Director: Christopher Hatton
Writer: Christopher Hatton (Screenplay)
Starring: Dolph Lundgren, Melanie Zanetti, Marr Doran, David Field, Jen Sung, Lydia Look
Plot: Following a deadly viral outbreak, private military soldier Max Gatling leads a handful of survivors and a ragtag band of robots against an army of the infected.
Tagline – He didn’t come here to be a hero, but things change.
Runtime: 1 Hour 28 Minutes
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Escape From New York with Zombies
Story: Battle of the Damned starts as the pathogen has take over the city, the dead have risen and now the city is in complete locked down, no entry or exit. Military soldier Max Gatling (Lundgren) is assigned to take a team into the infected zone to save Jude (Zanetti), but when he loses his team, he must go it alone.
Once he locates Jude, he learns she is part of a group of survivors led by Duke (Field) who have been planning their own way to escape. Max however makes friends with robots who are fighting the infected.
Thoughts on Battle of the Damned
Characters – Major Max Gatling is an elite soldier sent to extract the daughter of a businessman who is trapped in the infected zone. He can fight through enemies, brilliant marksman, your general great fighter. Jude is the young woman that Max is set to save, she is a feisty one that will do anything to keep herself independent in this world, while her secret could be her undoing. Reese is the boyfriend of Jude that will stay loyal to her through the undead attacks. Duke is the leader of a group of survivors that has been controlling them to keep himself safe, getting rid of outsiders if they pose a threat in his eyes.
Performances – Dolph Lundgren is the type of actor who is perfect for this movie, we know he can handle combat and is always a bad ass which is what is required. Melanie Zanetti is good in her role, even though it is hard to figure out how old the character is meant to be. David Field makes for a good villainous and selfish character which is needed through the film, the rest of the cast are good enough working for the film.
Story – The story here takes on the Escape From New York formula as we follow a lone warrior/soldier that must go into a blocked off city, this time infected to save someone, before long he must lead a group of survivors against the enemies within in an all out action fest. The story doesn’t need to be the deepest, we are here for the action and the formulaic idea works perfectly to make this the entertaining experience.
Action/Adventure/Horror/Sci-Fi – The action is all-out and does keep us entertained throughout, the horror is the zombie experience we know and enjoy.
Settings – The film takes place in a nameless city which shows us just where we will be going through the streets filled with zombies.
Special Effects – The effects in the film are the standard zombie ones, they work for the film without being the best part of the film.
Scene of the Movie – The escape.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It is too similar to Escape From New York.
Final Thoughts – This is a good, simple and enjoyed zombie movie which has the action needed to keep things flowing nicely.
Overall: Easy to watch zombie movie.
Rating
