koolmike
11-12-2008, 10:06 PM
Dr. Phibes (mod here at UHM) sent me a copy of a movie he directed entitled BIOPHAGE. Not going to give alot away but I will give a brief synopsis and my likes and dislikes. Here goes:
We have 2 guys, Dr. Bell and Sgt. Cain who are sent to St. Beth's hospital to gather supplies and bring them back to the medical research facility, where they and 2 others, Dr. Miller and Linda, both researchers, are holding up. These supplies are important in discovering a cure for the "phage" that's wiping out humanity causing people to die, mutate, and rise again in search of warm blooded victims.
I liked the way this film seems to pay homage to George Romero's "Night of the Living Dead." First of all it's shot in B&W and the "ghouls" are slow moving unlike the the ones in the "Dawn of the Dead" remake. The cemetery looks exactly like the one in the original NOTLD which was a nice touch, considering how creepy it is.
I also like the characters we run into on the jouney Bell & Cain are on. There's Carter, played by Phibe's Dad I believe, the crazy Reverend, Bianca his associate, and some strange looking undead walking about. There are definitely some scenes in this 1st effort that will find a place in your memory, some funny and some kinda creepy, although I wasn't scared as much as I was interested in what was going on...which is a good thing I suppose.
Also, the music is engaging. Only problem there wasn't enough so there were periods of silence that were slightly awkward.
I had very few dislikes. Some of the make-up on the "ghouls" were noticibly amateurish only if you look hard enough. The black & white filming helps hide that though.
There were some fight scenes that were hard to believe amongst the survivors who were slowly losing it as the movie progressed. A few moments of bad dialogue exchange (in other words some bad acting) here and there (not too many) was a little annoying.
All said and done, BIOPHAGE was a fun watch and a great debut from our own Dr. Phibes who IMO has a bright future as a director. Congratulations...looking forward to the sequel. :D
(I especially liked the shot at the cemetery facing the church before they met the reverend...nice camera angle)
We have 2 guys, Dr. Bell and Sgt. Cain who are sent to St. Beth's hospital to gather supplies and bring them back to the medical research facility, where they and 2 others, Dr. Miller and Linda, both researchers, are holding up. These supplies are important in discovering a cure for the "phage" that's wiping out humanity causing people to die, mutate, and rise again in search of warm blooded victims.
I liked the way this film seems to pay homage to George Romero's "Night of the Living Dead." First of all it's shot in B&W and the "ghouls" are slow moving unlike the the ones in the "Dawn of the Dead" remake. The cemetery looks exactly like the one in the original NOTLD which was a nice touch, considering how creepy it is.
I also like the characters we run into on the jouney Bell & Cain are on. There's Carter, played by Phibe's Dad I believe, the crazy Reverend, Bianca his associate, and some strange looking undead walking about. There are definitely some scenes in this 1st effort that will find a place in your memory, some funny and some kinda creepy, although I wasn't scared as much as I was interested in what was going on...which is a good thing I suppose.
Also, the music is engaging. Only problem there wasn't enough so there were periods of silence that were slightly awkward.
I had very few dislikes. Some of the make-up on the "ghouls" were noticibly amateurish only if you look hard enough. The black & white filming helps hide that though.
There were some fight scenes that were hard to believe amongst the survivors who were slowly losing it as the movie progressed. A few moments of bad dialogue exchange (in other words some bad acting) here and there (not too many) was a little annoying.
All said and done, BIOPHAGE was a fun watch and a great debut from our own Dr. Phibes who IMO has a bright future as a director. Congratulations...looking forward to the sequel. :D
(I especially liked the shot at the cemetery facing the church before they met the reverend...nice camera angle)