Automaton Transfusion (2006)
Director: Steven C. Miller
Writer: Steven C. Miller
Synopsis: In Downey, the teenagers Chris, Scott and Tim are best friends and decide to drive to a bar downtown to a grungy band's gig. Chris' girlfriend Jackie, meanwhile, goes to a party with her preppy friends. While heading downtown, the trio of friends note that there are no cars on the roads despite the rush hour and then they find that the streets are empty. When they arrive in their destiny, they are chased by zombies and run to the bar. Chris decides to return to Downey while Jackie and her friends are attacked by a bunch of zombies.
Fast and furious zombie fun!!
1) ACTING: The acting in this zombie opus was pretty good. While the viewer is forced to deal with the usual stereotypical characters, (the cool dude, the dork, the hot chick, etc.) the actors, for the most part, made their respective characters pretty realistic. However, I must mention that I thought a number of the actors looked a little long in the tooth to be playing high school kids.
2) PRODUCTION: I think this is where there will be a lot of dissension between viewers. The blood and gore is plentiful, and the action is fast and furious. The movie is filmed with a grainy film resolution, which combined with the jerky, fast moving camera movements and angles, made more that one scene difficult to see. The jerky, hand held camera movements did not bother me to the point of nausea, but I did occasionally wish for a NON shaky moment, just so I could focus my eyes. The zombie make up was minimal and looked more like individuals running around covered in blood. I appreciated all the homages to other movies that I noticed. It IS a zombie movie people, and a lot of zombie movies have already been done, so the chances of seeing something that we've already seen is pretty high. My biggest disappointment was the ending. The surviving heroes are on the run, they hit a dead end, (no pun intended) and...fade to black appears with "To be continued..." WHAT?!?!? If this was a tv show when next week I would be seeing the next part, or if the sequel to 'Automaton Transfusion' was already sitting in the can, waiting to be released in a month...okay. But to have an indie movie end like this when there may be no definite sequel in sight is a terrible way to end.
3) ZOMBIES: Nothing really new here is brought to the genre, just more of the shamblers and runners that we've come to love.
4) THE CAUSE: Military experiment gone awry...sigh.
5) NUDITY: A few breasts appear.
FINAL:
I enjoyed this movie. I have heard and read a lot of reviews where you either hate it, or love it. While I didn't "love" it, I did think it was a fun visit to the zombie genre. When you realize that the director made this movie for such a low amount of money, you have to give props where props are due. Hopefully, there will be a sequel to this movie, so that we can find out what happened to the survivors, and maybe some Hollywood types will give the director some ample cash for a serious budget.
RATING: 3.5 out of 5
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