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Released by: Anchor Bay Entertainment
Released on: September 16th, 2014.
Director: The Ford Brothers
Cast: Joseph Millson, Anand Krishna Goyal, Coulsom Sujitabh, Madhu Rajesh
Year: 2013
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The Movie:
Not surprisingly, The Dead 2 (also known as The Dead 2: India) follows up on the Ford Brothers' African based zombie movie and moves the story to India where the population listens to radio broadcasts detailing the zombie outbreak that took place in that first movie. Not that long after, a sick man arrives in town - it doesn't take a genius to figure out that he's not only been infected with whatever it was that laid waste to the 'dark continent' but that he's now brought it back to India with him.
Enter Nicholas (Joseph Millson), an American in town to work on a wind farm. He hears about what's happening and decides to get out of the area while he still can in hopes of catching up with his pregnant girlfriend and getting them off to safety. The problem is that she's trapped near the slums of Mumbai and it's going to take him some time to get there. He makes the journey with the help of a boy named Javed (Anand Gopal) that he meets along the way, but getting there won't be easy, and if he does make it there without getting killed along the way, well, there could be even more zombies to contend with.
Channeling equal parts Nicolas Roeg and George A. Romero, The Ford Brothers' sequel to their internationally successful first feature doesn't deviate from the formula that picture established too much at all. In fact, you could very easily make the argument that this is simply more of the same, because in terms of the plot, it essentially is. Will relocating the concept to India be enough to draw in those not taken in by the first movie? Probably not, but it will likely be enough to appease those who were.
Despite the derivative, almost flimsy aspect of the central plot (guy finds out about zombies, freaks out about his girlfriend and decides to go try and save her), the movie does a lot of things right not the least of which is the casting of Millson in the lead. He delivers a pretty well-grounded performance, never going over the top and keeping a cool head, at least on the outside. You can tell through little quirks of character, however, that his concern is very real. He plays the part quite well, believable in the more dramatic aspects of the production as well as in the action set pieces.
The visuals are also impressive. Once again the Ford Brothers' collective appreciation of arthouse cinema tends to shine through, as the use some fantastic visuals to create mood and atmosphere showing more concern for composition, color schemes and interesting contrasts than in plotting. The film is all about mood, about creating an atmosphere of dread and about capturing both the beauty and the horror inherent in the Indian locations used for the film. More character would have gone a long way towards creating some truly lasting horror here, and we don't really get that and are instead pulled in by the visuals but the movie offers plenty of decent zombie attacks and some good gore alongside the great camera work and fascinating locations.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The Dead looks about as good as can probably be expected in the AVC encoded 1.85.1 widescreen transfer, a 1080p high definition offerings from Anchor Bay that presents the film in its original aspect ratio. Shot on high end DV, detail varies from shot to shot but is generally good as is color reproduction. Some softness is forgivable given the film's modest budget but overall things look decent here, better than what standard definition can provide, even if it's not demo material. There are no problems with print damage, dirt or debris (obviously) and only what appears to be mild shimmering visible in a few scenes.
Likewise, the English language Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track is also quite good. The score sounds nice and strong and there are no problems with hiss or distortion. Surround activity isn't always a constant and the mix is a bit front heavy at times but dialogue is clean, clear and easy to understand. Optional subtitles are provided in Spanish with an English closed captioning option provided as well.
The main extra on the disc is a half hour long featurette entitled, appropriately enough, The Making Of The Dead 2. Here a guy named Billy Chainsaw talks to Howard J. Ford and Jonathan Ford about what it was like shooting this one on location in India, some of the themes and ideas explored in the film, some of the trickier aspects of getting this movie made and quite a bit more. It's a decent piece worth watching if you enjoyed the feature. Aside from that we get a pair of deleted scenes running two and a half minutes, animated menus, chapter selection and some previews for other Anchor Bay Entertainment properties.
The Final Word:
The Dead 2 won't necessarily win The Ford Brothers any new fans but it should appeal to those who enjoyed the first movie because it does a lot of the same thing and it does them just as well, if not better. It isn't the most original film and it does fall short in the character development department but the visuals are fantastic and there are some neat ideas at play here even if they don't get fleshed out as much as they should have been. Anchor Bay's Blu-ray looks and sounds good and offers up a couple of extras. Worth seeing for zombie fanatics with a taste for artsy world cinema stylings.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
