Instead of complaining about what's wrong with Shatter Dead, like everyone else, let's talk about what's right about it. Directed by Scooter McCrae, Shatter Dead really accomplishes what it's going for. Other than originality, it flaunts a certain quiet, empty, apocalyptic feel. Inspired by God knows what, Shatter Dead centers on a woman named Susan. Susan is trying to make her way home to her boyfriend without blowing someones undead head off, certainly no promises, because this "begging for change" is wearing a little thin. After one of these undead minorities steals the gas out of her car, she sets him on fire. just to let you know what kind of girl we're dealing with. After a run-in with a radical group, who are promoting the way on the undead, Susan finds shelter in a house, especially meant for the living, I guess. There, she meets some interesting characters, some hit on her, some want her soap, but all Susan wants is to sleep. Susan's slumber is soon interrupted by the New Order. Armed with a shot gun and bad intentions, Pericles Lewnes and some Howard Stern guy are on a rampage, determined to convert the living. After ruining the life, or I guess death of a hot young zombie and witnessing a birth/death that you just wouldn't believe, Susan realizes, it might be time to move on. Off to see the boyfriend, but once Susan arrives, she finds a whole new problem. Unlike the more traditional, or even the not so traditional Zombie films, in Shatter Dead, the zombies are only technically zombies, When their heart stops beating, the soul no longer separates itself from the body, and they just rot, for all eternity. This being a punishment from God. Why would God do such a thing? well, That's cleared up in the first minute of the movie, unless you weren't paying attention. The real difference between a zombie and a Shatter Dead zombie is that most zombies in this movie have no bad intentions, they just want to keep on going. Just because there's no flesh-eating doesn't mean there's no gore, just to clear that up. Slightly blasphemous, although, dwelling on that would be missing the point. The point being, Shatter Dead is a damn fine, original, independent film that doesn't seem to get the recognition that it deserves, considering most of these other reviews. Guys, if you really think Shatter Dead sucks, track down Zombie '90 Extreme Pestilence, for a truly enlightening experience. The theme of blasphemy, along with the whole video camera issue tells me that Shatter Dead wont be getting a ten. Nonetheless, this is probably the highest I'll ever rate a zombie film that was shot on video, so, Scooter must have done something right. The misunderstood art that is Shatter Dead deserves no less than 8/10
Plot summary
In a horrible turn of events, the people of this world go on living even in death. With gangs about killing people to share in their misery, and people (corpses) confused, it is indeed a bleak future. When Susan, not yet dead, is faced with her boyfriend's impending trek home, she does her best to cope.
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Apocalyptic Horror Vol. 4: Prepare To Be Physically Challenged!!
Deeply disappointed.
After hearing much hype about this supposedly graphic yet thoughtful zombie movie I gave it a shot, much to my dismay.
Strait-jacking Romero's infamous 'Dawn of the Dead' line about there being no more room in hell for it's plot, 'Shatter Dead' follows the exploits of a rather unpleasant female as she attempts to get to her boyfriend in a world were the dead don't die. Along the way she meets assorted boring humans, a wack-job preacher, and some living dead just trying to get by.
The film tries for high-concept, but lays limp at low-execution. The locations look like spots near the director's home, the actors don't ever act, the script is thin past the set up, the gore FX aren't convincing, the direction is uninspired, etc, etc. Just nothing about it ever works. The film could have tried to rely upon the strength of the set-up to at least flirt with some existential examination, but instead the filmmakers fall back on dime-novel psycho-babble and pseudo-religious rhetoric.
As far as providing exploitive thrills, yet again the promise is not delivered. There is some violence and blood/gore, but it's cheaply executed and badly edited together. On the sexploitive front, things fare no better. While there is a fair amount of nudity, it is mostly of the lead female who (I am sorry to say) is not very attractive. For the whole movie only one bit, just one, actually stood out; a late movie sex scene where a blood drained zombie male is forced to strap on a hand-gun in order to engage in intercourse. That one blurb of exploitive lunacy accounts for the 2 rating.
Not much of a horror movie, not much of a sexploitive movie...just not much of a movie.
2/10
really bad road warrior zombie film
This movie wouldn't be as bad if it just had a half way decent leading actress in it. All through this movie I had to look a pathetic looking vagabond wandering around zombie town searching for a place that had non-dead existing humans left. I still couldn't understand why two half way good looking guys even considered this woman good looking. Anyway....This story starts off as Susan finishes her grocery shopping and is soon attacked by a group of zombies with the most unconvincing makeup that wouldn't even be fit for trick or treating on Halloween. This makeup looks as if it were bought at your local Dollar Store and slapped on a few innocent cheap paying bystanders. And then there is the Preacher who for what reason I don't know is in this movie steals Susans car and leaves her alone to fend for herself. She then shacks up at a local house where there are more ugly people like her living there and the house is soon invaded by a man dressed as Howard Sterns character Fart Man (they couldn't have that much originality so they they had to borrow from none other than Howerd Stern) who then shoots up the place and all the zombies are dead. I did think that the baby incident was a little gross but laughable as I watched a plastic doll being breast fed in a bloody bathtub. I do not recommend this film at all to anyone unless you cannot afford a doctor to cure you of your insomnia or that you have the need to loose weight by laughing so much.