In 1939, along the Russian border with Finland, Nazi Germany begins secret underground “Anti-Death” experiments on captured Russian soldiers.

Two years later they abandon the experiments. All records are destroyed overnight by direct order of Adolph Hitler. The test subjects are piled into mass graves, and buried.

Finland 1941

A small, elite unit of American soldiers is dispatched to assist a Finnish task force in their fight against the Russians. Their mission: to destroy the Russian bunker.

This much is true.

This is War of the Dead in a nutshell. The Nazis are experimenting with their “Anti-Death” formula on captured soldiers with mixed results. On one hand they are creating a savage killing machine, and on the other hand they have created an unmanageable savage killing machine. It’s for this reason Adolf pulls the plug on the project.

A couple of years later the Finnish and American military form a joint task force to investigate the actions of the Germans operating on the border of Finland. The Americans, led by Captain Martin Stone (Andrew Tiernan – 300), have additional orders: to find and destroy the German bunker. The platoon runs into problems early into the mission when they are ambushed by German troops, wiping out half of the task force. That evening they are again ambushed, except this time by a stronger, more durable force, a detachment of the un-dead. This group chases the surviving members of the living military, which include Stone, along with Lieutenant Laakso (Mikko Leppilampi – The Italian Key), photographer Selzman (Mark Wingett – Snow White and the Huntsman), and the Russian refugee soldier Kolya (Samuel Vauramo – The American) to a house in the woods. It’s here that the group meets up with Kolya’s wife Dasha, who is estranged from him because of the side of the border she lives on. What follows is more escape, evasion, and discovery concerning the Germans.

Sometimes simplicity is nice in a horror movie. Identifying good guys and bad guys is easy: good guys breathe and the bad guys want to eat you. The plot is nice and simple as well: bad guys made bad creatures that eat the good guys and the bad guys. The good guys risk life and limb to overcome and make the world a safer place. The movie is that simple. There’s little character development because the action starts immediately and survival suddenly becomes more important than socializing.

Features:

Blu-ray and DVD copies included

DVD – 16 x 9 (2.35:1) format, English 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio

Blu-Ray – 1080p High Definition 2.35:1, English DTS-HD Master Audio

Karl’s Scores:

Acting – A

Setting – A

Special Effects – B+

Creep Factor – B

Tension – B+ (A bit predictable.)

What the Heck Moments – A few. Cool ending.

Overall – B+

War of the Dead is not a wildly clever film, nor is it complex, but it is a wild adventure in zombie survival. When I first saw this title I thought it was a new installment in the George Romero series of living dead films, but alas, disappointment. I was so disappointed that I was prepared to give this movie a zero just because I felt misled. As I watched I found myself enjoying the movie, in spite of the disillusionment, and I believe you will too.

Rating:

ComicsOnline gives War of the Dead 3½ “Anti-Death” stars out of 5.

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