I read the IMDb scores and reviews before watching House of the Dead and thought I'd watch to see just how bad it was. I was pleasantly surprised to spend an hour and a half watching a decent film; much better than a lot of big budget stuff, such as some of the Hollywood remakes of some horror classics. So long as you understand the budget background, and find lower budget films entertaining - such as great Brit Flicks like Shawn of the Dead -there's something worth watching here. I'm guessing this was more of a Canadian film than USA, and that seems to show in the whole manner of the film. I've often found that many Canadian movies to have some magic ingredient that makes them stand out, but an ingredient that doesn't taste good to the masses.
The effects were appropriate for the low budget background; don't expect the sort of stuff you see in Resident Evil. Apart from too much dialogue to the audience at the beginning, the direction and production quality was good. The acting was appropriate for the roles without being award quality; bimbos were bimbos, tough guys were tough guys, etc. The lead role (J Cherry) was the usual brooding thoughtful hero type.
Simple, unchallenging entertainment that doesn't pretend to be something it isn't. If you are a fan of the original game or game genre you should like it.
The effects were appropriate for the low budget background; don't expect the sort of stuff you see in Resident Evil. Apart from too much dialogue to the audience at the beginning, the direction and production quality was good. The acting was appropriate for the roles without being award quality; bimbos were bimbos, tough guys were tough guys, etc. The lead role (J Cherry) was the usual brooding thoughtful hero type.
Simple, unchallenging entertainment that doesn't pretend to be something it isn't. If you are a fan of the original game or game genre you should like it.