Zombie Killers: Elephant's Graveyard (2015) Reviews

• Keep This Trash In The Graveyard

  jamdifo2015-02-03

  When I recognized the first 3 actors in this cast, Mischa Barton, Billy Zane, and Dee Wallace, I thought there must be a decent attempt at making a good zombie movie. Wrong! All 3 had forgettable performances and the only shocking thing (not really because I didn't care) was all 3 died before the final 10 minutes (not counting the credits). Some of the main ingredients for a good zombie film are good-looking gory zombies, special effects, people getting eaten, and ZOMBIES! There's hardly any zombies till the end of the movie, and you hardly see any of them up close. The ones you do are lame. The worst looking zombie in The Walking Dead is far superior to any zombie in this movie. The makeup stinks, effects are non-existent (except for lame headshots), and not one good zombie munching scene. This movie is boring and lacks any qualities of a good zombie movie. Bad acting performances all around, but the worst by a landslide is Michael Kean. The guy can't act and he's annoying. I would've given this movie 2 stars if he got killed. The doc played by Brian Anthony Wilson looks like Uncle Phil from the Prince of Bel-Air. This movie is only for hardcore zombie fans who will waste 90 minutes of their life.

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• 'Zombie Killers: Elephant's Graveyard' does not in fact contain elephants nor a graveyard.

  bryank-048442015-08-11

  I've said it before and I'll say it again. The market is completely saturated at this point in time with zombies. No matter where you look, there is a flesh-eater behind the corner, looking to take a bite of an appendage and turn you into the bloodthirsty undead. You just can't escape it. So of course, Harrison Smith (the guy who brought you the Corey Feldman gem, '6 Degrees of Hell'), had to let us know what he thought about the zombie genre and what new and fresh ideas he could bring to this world. Despite some impressive sweeping shots that make this low budget zombie film look almost like a Hollywood blockbuster, as well as a few known actors such as Dee Wallace Stone, Mischa Barton, and Billy Zane, this zombie film never really goes anywhere nor does it pack a big and powerful punch like it desperately wants to. Even the title is a bit misleading. 'Zombie Killers: Elephant's Graveyard' does not in fact contain elephants nor a graveyard. Instead, the film centers on a town called Elwood, which is fenced off and looked after by a group of people who have dubbed themselves the 'zombie killers'. The leader of this pack is Billy Zane himself, who proves to be the only one worthy of discussion in this film, because the rest of the dozens and dozens of characters are either on screen for a couple of minutes only, or their characters are so poorly fleshed out, that you can't begin to care for anything they do or say throughout the entire film. This town of Elwood seems to be the last place on Earth for human survivors to rest easily, due to the zombie apocalypse that was brought on by oil fracking. Yes, you read that correctly, oil fracking. Due to the caution the survivors use and the zombie killers doing their job, this town has stayed relatively safe. However, there is something much more sinister than zombies trying to get in that might jeopardize the citizens of Elwood. And that is the main conflict we are dealing with here, which is a decent set up. Like in George Romero's Undead franchise or John Carpenter's 'The Thing', humans themselves may just turn out to be the real threat against each other, and that's what Harrison Smith tries to convey on film, but in doing so, he forgot to place zombies in his actual film. You think I'm kidding, but I'm not. Sure, zombies do show up, but it isn't until the final moments of the movie. Prior to an antic-climactic zombie horde towards the end of the film, we only see zombies from a distance if at all. Hell, I can't even remember a zombie munching down on anyone before the end, hence there is not a whole lot of gore or blood here. The dozens and dozens of characters in the film don't amount to much and their over- the-top melodrama, whether it be a love triangle, pregnancy, cancer, or something else, completely detracts from the situation at hand. Not to mention that all of these story lines receive enough attention, because they don't. There are times when 'Zombie Killers: Elephant's Graveyard' seems self aware of what exactly it is trying to be, but there are so many references or paying tribute scenes and dialogue to other films, that the story never really progresses past the fact that a director just wanted to throw in everything he thought he liked about zombies into one movie, and that's a shame, because it had promise.

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• Oh dear

  jas38922015-02-14

  Engaging horror movies can be made on a low budget. This had a budget and it's terrible. It doesn't challenge the audience or up the ante to where we care about the characters. There was little drama, gore, and horror, all destroying even a little chance of a decent climax. The acting was decent enough throughout. By the end credits, I was happy that it was over. It's a rough, choppy watch that somehow makes intersquad paintball seem more interesting than actual zombie fighting. This mentality leads to some atrocious examples of how overused CGI can sink an entire production when done wrong. Who knew that a horror movie could drain all the fun out of mutated zombie animals?

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• Worthy of any zombie collection

  Joel-942-1440752015-02-27

  Despite the very low rating and the other reviews, this was MUCH better than many low budget zombie movies. A minimum of 'dumb blond' moments! Little 'bad acting' that one expects. Little of that fake fighting we've learned to expect. It has decent acting, multiple story lines, a good score, and a somewhat unique story. If you're not looking for wild zombie action out of the block, then the story builds up in a regular fashion. Don't listen to the nay-sayers, this one is worthy of a look. I believe that it deserves at least a 5.0 rating, if not better.

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• Harrison Smith Does Zombies

  gavin69422015-01-28

  A young militia is all that stands between a coming dead horde and their rural town decimated by the fracking industry. Harrison Smith has said he would never do a zombie film, that zombies are "the NASCAR of horror". His position on avoiding the zombie subgenre was probably wise, as the market is flooded and trying to break through is not easy. As for what he meant by "the NASCAR of horror" is a bit more unclear. Clearly it is meant as a derogatory comment, but NASCAR does happen to be the second-most-watched sport in America, so maybe it is not the insult it first seems. Where zombie films work best, when not just being an opportunity for gratuitous gore, are when they have a sense of satire. The classic example is Romero's "Dawn of the Dead". Does this film have a political message? There seems to be a strong subplot with the fracking mines, but it never quite comes to a head... the punch is pulled. Director Harrison Smith brings in his regular Felissa Rose, this time casting her as a cult member who speaks to God. This is a strong role, and Smith should be commended for bringing Rose back to acting and the horror genre. We also get Billy Zane, the director's best catch since Cloris Leachman. In fact, probably his best one yet. One positive about "Zombie Killers" is how it is aware of its own existence in zombie films, with mention of "those old zombie movies", though direct references tend to be few. One of the most obvious is actually to "They Live", which is not a zombie film at all. But we are made clear that this is our world, not some bizarre film world where the living dead are a complete shock to those around them. The film is decent, and visually very well done, but suffers some obvious problems. The biggest, again, is the uphill fight of being in the zombie subgenre. Although better than the average zombie film, it still carries the stigma. There is also the unfortunate situation with the title. "Zombie Killers" was already taken, which is probably why the subtitle "Elephant's Graveyard" was tacked on. But this presents confusion: is it a sequel? No. Is it in Africa? No. The title makes the casual video store customer wary.

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