Review of the movie “Zombie Apocalypse: Redemption”

Zombie Apocalypse: Redemption is a bare bones, low budget movie made by folks who appear to be having fun with what was clearly a labor of love.  The basic synopsis of the plot is that John Knox, the main character, is condemned to death by the group of Apocalyptic Raiders he fell in with after the dead have risen and the world is overrun by zombies.  The reason for his sentence is that he no longer wants to follow the leader Rome, who like Knox is ex-military, but is a psychopath that slaughters for fun and for no other discernible reason.  Knox is allowed to escape by one of the other members of the group who apparently also doesn’t like Rome much either (and gets executed for his troubles).  The escape isn’t without hardships, since Knox is left handcuffed and is sent out into the desert.  He manages to avoid getting devoured by a zombie and gets rescued by a band that roams the wastelands doing their best to fend for themselves.  They are led by a man named Moses (Fred Williamson) who is likely the only member of the cast that the vast majority of the audience might know.  Knox does his best to help his new found friends, even though trust is hard to come by given the fact that they know of his raider past.  At the same time, his old nemesis, Rome, wants Knox found and executed, and so the hunt is on.  Of course, the two groups end up clashing and in the end this tale becomes a battle between good and evil, with a horde of the undead smack dab in the middle of it all.

I was provided this movie for review because I am essentially a zombie-fiend.  I review mainly zombie and other horror-type novels, but now and then I will review a movie.  Yes, this is a very low budget movie and is very much a b-grade flick.  Some of the dialog was a bit rough and every now and then unintentionally amusing.  Jerry Lynch, who plays the head bad guy, appears to be fond enough of chewing scenery that he probably got indigestion after he was done here.  Nope, this one won’t win any major awards, but for me, it was a fun post apocalyptic zombie flick.  You sort of have to just go with it-accept the limitations of having minimal budget, no real known actors, and a simple apocalyptic premise.  If you can do that, this movie is fun to watch.  The concept is workable, with a bit of a Road Warrior type feel to the bad guys with their mishmash of armor and a deluded leader who craves power.  Fred Williamson might be a bit too old to be doing fight scenes (he is over 70, after all), but even watching him do that after having seen him in plenty of classic B-Grade action flicks of the past brought a smile to my face.  This is a simple, rock ’em, sock ’em zombie flick with a high body count and no hidden meanings.  Pick your side, grab a weapon, and kill both the undead as well as the living that would kill you first if they had the chance.  Go in knowing what to expect here and you will probably have some fun with this one.

Zombie Apocalypse: Redemption can be found here: http://www.amazon.com/Zombie-Apocalypse-Redemption-Johnny-Gel/dp/B0055CP9S6/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1328389092&sr=1-1