Undead

In Theatre : July 01, 2005
Director(s): Michael Spierig,Peter Spierig

Peaceful, rustic Berkeley is a charming fishing community where life is sweet and the people friendly. All that is about to change. After losing her childhood farm to the bank, local beauty Rene decides to leave town and head for the big city. Suddenly, an avalanche of meteorites races through the sky, bombarding the town and bringing an otherworldly infection. Departing is going to be much more difficult than she had planned. The living dead are awakened and Rene is now caught in a nightmare of zombies hungry for human flesh. She manages to find salvation in a small isolated farm house owned by the town loony, Marion. There she is met with four other desperate survivors. Together they battle their way through a plague of walking dead and discover that there is more transpiring than just an infection.

UNDEAD features an overflow of gore and visual effects to make any horror fan squirm with delight. It is the first feature film written, produced and directed by twin brothers Michael and Peter Spierig.

PRODUCTION NOTES

Undead has been a two and a half year project for Directors Michael and Peter Spierig. Pre-production began almost eight months before principal photography. The film's complex visual effects meant the directors had to spend an enormous amount of time planning and testing ideas. Due to the budget constraints every aspect of the film had to be planned carefully. A detailed 15 minute animatic of the film's climax was created in order for the production team to grasp the complexity of the effects and live action requirement.

Principal photography began on August 6th 2001 and would continue for 41 days. The film was shot entirely in Queensland, Australia. The Directors wanted to create a film that had a timeless quality about it. This would mean stylising the look of the production, an ambitious task considering the low budget nature of the project. Production Designer Matthew Putland and Costume Designer Chintamani Aked along with Director of Photography Andrew Strahorn collaborated extremely closely to achieve this look. All interior locations were built from scratch, many created for practical purposes such as the staging of the many action and gore set pieces. Hundreds of make-up effects appliances were created by Steven Boyle (Arc Effects).

The task would prove very daunting for the small effects crew. The team worked almost non-stop for 10 weeks to create the hoards of zombies and unique creature designs. This is the first feature film for the majority of the principal cast. The film showcases a number of up and coming Australian talent including Felicity Mason who plays the film's lead Rene. The cast and crew braved freezing cold condition shooting at night in the rain during winter. The cast's firm belief in the project and commitment to their parts gives the film a number of unique and memorable Aussie characters. After principal photography wrapped, a smaller second unit would continue shooting for an additional 19 days. With the reduced crew, shooting became long and extremely difficult. A number of complex action sequences still had to be shot including a car crash at night. The cast and crews enthusiasm and dedication for the project made these very difficult days and nights possible. However, the most difficult obstacle was still aheadâ€¦ the visual effects. Over 305 visual effects were created for the film taking over eight months of around the clock work. Many of the effects were created on Peter's and Michael's laptop. The process was slow and at times extremely frustrating. During this time Michael and Peter were also the editors and sound designers, meaning very little sleep for the brothers.

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Critic reviews are fantastic and we have many great critics but our community members ARE the horror audience and it is their reviews that really tell you if a film is worth watching.

Undead Review by Goon

This movie starts out very strong. Zombies begin to emerge on Berkley and somebody has got to protect the town. That person is Rene and her crazy savior Marion. But as the film progresses it takes another face and be...

Undead Review by boogie86

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