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Far from Perfect, Far from Terrible

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

This film, with an estimated budget of $3 million definitely punches above it's weight. The set up doesn't really matter all that much, but the use of Bulgaria is superb. There's a gas developed during WW2 that causes the dead to rise. After the war all evidence is destroyed and nothing is heard of this terror weapon until a man dies in a Bulgarian army base. This provides the excuse to get an American to Bulgaria where the action takes place.First, those exposed to the gas turn into zombies, and then anyone attacked by the zombies turn into zombies, and you get the idea. There are lots and lots and lots of deaths as the population of the nearby town are all infected. Although not particularly gory, there's lots of blood, head shots, people ripped in two and other suitably gruesome deaths. However, the use of a very faded colour palette keeps the action viewable without the distraction of piles of red everywhere.The opening sequence, set in Stalingrad during WW2 is very well done, apart from some very shaky camera work, and the rest of the film is at it's best during action sequences. There's a huge 8-wheel military vehicle that's used extremely well throughout the film, both as a menace to the protagonists and later as means of escape.As you'd expect, not many make it out alive, and most of the villains get it in the neck, and the body count increases relentlessly, but the film is not without its flaws. The dialogue and acting are terrible, and the setup would have been improved with more scene setting - the action takes place on an island with a military base, but it's not made clear how isolated the island is, or how big it is, or if there is another way off the island apart from the bridge that's mentioned throughout the film.However, the action scenes, and much of the tension generated in the film makes up for the lack of decent actors, who are just place markers for zombie attacks. It's a zombie film, so you're not expecting an intricate plot, great acting or cinematic artistry and you don't get any of these. But if you want some brainless zombie killing with at least one survivor at the end of the film, give this a watch. You won't be disappointed.

To review 'Code Red' I really should just type 'Just watch Outpost' about twenty times and leave it at that. If you're looking for a zombie film with Nazis in it (and you don't want to watch the subtitled 'Dead Snow') then just watch – the original – 'Outpost' movie (the sequels leave a little to be desired).Code Red is similar in principal, i.e. World War II zombies, only it's not half as good. I know it's a low budget affair and I don't mind that. What got me was the acting. Yes, I know it's a B-movie and I wasn't expecting Oscar-worthy performances, however the acting really is pretty hard to watch.There's no major gore to speak of, just the obligatory headshots to zombies here and there. Plus the first half of the film is way too light on action and tension.Ultimately, like I said, if you like World War II zombies etc, just watch the original Outpost for action and mayhem. Then, if you want comedy added to the mix, enjoy the subtitled Dead Snow.http://thewrongtreemoviereviews.blogspot.co.uk/

The story was solid to start with until it brought you from WWII to present day. The US was taking over an old Bulgarian/Soviet ammunition site and a special force person was sent in to investigate an odd event on base. Firstly, he goes to the Bulgarian home of a US Bio-research Doctor and the old woman that lives at the end of the hall is speaking English to him. Doubt that. Secondly, the Doctor who is female and obviously a single mother, as the very young daughter answers the door. I found this strange, as she is very young and answers the door in a slum by herself, without waking her mother. Once in there the third amazing thing happens. The Doctor explains that she was fired from the base by the Bulgarian Captain. She was obviously brought there by the US, not the Bulgarians, so technically how could he fire her? Also, this Doctor is not a very good mother and drags her daughter to a bomb shelter by hand and gets separated from her. A small girl like that should be carried easily by her. If it was my child, I would have easily carried her. This happens again towards the end where she is carrying her and puts her down because she wants her stuffed bunny and the little girl gets bitten by one of the infected. I just shook my head in disbelief that this idiot mother did it again. You think she would have learned the first time. The infected looked like bloodied elephant men and some had no eyes, but seemed to be able to see people just fine. There were many other moments where the characters seemed dumb to the point, that you just wanted to scream "Wake Up Dumb Dumb". It took a lot to keep watching to the end and was overly predictable. If you can't find anything to watch and have had way too much coffee, you might want to give it a try.

I saw the trailer of the movie a few years ago. It got me excited but then I kinda forgot about it. Found the finished movie by accident recently.The bad things first - It's not a movie that will become a cult classic or even memorable. The script is pretty usual. There is lots of cheese in both dialogues and characters. The main character, GI Joe El Macho, aka Special Forces agent John McGahey was literally made of Mozzarella and topped with Gorgonzola. FX are a bit old school and green screen is apparent in some scenes.The plot is based on real events that happened in Bulgaria. Few years ago there was an "accident" at a weapons warehouse at Chelopechene. It was widely suspected that it was a cover up for stolen munitions. First 15 minutes(scenes of Stalingrad) are excellent. I think they were shot by a team different than the one that did the rest. Zombies are plenty. I prefer fast and agile ones(28 Days Later type), and they are in Code Red. Acting is decent. The characters were shallow but actors did a decent job to make them believable. A note to my fellow Bulgarian viewers - The image of Bulgaria presented in the movie is cliché 90s Eastern Europe. I don't know if this is required to make the movie marketable abroad, but please don't make a fuss about it. We are either too touchy or too nihilistic about this kind of stuff. And please go and ****** buy the movie if you liked it. It's a local production with decent results. We don't get too many of them. Please support the people that managed to do it.This is a B movie so if you are general viewer the score is 4/10. As a horror/zombie genre fan I would give it an honest 6/10. My actual score is 7/10 but that's due to sentimental reasons :)