Days of Darkness (2007)
Director: Jake Kennedy
Writer: Jake Kennedy
Synopsis: The world watches as a comet looms over the earth for days. The masses were told there is nothing to worry about. It was a lie! An eclectic group of survivors huddle together and battle for their only chance to survive against the uprising of the undead while trying to save the fate of mankind.
Where's Donald Sutherland and Leonard Nimoy?
1) ACTING: I felt that for a low / no budget indie, the acting wasn't really all that bad. A lot of times, the acting sets the tone for a movie, and if it's not all that good, that really puts the viewer in a mindset where he / she possible might not give the movie a chance. The actors here aren't going to be winning any Oscars anytime soon, but they were okay.
2) PRODUCTION: First things first: I have to comment on the script. While watching this movie, I had this overwhelming sense of Deju Vu...similar scenes in different movies from the past kept running through my mind. Not that I was insulted by this, but I found it to be kind of distracting, as I kept wondering while viewing different scenes if I had seen it before. With the many plot devices that were in this movie, I don't really know if I can say that this is a "ZOMBIE" movie. It's more like an attack from outer space that also includes zombies. I really felt like I was watching yet ANOTHER unnecessary version of 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Too much "alien invaders," and not enough "zombies."
Additionally, the characters were kind of stock. I know it is difficult to have characters we haven't seen before, but it seems like there is always a "set" group. I think that this made it difficult for any real character development. The filming was fine, the mood and the tone of the movie was okay, and there were no real lighting issues.
The gore was good, but sadly, very minimal for a "zombie" movie. Now, I'm not asking for the gore /blood quantities of the Italian 1970's zombie flicks, but in a zombie movie, there should be a good amount of blood and gore.
3) ZOMBIES: A mixture of shamblers and runners (for the minimal time they are on screen). The zombie make up is almost non-existent, as they seem to be just covered in blood. Not even the "pale face, raccoon eyes" make up is here.
4) THE CAUSE: Alien Micro-organism infested comet from outer space.
5) NUDITY: None.
FINAL: While I don't hate this movie, I really can't praise it, either. I wanted a zombie movie and got a science fiction movie. If I wanted to see 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' again, I would've rented it. It wasn't a bad movie, I felt that it just wasn't a zombie movie. It was very reminiscent of Romero's 'Night of the Living Dead,' with all the human drama, but with a sci-fi twist. As a zombie movie, not real impressed. As a science fiction alien invasion from outer space movie, not all that bad. While I have my reservations regarding the director / writer, if he decides that his next movie will be a ZOMBIE movie, I'll be there.
RATING: 2.5 out of 5
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