For
some reason, in horror movies, medical researchers who have devoted years to
academic study and public service turn into Jigsaw from the Saw franchise as soon as the zombie
apocalypse hits. Evidently, it is true of Italian co-productions as well. At
least these undead cannibals come with European tax shelter benefits, judging
from the notorious Uwe Boll’s producing role. Low expectations will still be
disappointed by Francesco Picone’s Anger
of the Dead (trailer
here), which
opens today in New York.
Alice
just discovered she was preggers when the infection hit. Her husband and five
year old daughter are now long gone, but her baby is clearly due soon. She has
teamed up with the bickering Stephen and Peter, who have more-or-less agreed to
check out reports of a ferry leaving for an island safe haven. Unfortunately,
to get to the port, their paths will cross that of Rooker, the sadistic leader
of the so-called “sanctuary.”
Within
the former government institution, scientists repeatedly torture an unnamed
woman for no constructive purpose. However, Rooker seems to think she is “The
One,” whose apparent immunity can help him save his full blown zombified wife.
Just how the regularly scheduled raping will help him do that makes sense only
to Picone (and probably Boll).
This
is just a damn ugly film, filled with completely unnecessary brutality, even by
hardcore horror standards. Technically, Anger
is considered a feature fixer-up of Picone’s somewhat superior short of the
same title, but he inexplicably jettisons its most memorable character: the
motorcycle-riding zombie killer.
Almost
perversely, Aaron Stielstra gives the most the film’s best performance, but
Rooker is so irredeemably vile, it is impossible to enjoy his villainy. Roberta
Sparta and Désirée Giorgetti are serviceable enough as Alice and “The One,” but
there is no way they can salvage this material. Frankly, Anger suspiciously parallels the narrative of Wyrmwood: the Road of the Dead, but it lacks the Australian film’s
wit and invention. In terms of zombie satisfaction, fans will get more out of
the mash-up, The Walking Deceased.