Biophage (2010) User Reviews

DESERVES A BAD RAPP

[nogodnomasters · 3/10 · 13 April 2019]

This movie was written, produced, directed, edited and reviewed by camera man Mark Rapp. The film starts out with a dream of a soldier, Sgt. Cain (Ron Marnich best known for his voice in the Black Dahlia video game as the cop in crime scene #3). He is having sex with Mrs. Julia Miller(Kristin Pfeifer, thanks for the nude scene). The problem was when they switched from the black and white dream scene to reality, they should have changed the film to color...Oh wait, the whole movie was in black and white, but the box displays colored pictures and never mentions it is in B&W. To save further money Aaron Jackson the executive producer played Dr. Bell (Cain's partner). I was confused early by some plot points. In order for these guys to talk to their base they have to stop in town and hook up to someone's satellite dish irregardless of the direction it was pointing, but when they leave town they can contact them without any such device. There are zombies on the loose, caused by a virus and there are people with natural immunities, but they take shots anyway.

The early sound dubbing issues start with the vehicle that wouldn't crank right away. The key turning didn't match the grinding noise. The bad dubbing didn't end there. The bad camera angels reminded me of the original "Night of the Living Dead", a classic I don't watch anymore because it is in B&W and has bad camera angels. I can't believe the director was a camera man...HEY! Put the camera on the guy who is talking!

The soap opera begins early. Julia had an affair with Cain. She is their contact voice at Mt. Bethel, but is married to the insanely jealous Dr. Miller (John Yost). Mt. Bethel looks like a small boarded up fire station. The obnoxious Dr. Bell berates Cain about Julia.

After they kill a guy who was a cannibal, rather than spend the night at his house, they opt to leave and spend the night by a campfire. They had planned to look at his disabled vehicle, but didn't do that either. Nor did they "cannibalize" any useful items from the house, such as the powerful rifle and scope. The filler conversations were boring...and BTW there are atheists in foxholes.

Our first plot twist** PLOT SPOILER ALERT** comes when the insanely Dr. Miller instructs Dr. Bell to kill Cain before they return, sort of a reverse Biblical Cain/Abel story with Dr. Miller as God or Satan. However this appears to be more coincidental as this symbolism is never fully utilized.

According to the movie the guys are headed SOUTH from the CDC (Atlanta) to Mt. Bethel (Pa.? unknown state) but have to pass through mountains. The terrain they transverse looks like the same area Cain has his dreams. Along the way they meet the Rev. Shearer (Steven F. Clark who is also the co-author and make-up man) and Bianca (Dawn Ali). WOW! They really saved money!

They had to shoot an external lock off the hospital door to get in. They closed the glass doors, did not lock them and the zombies were unable to enter. The search inside the hospital was long and boring with terrible background music which worked fine for the opening credits, but we need some variety.

The trip through the countryside was not symbolic. They could have made it a metaphor for the different aspect or phases of life or maybe the Major Arcana of tarot cards, or the four elements, or something from Greek mythology. Instead they wasted a lot of film.

Sometimes a lousy movie has a great ending to tie it together...and sometimes it doesn't

The Lack of Adequate Resources Clearly Showed

[Uriah43 · 3/10 · 9 March 2015]

