Film Review: The Dead 2: India (2013)

 SYNOPSIS:

In this ferocious sequel to the worldwide horror hit THE DEAD, an infectious epidemic spreads through India as an American turbine engineer (Joseph Millson of TV’s 24: LIVE ANOTHER DAY) learns that his pregnant girlfriend is trapped near the slums of Mumbai. Now he must battle his way across a 300-mile wasteland of the ravenous undead.

REVIEW:

Coming off the much heralded release of 2010’s “The Dead”, the release of “The Dead: India: proves that lighting indeed strikes twice. This slow grind of a unsettling zombie movie is now set in India chosen for the beauty of its location. Directors/writers Howard J. Fordand Jonathan Ford team up again despite the horror show of a shoot they had to endure in their last African production. Now wearing tougher skin and filled with the energy of a very responsive horror movie genre crowd, the Ford brothers apply their magic resulting in the creation of a very worthy product. The Dead: India”, takes a similar approach as seen in the previous film that centers on an outbreak of zombies taking over an entire country.

Now on blu-ray, the release delivers on its usual magic taking its cues from the first film but introducing a new story premise set in India.

The footage is gritty, well edited, and authentically appropriate as to show the hardships of daily life in India. Housing is basic, families are often crowded in small areas with the culture of the area saying alot very quickly about 3rd world living. The setup at first suggests that the film might keep things basic per way of a zombie outbreak and its usual dose of death and mayhem. Though to the credit of the writers this is only the backbone holding together a feel-good tale of love, survival and perseverance.

Technician Nicholas Burton (Joseph Millson) is away on assignment that involves working on large energy generator windmills. Upon word from his girlfriend (Meenu Mishra) Ishani Sharm, Nicholas is told news of her pregnancy. Nick attempts to discuss the details but is interrupted from Ishani’s angry father who tells him to stay far away from his daughter.

This might suffice as “dramatic enough” if it weren’t for a quick outbreak of violence that quickly pours in across the airwaves. As you guess it, zombies are indeed taking over again! Ishani barricades herself in with her father as the chaos ramps up between hungry locals and the local law enforcers firing off machine guns into aggressive hordes. Nick begins his trek across country driven to rescue and reunite with Ishani. The road is rough and brutal as Nicholas fights off zombies, nearly escapes a mob of walking dead (per way of a fancy hang-glider device) leading him up to befriending a local named Javed (Anand Krishna Goyal)This is the meat that holds the story together while also mixing plenty of religious philosophical dialog interchanges, local myths and a message about karma and fate. Actor plays the action role quite well while keeping things real thru struggles and points of exhaustion. Locals are also wrangled up nicely to make for believable lurching zombies thanks to the direction of the Ford team and some savvy decision on how to make it work on screen.

What works especially well for “The Dead 2: India” (and its previous product) is a conscious effort to let its zombies meander their way around until they catch up with their chosen victims (or food for that matter). Often Rick is seen taking breaks as the zombies hobble there way up to him. While this may seem counter-effective in reading, its real horror is that the zombies are unrelenting and continuous. Often it’s the “number” of zombies which make a difference even in their slow moving forms. Upon reaching their targets, it becomes a quick pull-and-tear fest (or feast) to take down humans much in the way the old Romero films chose to present to audiences. This approach was also used to equal effect in the age-old 1977 film “Shock Waves”  …………if you are looking for a good source of influence.

The film is shot beautifully with a careful eye often using shots that zoom out (bird’s eye) to show packs of zombies making their way across the plains of India. Zombies are kept simple garnishing white soulless eyes, pale skin, and sporting various levels of erosion and deterioration. In all the film is cleverly married to its old school approach of delivering zombies with a classic edge. The use of country and scenery makes for a great cinematic experience rounding off a gem of a good film. “The Dead 2: India” is a modern classic straight out of the gates proving that the zombie genre is far from fizzling out .

Make sure to add this new release addition to your collections so that the Ford team continues to stay inspired into making movies like this one.  The Dead 2: India has some of the scariest zombie moments I’ve seen in a long time………nice work!

The Dead 2: India is now available on bluray per Anchor Bay