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Zombies - of the kind that eat the living - have overrun the earth, and
one of humankinds last hopes lies with the Zombie Squad, which not
only consists of an elite team of zombie hunters but also scientists who
work on a cure. And when it's found out that the cause of the zombie
apocalypse can be found one village over in the lab of one doctor Beau,
who has created the zombie serum which can possibly be converted into an
anti-serum, Captain Kline (Floyd Ewing jr) grabs his top soldiers Raimi
(Pete Ferry), Kuller (Jolie Jachunas) and Mercer (Michael Grossi) - the
latter has already been infected with the zombie virus and is slowly
turning -, as well as his top scientists Doc Moulsson (Bodgan Pecic) and
Doc Franklin (Roger Graham), to quickly grab said serum. But that's of
course easier said than done, as once there, our heroes have to find out
Doctor Beau is dead, and the city is run by an evil "man of
God", Reverend Jones (Robert Kokai), who is using the zombie
apocalypse to his own evil ends, whose rituals include human sacrifice,
who has his brain-washed followers hold zombies like attack dogs, and he
has control over Anna (Maria Markovic), Doc Beau's amnesiac daughter who
might be the key to it all. So the Zombie Squad are not only up against
the undead but also the living, so soon the death toll rises on all sides
... Now let's face it, The Dead Next Door is anything
but a classic, it isn't even a particularly "good" zombie flick,
and its low budget at times shows too obviously to overlook. But despite
that, the rather crude special effects, the mediocre cast and all the
plotholes and narrative shortcuts, The Dead Next Door is also one
thing, it's very entertaining, chasing from one plot highlight to the next
to keep the audience from worrying too much about the story, it's full of
fun ideas, and without being openly moronic it has a tongue-in-cheek side
to it. Plus from today's point of view, the crudeness of the lovably
practical effects, the deficiencies in acting and the macho-ism displayed
give the film a nostalgia feel in a way that it might today be more
appreciated than back when it came out even ...
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