Being only the second reviewer, I'm sure I won't be the last with the Sci-fi Channel having shown this film the night before.
Unlike the other reviewer, I will give my opinion, but will do it without making bold statements without backing them up.
To start off, 'All Souls Day' comes at a time when the Zombie film is splashing all over big screens and small. With George A. Romero's 'Land of the Dead' on it's way in a couple weeks, and a small handful of decently-made living-dead films making an impact on today's audiences, Sci-fi channel presented it's audiences with the 'World Premiere' of 'All Souls Day' (this was NOT a made for Sci-Fi film). Crunched in between the likes of Romero's 'Day of the Dead', 'Resident Evil' and 'Return of the Living Dead 3', 'All Souls Day' followed the all-too-simple formula of twenty-somethings holed up in a building, fighting against the recently-risen-dead'. Sure, it was a hotel in Mexico, and not a house, and the premise of why the dead were rising had it's creative qualities, but, all-in-all, 'All Souls Day' fell short of entertaining it's audience.
Of the actors cast for 'All Souls Day', Jeffrey Combs and Danny Trejos appeared to be the only two who could accentuate upon their characters, leaving the other actors giving ill-attempts at line delivery. Sure, Combs and Trejos were the bookending characters to this bland film, but it was one of very few redeeming qualities which made this film even bearable enough to watch. And, as I have learned as an Independent Filmmaker, if you are going to work with kids, make sure you spend some time picking ones which can pace their line deliveries and not sound like they're reading out of a 'Curious George' book.
As an AVID Zombie Film collector and lover of the particular genre, I always enjoy seeing a new walking dead film available on the market. This, of course, brings me to the fact that, as a Special FX Artist, I am always looking for those innovative, creative scenes where the dead rise and wreck havoc on the living. 'All Souls Day' began slow, remained slow through the first three-quarters of the film, then finally gave the audience a glimpse at some pretty 'neat' looking zombie FX. Sure, most were masks, but there were a sparse few which gave me a little tingle of excitement down my spine. As was very evident, though, my disappointment overrode the excitement when 'All Souls Day' wanted to add it's flashy attempts at 'Dawn of the Dead' (remake) and 'Resident Evil' battle scenes. I couldn't help but laugh when a small 'martial arts' sequence was thrown in, only to have the girl torn apart five minutes later.
As was simply stated earlier, the storyline for 'All Souls Day' had an interesting premise, but writer, nor director, were able to clean up the 'mess' they had on their hands. Like a number of horror films out there, a number of scenes were thrown in as an attempt for selling points: i.e. make-out/sex scenes thrown in awkward places, cheesy martial arts. And, with all set in place, and layered together, 'All Souls Day' fell apart before it even got going...Sorta like a derailing train.
So, yes, I will purchase this film on DVD when it comes out in stores because I am a collector, but, as a Zombie/Film Critic, 'All Soul Days' doesn't even hold a popcorn quality to it; unfortunately for such genre veterans as Combs and Trejos.
Unlike the other reviewer, I will give my opinion, but will do it without making bold statements without backing them up.
To start off, 'All Souls Day' comes at a time when the Zombie film is splashing all over big screens and small. With George A. Romero's 'Land of the Dead' on it's way in a couple weeks, and a small handful of decently-made living-dead films making an impact on today's audiences, Sci-fi channel presented it's audiences with the 'World Premiere' of 'All Souls Day' (this was NOT a made for Sci-Fi film). Crunched in between the likes of Romero's 'Day of the Dead', 'Resident Evil' and 'Return of the Living Dead 3', 'All Souls Day' followed the all-too-simple formula of twenty-somethings holed up in a building, fighting against the recently-risen-dead'. Sure, it was a hotel in Mexico, and not a house, and the premise of why the dead were rising had it's creative qualities, but, all-in-all, 'All Souls Day' fell short of entertaining it's audience.
Of the actors cast for 'All Souls Day', Jeffrey Combs and Danny Trejos appeared to be the only two who could accentuate upon their characters, leaving the other actors giving ill-attempts at line delivery. Sure, Combs and Trejos were the bookending characters to this bland film, but it was one of very few redeeming qualities which made this film even bearable enough to watch. And, as I have learned as an Independent Filmmaker, if you are going to work with kids, make sure you spend some time picking ones which can pace their line deliveries and not sound like they're reading out of a 'Curious George' book.
As an AVID Zombie Film collector and lover of the particular genre, I always enjoy seeing a new walking dead film available on the market. This, of course, brings me to the fact that, as a Special FX Artist, I am always looking for those innovative, creative scenes where the dead rise and wreck havoc on the living. 'All Souls Day' began slow, remained slow through the first three-quarters of the film, then finally gave the audience a glimpse at some pretty 'neat' looking zombie FX. Sure, most were masks, but there were a sparse few which gave me a little tingle of excitement down my spine. As was very evident, though, my disappointment overrode the excitement when 'All Souls Day' wanted to add it's flashy attempts at 'Dawn of the Dead' (remake) and 'Resident Evil' battle scenes. I couldn't help but laugh when a small 'martial arts' sequence was thrown in, only to have the girl torn apart five minutes later.
As was simply stated earlier, the storyline for 'All Souls Day' had an interesting premise, but writer, nor director, were able to clean up the 'mess' they had on their hands. Like a number of horror films out there, a number of scenes were thrown in as an attempt for selling points: i.e. make-out/sex scenes thrown in awkward places, cheesy martial arts. And, with all set in place, and layered together, 'All Souls Day' fell apart before it even got going...Sorta like a derailing train.
So, yes, I will purchase this film on DVD when it comes out in stores because I am a collector, but, as a Zombie/Film Critic, 'All Soul Days' doesn't even hold a popcorn quality to it; unfortunately for such genre veterans as Combs and Trejos.