Dead Meat (2004) - High heels and Hoovers, zombie kids and mad cows, old castles and ugly farms plus an excellent camera work - 7/10 (22/06/11)

This is the first part of my little review series: Movies that are way better than you expect.

This short and sweat Irish zombie slasher doesn't only convince with beautiful landscapes but also with a few original ways to slaughter some zombies (you get pretty much anything from high heels to Hoovers) and a very artistic camera work that particularly stands out and gives a really dynamical, refreshing and surprising bonus to the movie. There are also a few scenes that are really frightening and well done like the atmospheric opening sequence, the first fight scene between the young couple or the mad cow scene. There is also a lot of original and dark humour in a couple of scenes for example when the zombies have their meal in tranquillity or are simply falling asleep at night on a big field. More positive points go to the clothing and make ups of the movie that are really trashy and give a certain cheap charm to the movie. I sincerely hope that people in the Irish country side are not dressed the way the actors are in our real world.

On the other side, there are also a few negative points that must be mentioned. The acting is a little wooden and only the gravedigger is doing a rather good job while the other actors are mediocre or bad. The special effects of this low budget slaughter are also rather mediocre. The story itself remains superficial and copies from many classics of the genre. The ending is also not the best choice that could have been made.

This movie turns out to be not only entertaining but interesting from an artistic point of view. Anybody that likes zombie video games or some good slaughter movies with a cheap charm might like this flick that surprised me in a truly positive way.