DVD review: Zombie Warz: Falls the Shadow (2011)

Three years after the War, the United States is destroyed. Civilization has devolved into anarchy and tribalism. A soldier, Michael (David Eby), finally comes home, only to find his wife murdered and his daughter kidnapped. Accompanied by a disparate group of survivors, he leads the hunt to find his kidnapped daughter and kill the Reverend (Sam Dalton) whose neo-Confederate tribe was responsible. Zombie Warz: Falls the Shadow is written, directed and edited by Steven Berryessa. The acting is good, the camerawork and editing is very good. There are some really nice visuals on display. The soundtrack is nice! First of all there´s not many zombies (come to think of it they are more reminiscent of the sick crazies in 28 Days Later) in this, the title is kinda missleading in that way, the flick focuses more on the humans and pits man against man. It has a dark and bleak tone and it´s isn´t hard to imagine that The Road (2009) has been one source of inspiration for the filmmaker. The pacing is pretty slow which might put off some viewers but I liked it, it gives us time to learn and to associate with the characters and when violence hits there isn´t anything glamorous about it. And trust me, this is a harsh and violent world. The action (both shoot outs and fight choreography) is impressively staged. There´s some gore in this, the high light is when a tatto is being cut off from a mans chest. There´s topless nudity from Olivia Bishop as Elena and a soft gentle sex-scene.
Zombie Warz: Falls the Shadow is also known as Falls the Shadow and The Tomorrow World.
This review is based upon the US region all (Region 0) DVD release from Hannover House.
Rating: 7 out of 7. I enjoyed this a lot! The DVD cover and title is a bit missleading as this ain´t just another of all those low budget zombie flicks. I love the bleak and grim post apocalytic setting! In my opinion Zombie Warz: Falls the Shadow is well-paced and gets better and better. This is ambitious and impressive effort from Steven Berryessa. Highly recommended so make sure to check it out!

/JL