WYRMWOOD: ROAD OF THE DEAD

Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead Movie Review

A meteor shower leads to a zombie outbreak in Australia. Now Barry (Jay Gallagher), joined by a band of misfits and weirdos, is on the road in search of his sister Brooke (Bianca Bradey), the victim of a kidnapping at the hands of a military outfit working for a mad scientist (Berynn Schwerdt). This Australian comedy/horror is some strange hybrid of The Evil Dead, Mad Max, and Shaun of the Dead, and, for the most part, it works. The film primarily presents itself as a horror film in the beginning, with humor dropped in subtly here and there before becoming almost completely comedy, and finally finding a nice balance toward the end. This film attempts to introduce new things to the genre to mixed results--somehow (it's never really explained) things that were once flammable (gasoline) no longer are, but the gasses the zombies breathe out, as well as their blood, are.

Flammable zombie

Thus, in order to drive around, they have to find a way to use the breathing zombies to fuel their vehicle. Also, for other reasons never fully explained, the zombies stop breathing this stuff out at night, instead choosing to use it to fuel their own movements, making them faster. And somehow, somewhere in the story, the hilarious mad scientist...

this guy

 

...gives a girl...

this girl

...the power to control the zombies. So yeah, there's a lot going on in this film to keep you interested. On top of that it is filled with blood, gore, and absolute madness. The major drawback of the film for me is the heavy reliance on bad CGI for the gore and fire. Also, while the directing is really good for the most part, a lot of times it comes off as a direct rip-off of Edgar Wright and Guy Ritchie. Unfortunately, the movie may lose the viewer somewhat when it leans too far toward the comedy--some of it is just too obvious and not funny. Ultimately Wyrmwood comes across as a film most will either love or hate--if you're expecting a frightening zombie flick in the vein of 28 Days Later you will be disappointed--if you are expecting a zomedy as funny as Shaun of the Dead you will be disappointed--but if you're looking for a film that is a lot of fun and doesn't take itself too seriously, while still adding some gore and surprisingly touching moments, I recommend Wyrmwood.

On A Scale Of One To Ten: 7

 

Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead Movie Trailer