What happens to a Hispanic gang and a Black gang when a meteorite causes the dead to rise? They don't exactly band together, and instead just yell at each other a lot. Oh, and Reggie Bannister shows up.
A better film than "Zombiez" and "Dead Heist," "Gangs of the Dead" is still a rather pedestrian urban horror flick that thinks racial stereotypes and bad dialog are better than actually giving the viewer anything good as far as horror is concerned.
Granted, the occasional action scene and gory moment tends to put this above the previously mentioned films, and Reggie Bannister shows up at one point (though his role is essentially an extended cameo) However, the whole thing isn't that different from other Direct to DVD zombie flicks that can be found at movie rentals. It also doesn't help that the majority of the characters are essentially uninteresting and unlikable (even though the actors for the most part are actually better than expected), and when they die, you don't feel anything other than indifference. The apocalyptic finale actually leaves things open for a sequel, but so far, nothing has come up. Maybe that's a good thing.
It's kind of a shame really, because while watching it, I couldn't help but feel that with a better script and director, this could have been an enjoyable little zombie flick, and that the Urban Horror genre could finally have had a good recent zombie effort. As it stands, "Gangs of the Dead" is pretty much just the same old song and dance you've seen before, and done better by other movies as well.
A better film than "Zombiez" and "Dead Heist," "Gangs of the Dead" is still a rather pedestrian urban horror flick that thinks racial stereotypes and bad dialog are better than actually giving the viewer anything good as far as horror is concerned.
Granted, the occasional action scene and gory moment tends to put this above the previously mentioned films, and Reggie Bannister shows up at one point (though his role is essentially an extended cameo) However, the whole thing isn't that different from other Direct to DVD zombie flicks that can be found at movie rentals. It also doesn't help that the majority of the characters are essentially uninteresting and unlikable (even though the actors for the most part are actually better than expected), and when they die, you don't feel anything other than indifference. The apocalyptic finale actually leaves things open for a sequel, but so far, nothing has come up. Maybe that's a good thing.
It's kind of a shame really, because while watching it, I couldn't help but feel that with a better script and director, this could have been an enjoyable little zombie flick, and that the Urban Horror genre could finally have had a good recent zombie effort. As it stands, "Gangs of the Dead" is pretty much just the same old song and dance you've seen before, and done better by other movies as well.