For an ultra low-budget zombie movie this particular one really wasn't that bad. At least not in comparison to the majority I have seen currently out in the market today. Filmed in black-and-white this movie essentially begins after an infectious disease referred to as the "phage" has caused most of humanity to revert to flesh-eating zombies. It is at this time that we are introduced to the two main characters named "Sgt Cain" (Ron Marnich) and "Dr. Bell" (Aaron Jackson). Both work at a medical research laboratory called Mt. Bethel and they have been ordered by their boss, "Dr. Miller" (John Yost) to scout out a nearby hospital to acquire some badly-needed medical supplies. In the process of their mission we learn that Sgt Cain has had an affair with Dr. Miller's wife "Julia Miller" (Kristin Pfeifer) for which Dr. Miller holds a great deal of resentment towards Sgt Cain. Likewise, it appears that Sgt Cain still has an attraction for Julia even though she apparently wants to put the affair behind her. In any case, while this sub-plot has great relevance the main problem both Sgt Cain and Dr. Bell have to contend with is the zombies and, interestingly enough, the humans they come into contact with. Now rather than reveal any more of this movie and risk spoiling it for those who haven't seen it I will just say that with what few resources the director (Mark Rapp) had at his disposal I believe that he managed to craft together as good a final product as anybody could have possibly produced under the circumstances. Further, although the actors were certainly not household names both Ron Marnich and Aaron Jackson--and to a lesser extent Dawn Ali (as "Bianca")--performed in a fairly decent manner. Even so, taking everything into consideration, this film is still not in the same league as the average zombie movie produced in Hollywood. Again, it was an ultra low-budget production and the lack of adequate resources clearly showed. That said I don't blame the director or the actors for this fact. Quite the contrary as I believe they should be commended for their efforts. However, as mentioned earlier, this film simply doesn't compare to those with much larger budgets. As such I have rated the film accordingly. Below average.

Terrible movie - do not waste your time

[melissa-183 · 1/10 · 6 February 2012]

Obviously the other reviews are fake. Comparing this piece of crap to other movies (not just great zombie movies but just ANY movie) is a true shame.

The acting is the worst I've ever seen, especially Sgt Cain, I hope this is his first and LAST acting job. He was truly horrible.

I respect and often like low budget movies and have no problem with some flaws but this one is a true nightmare, most irritating is the acting and the dialogs are predictable and meaningless. The story itself is slow and going nowhere. Do not waste your time!

Hope and strongly suggest the people involved in this movie find another hobby.

Awful

[walks2171 · 1/10 · 15 January 2013]

Oh My God! I just finished watching one of the worst Zombies films ever made! I love a good B grade movie & a classic horror movie but when you try to make a Badly written, Badly Acted & Badly directed film look like a classic by making it in Black and White it only ends up being a Black and White Piece of Rubbish! I don't care if the budget was only $10000 I've seen better acting in cereal commercials! Admittedly I only watched it because of the guy that plays the doctor but now he makes me nauseous. The script was pathetic, I can only assume the Zombie makeup was self done by the cast themselves & the fact that these Zombies looked so weak and slow I don't know how they manage to catch and hold anyone. Beware never watch Biophage!

From THE HACKER'S SOURCE, issue # 21, page 32

[rhondawalters1129 · 10/10 · 5 August 2010]

Directed by Mark A. Rapp/Hard To Get Productions

A plague has rocked the world. Zombies thrive and man tries to survive. Sound familiar? Of course it does. It's the basis for many zombie films we all love. A smart filmmaker takes this formula, adding his own twist and storytelling to it. Mark Rapp is a smart man.

The CDC is trying to find a cure. The few survivors are either immune or injecting themselves daily with an experimental drug they hope will ward off the sickness. Mobile One is trying to return to Mt. Bethel before all supplies are gone. Our plot unfolds, insanity runs amok as man's greed, betrayal and instinct of survival rules.

I think, first, I have to warn you. This is not your standard brain munching film. Don't expect mobs of flesh hungry walking dead, buckets of oozing intestines and a blood splattered screen. Rapp instead has given us a suspenseful, psychological thriller. This is it. This is the end. Our last few human survivors. Will they succumb to man's self destructive fate, destined to wander a deadened world? Rapp makes you ponder your own morals and question just how far you would go to live in a vanishing world.

It's rare these days I can find a film that makes me think. A film that makes me question myself and whether I would do right by my morals or do they change once society no longer exists? After all, in the end, you only have yourself.

Shot in black and white, the style of the film works to intensify the story. It is a bleak time for mankind. Zombie make-up is above average for a low budget film, done by Make-Up Supervisor Steven F. Clark and Key SPFX Effects Make-Up Evolution Effects Studio, Inc. To be honest, I usually don't pay much attention to the musical score (by Kirk Hazen and Mark A. Rapp) unless it irks the crap out of me, or stands out for some reason. And I am not a wizard when it comes to music, but I do know it heightened my film experience.

