The Guard Post (2008) - Horror Infection

The Guard Post (2008) - "GP506" original title is for Guard post 506 in the demilitarized zone the "DMZ" in Korea, it is the agreed upon line between the north and the south in their stalemated war from the 1950's. To this day troop man outposts on either side a few hundred yards from one another in a state of vigilance in case the other sides decides the war needs to be finished. This film does not deal with the tension between the two sides of Korea, it is instead an isolated outpost where a virus has gotten in and wreaked havoc on the occupants. The setup is that the guard post has not been heard from long enough that a group of South Korean soldiers are sent in to investigate. When they arrive they find lots of body parts and a man standing with a bloody ax. Shooting him when he fails to respond to calls to lower the weapon his coma makes it hard to piece together what happened there.

  It is the job of the investigator played by Ho-jin Cheon to do just that, to figure out through the written reports, journals and the such what happened at the base. When a second survivor is found played by Hyun-jae Cho the story seems to come together, but everything is not quite what it seems. The film is a bit difficult to follow but not impossible, bouncing between two stories without too much notice. First there is the current story of the soldiers checking out the events of the out post. They have significant political pressures from the outside and bureaucratic tension on the inside to contend with so the investigation is not the smoothest thing happening. Our investigator has the scene of the killing disturbed by a doctor who is there to remove the bodies so the higher ups can cover up the massacre. In this part of the story there are more than a dozen characters all in fatigues and helmets. Then when the film flashes back to the original group there are another dozen characters dressed and heads covered the same way. At times it is hard to immediately follow what is going on. Not to say the film is not watchable, it is very much worth the effort of keeping characters straight.  
 The story unfolds in the past with the three soldiers who go out for a hike and come back ill. They develop rashes and then their behavior becomes erratic and violent. When it leads to death and then the virus spreads to the other men in the company it gets more complicated. The company leader is a government big wig's son. He has been taught by his political Father never to admit a problem but to cover it up and deal with it internally. So instead of getting help the group is isolated and as more men get sick and violent the situation gets out of control. The film does a good job early in this story making the problem seem possibly supernatural. The trance like behavior of the infected men is eerie and the violence shocking in its sudden and brutal nature.
  In the present the second survivor says he is the commander and there is some intrigue when it appears he in the present is still trying to destroy documentation that will tell the full story. When the men of the present day group start coming down with the same sickness, it is a race to try to get to the bottom of the viral outbreak. The underground of the guard post is a labyrinth of corridors and rooms and so there is lots of isolation of the soldiers which lets the virus spread undetected for some time. Add to that a land slide on the road out and the place is physically cut off. As the spread of the virus happens in the present we keep having flashbacks to the past taking that story line further along also. There is a twist that although not giant was good enough to make things interesting. The two stories past and present develop at the same pace so like I said earlier it can be confusing if you are not paying attention.
  Now you have to be willing to read subtitles for this film but I think it is very worth it. It is a mystery with scary scenes and violence and towards the end great tension. The outcome is probably inevitable but still getting there is a well told story. What would you do if you know everyone in your group is infected with a violence hallucination creating virus? I am sure that you will do a similar thing to what happens in the climax of this film as one character is trying to get out while another thinks they should stay. I liked this film it is tense enough and interesting all the way through. So yes I am going to recommend this film it was very enjoyable. Available for free on Amazon Prime instant video.
Rating (6.2) 5.0 and up are recommended, some more recommended than others

Rammbock (2010) Horror Zombie Infection

Rammbock (2010) - My daughter and I got to see this short, 60 minute feature at a midnight showing at the AMC Loews Boston Common 19 theaters. This opportunity to see a small film that otherwise we would never see was welcome. The coming attraction for YellowBrickRoad opening June 3rd also looked good. To make up for the short run time there was a funny intro film about what to do if a zombie is in the theater. I looked for a link to it but could not find it. It was not hilarious but certainly amusing.Rammbock : Berlin Undead was a good little film. At its heart is a love story involving Michael (Michael Fuith) and Gabi (Anna Graczyk). She had recently dumped him but he was still hoping things would work out. To further this agenda he brings his copy of her apartment keys over to her place in the guise of returning them. Still the infatuated he spends time practicing the lines he will say to win her heart back. Unfortunately for him when he arrives at the open apartment she is not there. In her place is a plumber and his assistant Harper (Theo Trebs) who are working on her pipes, literally not figuratively. Worse yet is just as Michael arrives, outside a fast spreading virus is turning people into fast zombies, think infection like in 28 Days Later. The plumber crack and all suddenly becomes infected and it is all Harper and Michael can do to fight him off and close themselves in Gabi's apartment. These early scenes are pretty much the same as we have seen in other movies, like the above mentioned 28 DL, Le Horde and the excellent [Rec] and [Rec] 2. Still the scene are not without peril and much like every other movie of this type there is a need for the characters to expose themselves to even more danger than you would think necessary. Harper assists even though he knows it is a bad idea. There was a good piece early section of the film where the remaining unturned people are safe for the moment in their apartments and come to the windows to talk to each other. The layout of the building created a nice closed courtyard, which unfortunately had an open gate at the start of the film so there are lots of infected down below. The space this creates for communication is excellent and if more was done with it the film could have been that much better. Say if from one window the attacks on other apartments could be viewed. It could have been really cool but was only used briefly here. We get to meet some of the other survivors, seeing that the big guy with tattoos has already been bitten. Expecting that something was going to happen with this massive man who will turn there is a real sense of anticipation built.
Even with information on the radio and TV telling everyone to stay in Michael can't. Knowing he dropped his phone on the stairs when struggling with the plumber he has to go for it. Harper is creating weapons and all Michael can do is think about calling Gabi, he actually gives Harper a hard time for using her forks in his weapon creation. Again it is a positive that this theme of the love you can't let go of plays through the film instead of being dropped. Still in the early stages of the film the more predictable stuff is happening so of course when Michael is getting his phone it rings, attracting the infected in droves. They manage to barricade themselves in the bedroom but the rest of the apartment is lost to them and the infected know they are there.
Not to give away too much more of the story, but lets say that the strange and endearing parts about Michael's love continue and when the two guys have to break through the wall to the apartment next store they end up separated. Harper from his place figures out how to ward off the infected while Michael has a anticipated reunion. He eventually see the way out of the city but there is still some work to be done and some side stories before the final attempt to get to safety. The second half of this is fairly original and a cool little take on the theme that recently has been thoroughly explored. There is a space in this end of civilization film where lots of small stories can be told. No doubt workers in Boston and Cambridge have thought out there escape routes in detail, think duck boats. Wherever you live if this type of film is for you then you have your own scenarios in your head. This film does a decent job telling one of those stories. Could more have been developed in this one? Yes for sure but even so it is a competent entry into the genre. So some credit to be given to the filmmakers Director Marvin Kren and writer Benjamin Hessler.
Rating (6.3) 5.0 and up are recommended, in the Zombiegrrlz system Go Out and See It!

Monsters (2010) - Horror Monster

Monsters (2010) - " Six years ago... NASA discovered the possibility of alien life within our solar system. A space probe was launched to collect samples but broke up during reentry over Mexico. Soon after new life forms began to appear and half the country was quarantined as an infected zone. Today The Mexican and US Military still struggle to contain the creatures."
So starts the 2010 low budget drama, road movie, science fiction, love story Monsters. In the story a photo journalist Andrew (Scoot McNairy) is coerced by his editor to collect the paper owner's daughter Samantha (Whitney Able) and get her away from the danger of the infected zone. Her hotel has been attacked and Andrew asks about looking for her. The monsters, large air squid seem to be spreading and the military seems to be losing ground to them. They are not coordinated but more seem like giants migratory animals. They move about and interact but are so large often will kill people in their passing. When the two people do find each other the plan is to take the train to the coast where Samantha can board a boat back to the United States. Andrew is hoping that in their travels he may still get that good photo of the creatures he has not been able to get. We see on signs that northern Mexico is all infected zone. Northern Mexico as an infected zone with the US trying to keep the creatures out, and they caused it through their own actions. This all seem so familiar somehow?

So Samantha and Andrew board the slow train to the coast with the sounds of battle nearby to indicate they are near the southern border of the zone. Time is running out with the zone moving further to the south so they have just 48 hours to get there before that port is no longer useful. They start the trip and get to know each other while the train chugs alone. When it is turned back by the military they are still 100 kilometers from the coast and so decide to disembark and make their way on foot. We get them bonding until they get to the port. Their the timing is bad and the officials corrupt making an exit impossible. Then on top of it after spending a very cool night at the Day of the Dead celebrations, Samantha is resisting his advances since she has as fiancee waiting in the states. He after being turned down finds a local to wet his willy and ends up getting their passports and money stolen. Options are gone now the two decide to hire men with their remaining cash to take them across the infected zone on foot. Like many an illegal immigrant they are going to traverse northern Mexico and slip into the United States.

The journey is really well done from the boat up river, we have close encounters with the giant beasts, see their destruction and share the Americans fears as they are lead through this dangerous land by armed gunmen. We get to see the way the creature procreate and learn some of their spawning patterns.

When the main crisis hits the group it puts our couple in a desperate place where they must rely on each other to get through to the border. It is a struggle but when the large border wall is reached the area is abandoned. The battle it appears has moved north into Texas.

This is a very cool movie, with just enough special effects to please. It is not an action packed thrill ride like District 9. It is a story of two people on a trip that changes them profoundly and allows them to find each other. Writer, director Gareth Edwards works wonders shooting non actors in their homes and businesses, in parks and on streets and works those interactions into his science fiction tale. The actors working with minimal script give honest and clear performances. Whitney and Scoot dating at the time the shoot started are now married and in interviews talked about the continuous shooting while traveling with Edwards through Mexico and Costa Rica capturing the footage. How many times innocuous answers to questions about the government or a recent storms were edited into the movie to fit the alien battle scenario. They talk about the incredible effort put in by Edwards to get all the visuals for this film, including some shooting in Galveston TX after a hurricane wiped out most of the community.

This film is a success that shows that good movie making does not take hundreds of people and millions of dollars. It take a story, skill and lots of heart. This film has that.

Rating (7.2) 5.0 and up are recommended in the Zombiegrrlz system I would say Go see it if you can.

Right at Your Door (2006) - Drama

Right at Your Door (2006) - Lexi (Mary McCormack) and Brad (Rory Cochrane) have their normal morning like they have a thousand times before. They get up have coffee and Lexi heads out to work, while Brad, a musician stays at home. Unfortunately for the couple this is no normal day, soon after Lexi heads out the news breaks that dirty bombs are exploding all across Los Angeles. Brad is in a panic and heads out to find Lexi, unfortunately the police are closing down all the roads into the detonation areas. He is in a panic without being able to get through to Lexi. When he returns home the handyman (Tony Perez) Alvaro from next store is in his house. He has no place inside to go so Brad lets him stay. They follow instructions and seal up the house with duct tape and plastic. The film then settles down, with Lexi finding her way home. The problem is that Brad now can't let her in. She has been exposed to toxins and virus in the attack and Brad thinks they will both could die if he lets her in. The drama centers around this the rest of the way. At one point Lexi breaks a window because she wants in. The writer Chris Gorak keeps the script taught and suspenseful introducing just enough characters and giving just enough information to keep the film interesting. Since the film has a twist I will not go into the ending even though it is an older movie. The twist although welcomed was a bit cliche in that I thought we suddenly changed the film into an episode of Alfred Hitchcock presents. Still it was a decent film that held my attention.

Rating (6.1) Any rating above a 5.0 is recommended