Directed by Javier Ruiz Caldera and Alberto de Toro. Written by Jaime Marques Olarreaga, Cristian Conti and Alberto Fernandez Arregui. Starring Miki Esparbe, Aura Garrido, Luis Callejo, Manel Llunell, Alvaro Cervantes, Maria Botto, Jesus Carroza and Mouad Ghazouan.
Plot: during the Spanish Civil War, camps of enemies must work together to survive zombies created with Nazi experiments.
Based on the novel Noche de Difuntos del 38 (roughly, Night of the Dead of ’38), this movie follows Captain Lozano (Esparbe) as he starts a dangerous mission during the Spanish Civil War. He has to deliever an envelope to someone in the Sixth, but apparently no one makes it out of there alive. He’s in trouble though, and he has to succeed to stop from being executed. Another soldier, Private Decruz (Llunell), who is also in trouble for going AWOL, acts as Lozano’s driver since Lozano can’t drive.
The whole story picks up when Lozano and Decruz are captured by rebels who aren’t too keen on facists. When they’re all together, that’s when the first of them is attacked by someone they thought was dead only seconds before. Later, other zombies attack, some people are killed, so the rest of them decide to work together to find out exactly what’s going on. A lot of them die and sometimes it’s quite sad. We were caught off-guard by just how emotional a couple of the death scenes were. Especially since so many of them die saving others, even people on the opposite side of the war.
I think the movie started out a little strange, but DJ liked the opening well enough. We kept watching and I’m telling you to give it a shot. It’s a pretty good story. It was also funny, original and realistic. The script was amusing, the cast was lovely and the specials were good, too. What we really liked was how we learned to love the peole we were following. Even the facists became sympathetic. We didn’t love the ending, but – not giving away too much – that was because we liked them all so much. Overall, it was a pretty cool movie and we recommend.
I suppose I could list my favorite movies here, but instead I'll give you a strange glimpse into what makes me TaraRomero.
1. I met George Romero. He was the kindest and sweetest man. He talked to me for longer than he should have with the line getting longer. He also held my hand. And when he noticed the ladybug I have tattooed on my wrist, he said he liked it and asked me it's name. Till then, it had not had a name. Now, I call him George.
2. I love stickers. All stickers. I just adore them. I even ask for stickers for Christmas! As a matter of fact, the birthday that just past, every member of my immediate family gave me sticker packs as gifts. Affordable and extremely appreciated.
3. I have never put much stock in astrology or horoscopes, but I LOVE the magic of the MBTI. Omg. I am an INFP and it actually sounds just like me. Introverted mostly. Creative always. Heart before head and not the most logical. Totally me! For better or worse.
4. It's no surprise I count horror so high up on the list of things that make me, me. However, it's so within my soul that I was part of the Horror Club in college. Interesting bunch. And even took a Horror Lit class as an elective. I got an A.
5. Coffee always makes me happy. Always. I'm particularly fond of caramel macchiatos. But I'll drink black coffee if it's the only thing available.
6. I hate shock for the sake of shock and endings that depress me. I always mention the movies Within (2016) and the Eli Roth produced, written and starred in, Aftershock (2012), as proof of this distate I have. I abhor the idea that just because I like horror, some people think I'd actually praise a movie that lets you think the "Final Girl" just made it through the night, only to slap her in the face with a tsunami.
7. We are big time animal people. I mean, if I could, I'd have an elephant, a bear, a zebra, a penguin, an otter and a meerkat, living with me. Seriously though. We have 2 dogs right now and 2 cats. Both cats we picked up when they each came to our front door hungry. And both dogs we got from 2 different sets of neighbors. Both who, unfortunately, don't know how to care for pets long-term. But they're happy and healthy now!!
8. Revisiting my love of horror, one of the above cats, my cat, is a little black guy named Church. Because Pet Sematary. His middle name is even Pascow. To give credit where credit's due, the name was DJ's idea. But he loves horror too!
9. I'm big into art. Along with movie posters and an Anne Frank quote, I have some actual paintings on my wall. I really think Dali paints beautifully when he wants to. And if I don't get to see Michaelangelo's Pieta in person some day, I will be very disappointed.
10. Lastly, I find Emily Dickinson's poetry intriguing. I took an elective course about her as well. But do you know I injected horror even there? I was given a poem to dissect and I picked one on death, of course. Then, I researched old "Death Photos" and even printed out copies for everyone in the class. They were so interested in looking at them that it stopped them from all looking at me, and I was able to deal quite well with my stage fright. Haha
View all posts by TaraRomero
BLOOD RED REVIEWS 