House of the Dead is the first of German auteur Uwe Boll's computer game adaptations. The film made money for its investors, pleased Gamers and triggered an inexplicable landslide of contempt from just about everyone else. The level of criticism directed at this film is utterly ridiculous. House of the Dead is not only a good zombie movie but also the most faithful adaptation of a computer game committed to film.
The film's storyline is paper thin. A group of annoying college students sail to a remote island for a "rave" dance party. Unfortunately, the island is inhabited by zombies and lots of people get munched. That's it. Personally, I have no problem with this bare bones approach to storytelling. Unlike Romero's zombie trilogy, there is no social commentary and the film is definitely not a parable for current societal woes. Uwe Boll has no hidden agenda; Boll's only aim is to entertain and he succeeds with a roller-coaster ride of non-stop action, gratuitous breast nudity and corny one-liners. There is nothing high brow about this film and for that I am thankful.
The most surprising aspect of "House of the Dead" is how close it stays to its source material: Computer graphics blend into the action scenes, several characters spin to signify death - a trademark of the game, at one stage animated blood drips down the screen, the selection of weapons is almost identical and the techno soundtrack could have been lifted directly from the game. The end result is a film that plays more like a computer game. The pacing is relentless and the live action violence is stylised to the point where it resembles animation. I found the film's mixed media approach highly innovative and distinctive. Obviously, I am in the minority.
In addition to its highly unusual visual style, the film's other memorable attribute is the zombie action. I'm not sure how zombie fans could fail to be impressed by the non-stop zombie violence. The make-up and special effects are excellent and the set piece outside the "house of the dead" is fantastic. Boll intersperses slow motion with editing that would make John Woo nauseous in order to create a highly original spectacle. The scene where the zombies chase Simon underwater is fun and a nice little nod to Fulci's brilliant "Zombi 2". Uwe Boll's direction can be described with a lot of different adjectives but "boring" is not one of them. The film has an interesting cast, who admittedly have very little to do apart from run and scream. However, it is always nice to see Juergen Prochnow and Will Sanderson makes another notable appearance in an Uwe Boll production.
House of the Dead is one of the better zombie films of the past two decades. I couldn't care less if the film plays like a computer game on steroids. At least House of the Dead has the decency not to bother with the pretence that is has something to say. Some may call it low brow trash - I call it entertainment.
The film's storyline is paper thin. A group of annoying college students sail to a remote island for a "rave" dance party. Unfortunately, the island is inhabited by zombies and lots of people get munched. That's it. Personally, I have no problem with this bare bones approach to storytelling. Unlike Romero's zombie trilogy, there is no social commentary and the film is definitely not a parable for current societal woes. Uwe Boll has no hidden agenda; Boll's only aim is to entertain and he succeeds with a roller-coaster ride of non-stop action, gratuitous breast nudity and corny one-liners. There is nothing high brow about this film and for that I am thankful.
The most surprising aspect of "House of the Dead" is how close it stays to its source material: Computer graphics blend into the action scenes, several characters spin to signify death - a trademark of the game, at one stage animated blood drips down the screen, the selection of weapons is almost identical and the techno soundtrack could have been lifted directly from the game. The end result is a film that plays more like a computer game. The pacing is relentless and the live action violence is stylised to the point where it resembles animation. I found the film's mixed media approach highly innovative and distinctive. Obviously, I am in the minority.
In addition to its highly unusual visual style, the film's other memorable attribute is the zombie action. I'm not sure how zombie fans could fail to be impressed by the non-stop zombie violence. The make-up and special effects are excellent and the set piece outside the "house of the dead" is fantastic. Boll intersperses slow motion with editing that would make John Woo nauseous in order to create a highly original spectacle. The scene where the zombies chase Simon underwater is fun and a nice little nod to Fulci's brilliant "Zombi 2". Uwe Boll's direction can be described with a lot of different adjectives but "boring" is not one of them. The film has an interesting cast, who admittedly have very little to do apart from run and scream. However, it is always nice to see Juergen Prochnow and Will Sanderson makes another notable appearance in an Uwe Boll production.
House of the Dead is one of the better zombie films of the past two decades. I couldn't care less if the film plays like a computer game on steroids. At least House of the Dead has the decency not to bother with the pretence that is has something to say. Some may call it low brow trash - I call it entertainment.