The Illuminerdi reviews Night of the Animated Dead.
I know it’s blasphemy for a film critic to say this, but I haven’t seen George Romero’s Night of The Living Dead yet. It’s the great grandaddy of the zombie genre that established many of the common tropes we associate with the walking dead today.Â
Now we have an animated retelling of that story entitled, Night of the Animated Dead, that ups the gore factor for a nice R-rating, but (as I understand it) keeps the plot from the original film. Despite its flaws, Night of the Animated Dead is a solid horror flick for stormy nights.
Barbara (voiced by Katharine Isabelle) and her brother are going to visit her father’s grave when suddenly they are attacked by a zombie. Barbara’s brother is killed, but she escapes to a nearby house and locates a man named Ben (voiced by Dule Hill). As Barbara falls into a state of shock, Ben locks down the house from more approaching zombies and finds other people in the basement below. Soon tensions rise between the house’s patrons that must be quelled long enough to work together and survive the Night of the Animated Dead.
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Night of the Animated Dead is mixed bag. Dule Hill and Josh Duhamel give good performances, the animation during gory scenes and the associated imagery are suitably stomach-churning, and the last 20 minutes ramp up the tension for a chilling finale. However, some of the animation and voice deliveries by the other actors sound and look uncomfortably stilted (the former especially with running).Â
On the positive side, I’m now encouraged to seek out the 1968 version and feel this one may inspire others to do the same. As a film by itself, Night of the Animated Dead is flawed but solid horror flick that should introduce the new generation to a classic story in suitably bloody fashion. See it.
3 out of 5 stars (average)
Night of the Animated Dead Synopsis
Two siblings visit their father’s grave at a remote Pennsylvanian cemetery when they suddenly find themselves swarmed by zombies. One flees to a farmhouse and finds herself trapped there with a group of strangers as the zombies overcome the property.
Night of the Animated Dead is available now on Blu-Ray and DVD. Rated R for Bloody/Gruesome Zombie Violence. What did you think of the zombie flick? Let us know in the comment section below or over on our social media!
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