Shadows of the Dead

Was it good? Meh. Was it bad? Nah. Was it entertaining? Yes. Shadows of the Dead was campy and low budget, but the subject was interesting and the execution was pretty good.

This is the story of a young couple who decide to stay in a cabin the in the woods (never a wise choice), only to get a flat on the way there. They notice a nearby body and decide it would be safer to stay in the car over night just to make sure they don't get lost, and in case whatever killed the man was still out in the forest.

Later on in the night Jennifer notices that the body is gone. Freaked out, she asks John to look around outside. As he drops his guard while taking a leak, he is attacked. He hits the thing in the head with a shovel and stumbles back to the car. Jennifer helps him in and asked what happened, mentioning that he dropped the shovel back there. Going to retrieve it, she comes across the grisly remains of a decomposing corpse. Smashing its head with the shovel, Jennifer bolts back to the vehicle.

Nervose, they make a break for it, a zombie underneath the car grabs Jennifers foot, but she shakes it off and the couple escapes into the night.

Reaching the cabin, they wonder if John should be taken to a nearby hospital for medical attention. He claims he will be fine and they settle in. After a night there, John is overcome with horrible chills and can no longer find his pulse. At this point the hospital is the only option.

Upon examination, the doctor is startled that John no longer has a heartbeat. He exits the room claiming the need for a second opinion, but goes straight for security and has them call the police. Jennifer and John escape from the hospital. They get back to their cabin and wait. They try all the can as Johs body begins to decompose. They bandage him and try to cure his hunger with food. He claims he needs some fresh meat, not that frozen shit he's been getting.

The poor kitty cat outside has no clue whats going to happen to him. John lures him in only to snap his neck and eat him. Blood crazed, he finds Jennifer sleeping in the cabin and climbs on top of her. He sinks his teeth into her neck and pulls away. Both realize what has happened, Jennifer is going to die and join John as one of the undead.

From there we watch as their relationship, as well as their bodies, begin to decompose. They bicker and fight, lie around all day, and generally act depressed. As the hunger builds, John begins sneaking out at night and hunting... Jennifer follows him one night and watches as he murders a group of young adults on a camping trip. She flees, disgusted.

Jennifer digs through a pile of clothes in the cabin, finding a gun. She asks John why he had it,  where he got it from, who he killed for it? Overcome with depression, she puts the gun to her head and kills herself.

Now alone, John realizes the gift of life and struggles against his urges to kill. In the end two officers come across the cabin and after a struggle, John is killed.

Like I said, it was an entertaining movie. Not to good, but definitely not bad. It was an interesting look at the turning process between human and zombie. If you don't mind some cheesy dialog and acting and have an hour and a half to kill, give it a shot.