there is none here. As a zombie fan, I would have loved this to be another zombie flick for my collection, but it isn't. The movie tries to mash a bunch of different styles, sometimes it wants to be a satanic themed movie, sometimes it wants to be a western, a cop movie, a serial killer movie, and a zombie movie. It ends up being none of the above. It's just a messy, confusing, and most of all boring movie.The problem is actually pretty simple: bad directing.

• The movie has no sense of humor whatsoever. And it needed some. It's not even close to being good enough of a movie NOT to use some slapstick humor. Did the director or any of the producers ever seen the horror flicks Sam Raimi makes? They could have learned from them. The lack of humor in "Beyond the Grave" just makes the movie all the more tedious and arrogant.

• Makeup: OK at some points... atrocious in others (specially the zombies). come on people! If you're going to make a movie with zombies, at least do a respectable job with their make up! I won't get into the plot holes because I don't want to risk spoilers, I'll just say that there are many of them (plot holes that is).

Concluding, Brazil is not known for Its zombie movies. Filmmakers from around here are just starting to make those kinds of movies, and "Beyond the Grave" (although a good effort), is without a doubt the weakest one yet. I wouldn't even categorize it as a zombie movie, it's more like a boring and confusing movie that happens to contain a few zombies here and there.

The biggest flaw here is that the makers of the movie think that it's a work of art. The directors statements are very clear that he thinks his team has produced a revolutionary movie, when in fact, it's the most boring, and arrogant zombie related film ever to come out of Brazilian cinema.

I have all the sympathy in the world for independent films, but It's very difficult to recommend this one. If you are a true die-hard fan who thinks "The Stiknk of Flesh" (2005) is a masterpiece, than you might enjoy "Beyond the Grave".

2.5 out of 10 (at best!)

A Capital dos Mortos (2008 Video)

Very entertaining independent zombie movie!!

[5 December 2008]

I am Brazilian but I live in Seattle since 1997. I'm a huge zombie fan, and I couldn't believe it when I found out that there was finally a Brazilian zombie movie out there. It was about time!

My sister sent me this movie for my birthday last month. I watched it with low expectations and was pleasantly surprised.

What I liked most about this movie was the dialogue, which was different from any other zombie film I've seen. The main characters are hilarious, and they say things to each other that feel real and loose. Basically, they talk like I talk to my friends. That was a plus. I also really liked the references to the zombie culture, that go from Michael Jackson's thriller to the George Romero films.

Another thing that really pleased me was the fact that the zombies are pretty classic looking. They move like the zombies in the original dawn of the dead, which is great! I never cared for fast zombies, they simply don't make sense to me.

The acting was above average for an independent film. Not all actors are good, but the main characters are played very well. The gore was enough to keep me satisfied, and although it's not a very serious movie, it does have enough tense and dramatic moments.

The reason for the zombie outbrake is also above average. I won't give it away, but it's not your typical toxic military virus. The reason for the zombies is really cool, especially if you are familiar with the history of Brasilia, the capital of Brazil.

Sure, there are camera issues, some lighting and sound problems and the make up isn't always top notch. I was going to rate this movie with a seven, but then I found out it cost around three thousand reais (which equals about thirteen hundred dollars). That really made my jaw drop. How on earth did these guys make a 90 minute zombie movie with under two thousand dollars?? After learning this, my hat tipped to them and my rating went way up.

Also, based on what I red on the official website, there will be a sequel. I can't wait!

I had a blast watching this!