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Reviews
Day of the Dead 2: Contagium (2005)
Better than its undeserved widespread dismissal
I'm writing this review (something I don't usually bother to do) because I see this film gets completely slated by most reviewers and I think it's unfair. I broadly like this film because it has an interesting storyline, one unusual for zombie films in the kind of characters that are involved and how deeply it goes into the process of infection and contamination. I felt the film was aiming for a more humane and thoughtful story than the average zombie flick by featuring patients and staff at a mental health institution rather than something more macho like cops (Dawn of the Dead), soldiers (Day of the Dead), etc. And instead of people just becoming a threat once they are infected we see a long process exploring how they feel, detailing the change and so on. Every other zombie film doesn't do this, so it was nice to see something different. There were lots of side-plots, which for some seems to be another fault, but to me added an element of realism to the situation and dimension to the characters.
I'm sure most of the criticisms made on technical points - special effects, editing etc. - are valid, but I didn't notice. I don't care about things like that compared to the story and plot development. There was a certain amount of confusion at times with the editing jumping us around from scene to scene and the layout of the building wasn't exactly clear. I didn't think the acting was as bad as some say; I've seen zombie films rated much higher that had far worse acting and scripts.
Since it's plot that I'm most interested in it's there I would have my main criticisms. The explanation for where this infection has come from is gradually unravelled, except only up to an extent, so you are left wanting to know more, or thinking maybe it's cobbled together by the writers without a clear back-story. Certain effects happen around the process of infection that are not explained at all and are highly mysterious. Unless it's a teaser for a sequel this sort of thing is unsatisfactory.
It's true this film bears little connection to the original Day of the Dead and is not actually a sequel. But I don't really care and I think Romero can cope with it, he's a nice guy and has been thru worse.
Water (1985)
Unusually accurate and enjoyable 80s political comedy
This film stands out in my memory of films on this subject or from that time period. Set on a fictional Caribbean island owned by Britain but largely left to its own devices, it centres around the discovery of a lucrative resource - the Water of the title - and the reaction to this of various people on the island and other countries. Colonialism, revolution, big business, reggae, cannabis, lovely weather, principles vs. greed and marital infidelity all feature. It is unusually honest and even-handed about the politics in such situations, yet never loses sight of the comedy, which ranges through satire, character comedy and slapstick.
Scripted by the well-known British comedy writing team of Clement and La Frenais, and directed by Clement, it was made by Handmade Films, overseen by George Harrison, and it's therefore not a coincidence that George turns up at one point in the film with a load of his rock mates to support the islanders' cause. Several big British acting names feature, notably Caine and Rossiter, with the addition of Fulton Mackay, Eddie Grant, Maureen Lipman as a scarily accurate Thatcher, plus Americans Fred Gwynne (Munsters) as the Texan oil tycoon and Ruby Wax as one of his staff. Interestingly Paul Heiney as the mercenary Kessler was performing the role as part of his involvement in BBC series "In at the Deep End", in which he had to take on a different job each episode.
Water has its fair share of silliness, weak acting, discontinuity etc. but it doesn't really matter as it keeps you entertained throughout while still referencing the serious issues. It has a fun tone and looked like it was fun to make, evident in the street dancing at the end. I do recommend this film if you haven't seen it already, it's unlikely to disappoint.