Written by --PAT--
This was a movie I really wanted to see. Not because it is the best zombie film ever, not even because it has an impressive cast or crew. No simply because it is a movie that was made with virtually no resources. For about 5000€ Jonas Wolcher succeeded in making a movie that looks impressive (putting the budget in mind). He even achieved in putting a very big cast together and presented this film with an extensive soundtrack.Debuting with his first full feature, Jonas Wolcher is a man with a vision and above all a filmmaker with a perspective.
The plot is basic. Reports of zombies taking over the city come in from al over Gothenburg and despite the fact the army is ready to take action, the Mayor doesn’t like that idea. Instead she calls in a group of cleaners, zombi jaegers. Although a previous attempt to clean up the mess, by sending in the Italian hitman Claudio Dragonetti failed, the Mayor is still willing to take a risk. So she gives a professional Die Zombiejaegerteam from Germany a chance. Always ready to kick some ass, the crazy hunters (Ivo Reinharth an Martial arts specialist, Dieter Höss & Heinrich Rummel the leader) take on the invitation. They are facing one of the most dreadful tasks ever. For some reason (lack of money?) the anti zombi-virus drug is not available in Gothenburg, which means the cleaners have to move in making sure none of them gets scratched, bitten or wounded. Of course this is exactly what happens and Reinhart gets wounded, slowly transforming him into a zombie. But not before they have tried to rescue a reporter and a camera crew, who end up as zombies anyway and face Dragonetti , as a new born killer zombie. And eventually save the day. Meanwhile this trio have to reach the other side of Gothenburg to acquire more gun power and the needed anti zombie drug. During their battle they find out what happened with the first cleaner and they realise that this isn’t a sudden outbreak of the virus. The “zombiejaeger” start to realise that something worse is going on, and have to figure out who’s behind it. 
Looking at “Zombi Jaeger” for the first time, I had the feeling that something was bothering me. It quickly became obvious that it was the “Zombi Jaeger” logo that came on screen between different scenes. As it dawn on me that this was something that is used quite frequently in cartoons, I began to realize that this gimmick was purposely done to give the movie a comic feel. And that is exactly how you should look to at movie, as an adaptation of a comic book. Forget “Batman Begins”, forget “Spiderman”, “Superman”, “Fantastic 4” or “the X-men”. “Zombiejaeger” is much more comic related then the sum of all the previous films. The hunters themselves are indeed characters that have jumped out of a comic book and that is something that put a lot of value to the film.
One of the great things about “Zombiejaeger” is that the undead look realistic and that the gore level isn’t really that high. The idea of an army of zombies that can be controlled is cunning. Another great thing is the dry humour, which gives it that tongue in cheek seriousness, which turns this movie although quite outrageous in its intentions, into a cult movie. The film itself looks cheap and that didn’t bother me one second. I’m pretty sure that this flick could do some damage on a little festival like Midsplatter night and likewise, but a domestic release isn’t something I think of right now, specially since it would do more damage then good to the film.
When I watched the film there were some elements that I didn’t understand. For instance where does this anti zombi-virus drug come from, what about the zombi-virus & how are the zombies controlled. In a previous chat with Jonas, he told me about a trilogy he wanted to make. “Zombienoid” the short movie he made before this one could be a prequel or at least hold some of the answers. Maybe it is time to talk to Jonas once more.
The extras on this disc however are overwhelming. There are some commercials directed by Jonas, two video clips by Project-X & Avatar. Quite heavy stuff from Avatar but very good metal indeed. Project –X is more an electro band but certainly with its roots in the Goth scene. There are radio interviews, behind the scenes clips, featurettes, trailers and much more. One drawback however is that I couldn’t get the audio commentary to work . It was announced but no way I could find it on my copy. Well maybe it was in Swedish only…
No comments:
Post a Comment