Re-Kill (2015)

Number Rolled: 88

Movie Name/Year: Re-Kill (2015)

Tagline: We are the endangered species.

Genre: Horror

Length: 87 minutes

Rating: R

Production Companies: After Dark Films, Midsummer Films, Signature Pictures

Producer: Yoram Barzilai, Stephanie Caleb, Moshe Diamant, Steven A. Frankel, Christopher Milburn, Lucy Mukerjee-Brown, Jules R. Nasso, Julius R. Nasso, Karri O’Reilly, James Portolese, Bobby Ranghelov, Courtney Solomon, Allan Zeman

Director: Valeri Milev

Writer: Michael Hurst

Actors: Bruce Payne, Danielle Alonso, Roger Cross, Scott Adkins, Jesse Garcia, Angelena Swords, Dimiter Doichinov, Yo Santhaveesuk, Aaron Jay Rome, Layke Anderson, Raicho Vasilev, Claire Garrett, Rocky Marshall, Kanesha Washington, Dean J. West, Owen Davis

Blurb from Netflix: Five years after a zombie apocalypse, a team of soldiers discovers that the monsters they thought were destroyed are back to finish off the survivors.

Selina’s Point of View:

I wasn’t in love with Re-Kill, but there are some aspects that I really enjoyed.

I would definitely put this film in the category of ‘mockumentary.’ It was mostly shown from the viewpoint of the camera-man and made to seem like a TV show in the same category as Cops (1989-) or some other crime-based reality program. Personally, those shows aren’t my cup of tea, but this wasn’t exactly a true story. It took place in a post-zombie apocalypse world.

The film allowed us, the audience, to see the mockumentary as though we were a part of that world watching it on TV. It was complete with commercials and ads for shows that would be shown later in the day. That kind of reminded me of certain parts of Starship Troopers (1997).

“Would you like to know more?”

I thought the look of the zombies and the general effects were very well done – when the shaky cam allowed me to actually see what was happening. I’m a touch dizzy right now from the constant bouncing around. It’s easily the shakiest of all the shaky cams I’ve ever seen.

Regardless of the method of filming, I found the world the story was set in to be a very interesting place. There were huge plot holes here and there, but I wasn’t really expecting anything different. In fact, I was expecting a B-movie with a low level of quality, but I got something much better than that. The actors were very good at portraying their characters and the settings looked very realistic.

I want to like this film more than I did, but I found it to be kind of pointless and forgettable in the end. It wasn’t bad to sit through, but I doubt I’ll remember any of it by tomorrow.

Cat’s Point of View:

This was an interesting take on a zombie apocalypse movie. It reminded me a lot of Starship Troopers (1997) with its commercial breaks. The gritty reality TV angle with the SWAT-like R-Division ala Cops (1989-) isn’t something I’ve seen before for this genre and I think it really elevated the material beyond ‘just another zombie movie.’

I was glad to see that there was a strong female role present with the R-Division squad, played by Daniella Alonso (Hood of Horror, Revolution, Lawless Range).  Team leader ‘Sarge’ played by Roger Cross (Mad Money, Continuum, Dark Matter) was another familiar face among the cast. His character gives some interesting introspection along the way.

I found it interesting that Scott Adkins (The Pink Panther, Assassination Games, The Brothers Grimsby), action star extraordinaire, was limited to gunplay in this movie – considering hand-to-hand combat with zombies would likely be a poor decision. It makes sense, of course, but he’s usually in roles that are so much more hands-on. This didn’t take away from his character, though.

I think I liked the role of Winston for Bruce Payne (Greystone Park, Asylum, Breakdown) better than the last several things I’ve seen him in. I remember him best for his roles in Dungeons and Dragons (2000) and Highlander: Endgame (2000). Winston has some interesting views in this movie, and was one of my favorite characters in the film.

This is a movie I will likely watch again, and would definitely recommend to fans of the genre – especially if I know someone likes Starship Troopers.

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – None

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 23%

Netflix’s Prediction for Selina – 3.5/5

Selina’s Trust-the-Dice Score – 3/5

Netflix’s Prediction for Cat – 2/5

Cat’s Trust-the-Dice Score – 3.5/5

P.S. Shows up on Rotten Tomatoes as: After Dark Originals: Re-Kill

Movie Trailer: