HOUSE OF THE DEAD 2

A horde of zombies hungry for human lives is invading a university campus, causing a terrifying epidemic. In the hope of stopping the invasion and putting an end to the contagion, a government agency sends its men to the scene with the objective of finding patient zero, the first infected zombie, and creating an effective antidote. Once on the campus, the operational agents Alex and Ellis find themselves facing a desperate situation: not only will they have to deal with the living dead, but they will be forced to fight against some corrupted agents who have very different plans from theirs. Produced in 2005 by Lions Gate (Saw - The Enigmista) and distributed by Sony Picture at the beginning of 2007 only for the home video market, "Zombie Hunters" is the sequel to "House of the Dead" (2003), a cinematic adaptation of an old arcade video game and for a less known console than the PlayStation... the Sega Dreamcast, a meteor in the world of video games that came out towards the end of 1999 and ended at the beginning of 2001. "House of the Dead 2: Dead Aim", this is the original title, is directed by the young and not very famous director Michael Hurst, and the main protagonists are: Ed Quinn (Starship Troopers 2 - Heroes of the Federation) and Emmanuelle Vaugier (Saw II - The Solution of the Enigma), decidedly little-known actors, perhaps the most famous is (with pleasant surprise) Sid Haig, the funny and malevolent Captain Spaulding in the two Rob Zombie films "House of 1000 Corpses" and "The Devil's Rejects" who here plays Prof. Curien, the one who starts the contagion. Fun beginning, I would say almost like "American Pie" and this will give you a deep sense of déjà vu believing you have chosen the wrong movie but it is not so. Inside the film there are many references to the remake of "Dawn of the Dead", such as the occasion of the contagion that occurs with flashbacks during the initial titles of the film, the reactivity of the zombies, their sounds and the different stages of decomposition. References also to the film "28 Days Later", clearly present at the end of the contagion with the appearance of the writing "29 Days Later", as well as the scene of a black soldier infected, identical to the same black soldier chained in the garden from the soldiers' residence in Danny Boyle's film. As a last tribute, the usual homage to master G. Romero could not be missing with the zombies showing minimal points of intelligence and the usual gut spillage of the unfortunate victim of the turn. This film is, however, a 90-minute zombie movie with a smooth and almost never boring rhythm, good is the presence of tension at some moments spiced up with an excellent jump from the chair, sofa or bed from which you are watching the film. Good dose of splatter with a medium-high presence of blood, at times it is also funny with really grotesque scenes, such as the ambulance transport of a waiter; however, it is not clear if this comedy is intended or unintentional. Vulgarity is the order of the day among the soldiers, seasoned with some nude scenes, but in essence the film has succeeded in being even original, because here the zombies are a mix of slowness and speed, waiting and reactivity... where had they ever been seen? In the various films of this genre they are either "turtles" or "hares". And it is they, the zombies, who are the strong point of the film, as the make-up is really good, some are really impressive and have nothing to envy to the more prestigious colleagues with a higher budget. A film definitely better than its predecessor, and perhaps not recommended only for lovers of the genre.