Acting is also above the norm with marvelous performances by our leads Ron Allen Marnich and Aaron Jackson. I would have liked to have seen Dawn Ali get more screen time. It's a shame her skills were not put to better use.

This is the first non-gore zombie film I would ever recommend to my readers. Currently seeking distribution, keep an eye out for this gem in the future.

by Eve Blaack

NOTE: Since this review, BIOPHAGE has found distribution with Midnight Releasing and is available online and in selected stores.

Might just be closer to being the sequel to "Night of the Living Dead" than "Dawn of the Dead" ever was.

[filmbizarro · 7/10 · 13 April 2009]

"Biophage" is a black and white 16mm zombie flick that goes back to the early days of zombies. As far back as '68, to the days of "Night of the Living Dead". "Biophage" focus on the survivors and their psyche rather than gory deaths and the killing of zombies, and that's how this entire genre of brain eaters originally started. Many filmmakers would fail terribly attempting something like this, which is the reason why there are so many over-the-top gory and cheesy zombie films, but Mark A. Rapp has created what we have been missing for many, many years.

The film starts out with a dream (that involves boobies. Good way to start a film, Mr. Rapp!). It depicts Sgt. Cain (the army man of the two) fooling around with his lover, rolling around in grass, but the dream quickly turns to a nightmare when his lover bites his neck. This is where Cain wakes up. He wakes up to the real world, that might not seem too real to them anymore... No living person as far as eye can see... Zombies roam around and attack when they least expect it. Cain and Bell has to get back to their home base, which is the only place they know of that still has living people. On the way there, they meet an older man who's lost his family to this "Phage". After being invited in for a home-cooked dinner, they start to realize that this sweet man might be anything but sweet. Like I mentioned earlier, "Biophage", just like Romero's original "Dead" trilogy, especially "Night of the Living Dead", the film has a lot to do with characters, actions, not going insane, staying alive and finding ways to do just that, and "Biophage" does just that. It's very rare to see this approach done well nowadays and I think that might be what surprised me the most about this film. The film still has zombies and some gore, but it's not what it focuses on, so it's only rare occasions where it takes up the films' screen time. I can't say if it's a good or bad thing, 'cause I'm still a fan of the living dead and love to see them tear people to shreds, and "Biophage" even had less of it than the original "Night.." had. Of course, this does not change the fact that I find "Biophage" to be a masterpiece of modern independent cinema.

The biggest flaws in this film is not the "lack of" zombies and gore, because we get enough to be pleased, but I think it's some of the acting, and the sound. The two main actors do a great job, there's no complaints there, but there are some smaller roles that aren't exactly played realistically, but I appreciate their effort. And the sound I'm referring to is some of the dubbing, but also that we, the audience, sometimes only hear silence when something obviously is going on. It's just small things like if someone takes a deeper-than-usual breath before talking and we can't hear it. Nothing major that ruins the experience, but it's things that keep reminding us that we're watching a low budgeted film.

It's easy to ignore flaws when the rest of the film is done so perfect, with such care, and that might be why "Biophage" is, after just one viewing, one of my all time favorite zombie films. I don't know if I will say the same thing in 2, 5, 10 or 20 years, but I know that this was a zombie film experience I haven't been close to for a long time. To me, "Biophage" might just be closer to being the sequel to "Night of the Living Dead" than "Dawn of the Dead" ever was. And that's not just because it's black and white, but rather the overall feel and style of the film. I can't understand how this film, which was filmed in 2002, still haven't found distribution. Every fan of zombies should check this one out if they ever get the chance to, and damn you if you don't like it.

For more reviews: www.FilmBizarro.com

A good indie horror with mood.

[warmankrieger · 8/10 · 10 June 2017]

I saw Biophage last month at a friend's villa: it was playing in the background, and two of us at the gathering were sucked in about a quarter of the way through. We restarted the film, and enjoyed it quite a bit.

You'll need to know a few things going in: this is obviously a low budget film. It is, however, a film: shot on film!

