Some time ago, I was sent a copy of a movie for review for MAP entitled The Monster Man (review here). The film was written and directed by Jose Prendes and our opinions seemed to differ on what the definition of a good movie was and (in my humble opinion) what was most certainly not. Needless to say I received a nasty letter for my humble opinions and life went on.

Then, just the other day, I was walking through the local video store and a title caught my eye...Corpses Are Forever. I could swear someone had threatened me with this movie by e-mail once before. I looked at the back of the box and sure enough, it was my old friend Jose's new movie. By some odd twist of fate, our copy hadn't show up at MAP Headquarters. So, to show I was a good sport, I decided to give Jose a second chance to redeem himself.

Just before I sat down with Corpses Are Forever, I looked over the review I wrote for The Monster Man and the letter that I received in response to its posting. I do realize now, that my appraisal of the movie was harsh and a little less than 'constructive.' Let's call this my second chance as well. The truth is, I didn't really care for this movie either but this movie gives me a clearer picture as to why.

My first and biggest problem with this movie is that it tries to combine the elements of several different genres presenting itself in a way that is meant to be suspenseful. However, what appears to be a deliberate lack of information makes it very hard to identify with what you're watching. If you read the synopsis on the back of the box it says: "A secret agent and his unlikely crew of heroes are the only ones who can close the gates of hell and stop the zombie invasion!" This is the plot line that we as viewers enter into this movie with. Yet, the opening scenes and several to follow give us no indication that we're even watching the right movie. The first chunk of story is presented in a black and white film noir style that is more consistent with a very different type of film. As the story moves along, we encounter a huge mix of genres and film styles until it's almost impossible to tell what path our zombie movie is trying to unfold on.

This movie is packed full of spies, army type commandos, assignations, and betrayals unending. It has serial killers, helpful ghosts and there's even a hint of romantic inclination here and there. All tangled up in a ninety-two minute package! It makes for a pretty confusing journey and it doesn't leave enough room to focus or develop any one part of the story. For example: the film is set in a world that has reached a zombie infestation of one hundred percent and yet we see very few zombies! This (in my opinion) is a major plot flaw. It's a little like watching a montage of previews for different movies rather than one complete movie.

The mix of styles and themes are even more so present in the films' production values. From halfway decent black and white shots to scenes that are just too dark and lit in ways that look (comparatively) very unprofessional. The same goes for the music, this movie runs the full spectrum of styles and sounds. There are places where the music, lighting, and themes of individual scenes fit together but as a total package it comes off as poorly planned almost giving off an accidental feel. The sound, presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 was seriously unbalanced and there are places where the background noise and soundtrack overwhelm the dialog. All of these things combined really work against the film and does absolutely nothing to help set the atmosphere.

Perhaps the saddest thing about this, is that there are a couple of truly creepy tidbits that were filmed and presented well but were strung together by a long litany of unrelated details and poorly mixed genre concepts. This above all else makes the movie a huge disappointment. There is a hint of talent in those tidbits and it's squandered on flash and poorly staged fight scenes. There are few small details throughout the movie that pay homage to greats like George Romero etc. I think it's important to remember that what made classic artists like Romero so great was that he took a very simple concept and with next to no budget and so few resources managed to scare the hell out of us! Even as technology grew, and our nightmares were able to take a realistic edge and we were able to layer sound and imagine creating complex emotion in the viewer- the themes and stories themselves were the same simple tales we always loved.

All told, this movie was a wreck. It was confusing where it was meant to be mysterious and the ninety-two minutes it took to watch was actually doubled because I had to keep jumping back scenes just to get a general idea of what was happening. Any one of the ideas brought to film here would have made a great storyline and movie on it's own but crammed together it was just confusing and it took too much effort to sort through.