Official Synopsis:
Horror master Clive Barker presents The Plague, starring James Van Der Beek (Dawson's Creek) and Ivana Milicevic. For ten years, the children of the world lay comatose, struck down by an eerie plague. And now, they're finally awakened to carry out a common mission: the complete annihilation of the adult human race. Viciously killing anyone over twenty, the zombie-like children spare no one, not even their parents. And as the few surviving adults run for their lives, the question still remains: who - or what - is behind The Plague?
Our Take:
Clive Barker's The Plague is a zombie movie that borrows fairly heavily from a host of other films, such as Dawn of the Dead, Village of the Damned, and John Carpenter's The Fog. Of course, if you're going to borrow from anything, you may as well borrow from the best. The result is a highly original yet highly derivative film. What makes this film work so well is that it takes a new approach to zombies. In the world of The Plague, all of the world's children have been in a coma for ten years. When they all suddenly wake up, though, they're out for blood.
What sets these zombies apart is the fact that they learn. We figured out that fast zombies could be just as scary as slow zombies in the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead. But in The Plague, they actually comprehend and learn. There's a chilling scene in which our group of survivors tries to make a break for it, only to realize that the insides of their truck have been ripped out. And when they look around, they realize that's been done to EVERY vehicle on the streets. Very creepy, very cool. And you should see what happens when they figure out how to use guns.
The DVD release for Clive Barker's The Plague comes with just a few extra features. They include:
* Commentary - Actors Brad Hunt and Joshua Close and editor Ed Marx sit for a lighthearted commentary.
* Deleted Scenes (18 minutes) - Eight scenes that were cut from the film. Most of them are character scenes, not action scenes, so it looks like they were cut for pacing.
Don't let the fact that James Van Der Beek is the lead actor in this film keep you from watching it. Sure, I hate Dawson's creek as much as the next guy, but the man with three last names does a good enough job here, and this isn't really an acting film. All you have to do is run, scream, and fight zombies, and he does that perfectly well. I will warn you that the first 15 minutes or so of the film (the character development part) is pretty slow, but once things get going, The Plague is an exciting, tense, and downright creepy zombie flick that is extremely enjoyable.
RECOMMENDED!
Overall Picture:
Movie: A-
DVD: C+
- Mike Spring
Editor
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