Another zombie movie. Groan. But this one is different. For a start, it’s made in Australia, and secondly, it’s unapologetically crass, bloody, and completely ridiculous.
Put together by the Roache-Turner brothers, Kiah and Tristan, ‘Wyrmwood’ took four years to make, and was a labour of love for the Australians. Unfortunately, this was more a case of love's labour lost.
The film follows Barry (Jay Gallagher), a mechanic who wakes in the middle of the night to find someone in his kitchen, eating raw meat from the freezer. One brutal fight later, Barry and his wife and daughter are driving out of the city like crazy, when Barry hears from his sister Brooke (Bianca Bradey). She needs him to rescue her. Along the way, Barry meets fellow survivors, while Brooke is trapped by a mad scientist who gets perverse pleasure in experimenting on her. A little like ‘Game of Thrones’, no one is safe, with the many deaths all gorey and violent. This film is not for the faint of heart. SWITCH: WYRMWOOD: ROAD OF THE DEAD' TRAILER
An overuse of exploding heads, profanity, slow-mo and amateur camera techniques defy the work that went into this film. It feels a little cheap. However, if you can put that aside, it’s not all bad.
The acting is decent. Not Oscar-worthy by any stretch, but passable. The storyline is nicely convoluted, and the two arms of the tale parallel along nicely before meeting in a gruesome finale. However, while the premise of a meteorite bringing the zombie infection to Earth seems plausible, other plot obstacles are not – the need to use zombie-breath to fuel cars, as all other flammable substances will no longer burn, for example. Puh-lease.
The Australian scenery plays a role too, along with a smattering of Aussie ingenuity. Some of it is rather funny, particularly lines delivered by Leon Burchill’s Benny. The ending is shocking, but in keeping with the rest of the film.
Overall, as far as zombie movies go, ‘Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead’ is a fair one, and considering the resources available to the production team, quite a decent Australian production. While the editing is hit and miss in places, the soundtrack is just as intense as the film. If you’re into this type of movie, chances are you won’t mind a bit of aggressive heavy metal.
If you’re looking to see it, the film’s extremely limited release is a problem. However, those eager should check out www.Fan-Force.com for more information.