Who payed the critics

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

This is ultimately a movie about the very bad things that can happen when we don't address our unease, when we just try to brush it off, whether that's to fit in or to preserve our self-image.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Although you can tell there was genuine effort put into making "Army of the Dead" the results are unfortunately incredibly mediocre. The acting ranges from passable to pretty bad, the special effects range from okay (such as the skeleton army, which is often show and cut in ways that look good despite the low budget) to laughably bad (some effects such as blood spurts and explosions are computer generated instead of being practical and those are some of the easiest effects to do in live action films). From a low budget production you can forgive the bad effects but the real problem with the film is that it isn't paced or written very well. At times you'll be wondering where the film is going and questioning whether what happened makes any sense or not. The only reason to watch this film would be if you yourself were thinking of doing a low budget movie and you wanted to see how it shouldn't and shouldn't be done because both aspects are seen in this movie. For everyone else, this isn't even "so bad it's good" territory. (Dvd, September 18, 2012)

It wasn't as awful as lets say, Hide and Creep, but it was close. By the way, Hide and Creep is the worst movie of all time!! Not even as good or as campy as Plan 9 from Outer Space--don't rent it, ever! Special effects department on Army either didn't have much money or they fell a sleep on the job. Interesting skeletons, but really really bad acting. (The skeletons hissed like cats.) Weren't enough naked women running around either to justify the $1.07 rental cost. The guy who played the "professor" was just terrible. Really an amateur. He must've been an investor that demanded a part. This movie may have been good if they only had a new cast, new director, new special effects, new writers, new producers, so on and so forth. Just skip renting it--not even worth the buck at RedBox.

"Army of the Dead" is a rather fun and enjoyable take on the zombie film.**SPOILERS**Going to Mexico, John Barnes, (Ross Kelly) and his wife Amy, (Stephanie Marchese) meet up with Professor Kittridge, (Vic Browder) and students Kristen McKnew, (Jocelyn Tucker) Jenny Crane, (Audrey Anderson) Tobias Schuler, (Malcolm Madera) and Alicia Williamson, (Casey Messer) for his birthday present. Heading into the desert, they decide to pass the time by telling stories to each other, and they manage to bring up the legend that haunts the area about a lost civilization that left a vast fortune of hidden gold in the area, and that all who sought it out have perished or disappeared. Figuring that time is available, they head off from their trip to go find it, and manage to stumble upon the gold cache hidden in the mountains. While trying to take the gold away, they unleash the guardian forces behind the gold, an army of the skeletons of those who have also sought the treasure, and must flee back before they also become the gold's undead protectors.The Good News: This was a really fun and quite enjoyable zombie film. One of the best features is that it uses the familiar zombie trappings without having the usual zombies in here. From the back-story, which is one of the best of the genre, that's a mere substitute from the multitude of Nazi-Zombie films that came out earlier to the skeletons being taken exactly like zombies, this one here feels so close in tone and spirit to a zombie film that it has a fresh, original take without doing much with here. The zombies are replaced by an army of reanimated skeletons, and the sight of them walking around holding weapons and being as active as they are makes for some good cheesy fun. They're behavior would also classify them to be like zombies, gathering in swarms and attacking in waves, with the fear being that defeating one of them allows the others to sneak up and finish the job, is played out so similar to zombies that it feels so close to one without being a zombie film. They're also involved in a lot of action around here, as the first assault on the explorers in the caves at the beginning, which has the awesome regeneration scene to start off with as the skeletons rise in unison as shadows against the wall lit by their torches, and the bloody mayhem and action that ensues is glorious. The campfire one is just as good, with the start done with the flaming arrows appearing out of nowhere with a large mass raining down everywhere, forcing them into defensive positions as the soldiers attack on foot, swords and weapons draw to a fantastic confrontation that is so much fun to see. That is the undisputed highlight of the film, for it's packed with fiery action, several moments of suspense and much more, leaving it feeling really fun and interesting. The last fight is also pretty good, as it's a one-on-one sword fight with a skeleton that leaves a great impression overall. There's even a chase with a blood-red skeleton that was stripped of it's skin beforehand to include, and the method of finally defeating them is pretty neat and inventive. The last real good part here is the blood and gore, which may be CGI but it's still a pretty bloody film. That the majority of the bloodshed comes from the skeleton's weaponry in combat, it's still pretty loaded. There's a graphic slit throat, a couple get their skin peeled off, another is impaled in the stomach and stabbed with knives, a multitude of gunshots and more, including what happens to the creatures as well. Coupled together with the film's really great pace and very few flaws, this one here is a pretty good entry.The Bad News: This one here doesn't have many flaws, and there's really only one at that. That's the fact that there's way too much CGI in here. From the skeletons and their actions, both individually and as a group, to the film's bloodshed, this one contains a lot of that and it ruins the scene. The slit throat would work if a sea of computerized red goo never flew at the screen, the explosions would have a lot more power and impact had they not done with CGI, and the film is overall haunted by this flaw. It's pretty much the only thing wrong with the film, and for some, it could be old hat to be able to see a film witness that sort of action.The Final Verdict: A perfectly fun film, ruined only by sub-par CGI, which for some isn't so much of a flaw but rather something that comes with the genre. Those who can take are advised to give this one a shot, as well as zombie film fans, while those who can't stand the CGI are urged to seek caution.Rated R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language

This was just short of being a complete waste of time. The stop animation skeletons saved it.It was strange seeing actors taking such a poorly written movie and playing it completely straight, as if they thought this was something good. That said the actors could on the whole act. I like "B" movies but they need certain redeeming features for them to work: either they need humor, gore or cleverness. This lacked all three. Yes there was some CGI and I suppose it almost gave me a laugh, but that is because it looked like rivers and fountains coming out of the people "bleeding". Seeing a one foot wide wall of CGI blood hit a windscreen and then in the next scene there are just a few dots of blood on that car...well...and this was about par for the movie. Just not worth your time.