I liked this movie. Biophage is a moody piece of cinema. The grain of the film lends itself to the dark subject matter which is essentially, as I see it, the collapse of the lynchpins on which society is built: family, religion, the military, the hospitals, etc. each has a representative in the film: The two doctors representing family are coming apart, wrecked partially by Cain, the main character himself. The military base they find has been wiped out, the Reverend they visit hides a secret (which I bet you can guess), and the hospital they visit to resupply themselves seems abandoned, but is total chaos.

Yes, this is a zombie film (though no one uses that word). It was released in 2010, but from what I've read, it was shot in 2002, and many of its elements, images, and characterizations were still new then. It's a shame it wasn't released closer to when it was shot: it may have been better accepted as a forerunner of a lot of what we see now as "standard zombie movie/TV."

I can understand the limitations of the production. film stock is expensive to purchase and develop, and requires a great deal of discipline while being used. Surely a lot of the budget went to just that: developing the film. From what the accomplished after that on a low budget is good stuff!

All in all, I rate this film an eight out of ten. It has a bit of action, but its virture lies in it being a thoughtful examination of the pillars of society tumbled down, and the effects of that on the individual. See it when you can.

2010, Un-rated, 72 minutes, Hard to Get Productions

[filmthreatreview · 7/10 · 5 August 2010]

Zombie movies come in all shapes and sizes these days, but few have anything new to say about the genre since George Romero single handedly moved the Zombie film from fringe horror flick to state of the art social commentary. Moreover than any other area of horror, the zombie film has its severed fingers on the pulse of a civilizations plight.

In the latest entry, Director Mark A. Rapp introduces us to a hybrid Zombie/Buddy film that uses the dilemma of two survivors as fodder for a deeper discussion of humanity after the apocalypse. In Biophage, two men, Sgt. Cain (Ron Allen Marnich) and Dr. Bell (Aaron Jackson) are returning from a mission to the CDC in hopes of stopping a deadly viral outbreak that has infected most of the Earth's population and turned them into mindless flesh eating monsters. Those humans that remain have either a natural immunity to the virus or are being treated with an experimental drug to halt the transformation effects. What remains of the world and the people who populate it are at the center of what Biophage is about. This is not your common zombie film. Rapp uses the plague to dissect how human beings would cope with a total shutdown of societal rules and morals. How would we react if freed of all the trappings of propriety?

Those of you looking for flesh munching, brain bashing, bullet-ridden bodies are in for a rude awakening. While the film features some pretty skillful zombie make up and a few brief feasting scenes the zombie is only a secondary character in the film, as our heroes must struggle not only with their inner demons but a host of rather unpleasant encounters with survivors, who have, for lack of a better term "gone ape sh*t".

Shot on the cheap, for a mere $10,000, Director Rapp makes the most out of his use of 16mm film to approximate a gritty black and white world where the many shades of gray echo the stark reality of the times. In addition to the solid direction, Rapp, along with Kirk Hazen provide an equally impressive and intensely haunting musical score. The measured simplicity of the piano often punctuates the bareness of the countryside with relative unease. It is rare that an independent film has such an effecting score and I tip my hat to the filmmakers for recognizing the importance of music in creating a foreboding atmosphere for their film.

In terms of performance, Marnich and Jackson each prove firm, if not exceptional, in their turns. Each seeming more at ease when tossing remarks off the cuff than when delivering more somber arguments. A case in point sees the characters arguing over the viewing of a video taped suicide, Jackson's instance of avoiding the viewing is wooden, but his beat deliver of "do you like snuff films?" has exactly the right amount of human sarcasm needed at that very moment.

Shooting a picture on film with a restricted budget severely limits most filmmakers in the number of takes that can be shot, simply due to monetary constraints. I suspect that case to be true with respect to Biophage, but it is important to note that I never felt pulled out the film by a poor line delivery. Overall Biophage is an interesting addition to the world of Zombie cinema, and in keeping with the traditions of making a relevant statement within the film, I think that writer/director Mark A. Rapp has crafted a substantially appealing and entirely valuable work of art.

by T.W. Anderson