Gangs of the Dead (2006)

Review by Tim-O



Starring: Noel G., Reggie Bannister
Directed by Duane Stinnett

Two rival gangs (one Latino and one African American) meet at an abandoned warehouse for a good old fashioned weapons deal. The warehouse is being staked out by the police who are ready to raid the warehouse and bust the gang members in the act. Meanwhile, a short distance away outside, a weird religious cult of homeless people are hit by a meteor that turns them into zombies. (umm...ok?) The zombies make their way to the warehouse and attack and kill all but two of the cops. The officers flee into the warehouse away from the zombies and right into the middle of the weapons deal. When the zombies then attack the warehouse, the rival gangs and the police need to try to work together to survive and fight their way out of the building that will surely become a standard zombie death trap.

If "Gangs of the Dead" sounds like another "people trapped in a confined space arguing how to survive the zombie apocalypse" movie to you, you're correct, it is. There is nothing new in the story accept that the characters are cops and gang members. It's also pretty low budget and was shot on HD video. The cover for the DVD is terrible and cheap looking, too. However, within this cheap and derivative movie there is some decent acting, well thought out camera work, a slightly interesting subplot about one of the gang members being an undercover cop, people dying in a totally unexpected order, a couple of fun gory kills, and a nifty unexpected ending. There are also terrible audio issues, sub par editing, and continuity issues galore. Convention favorite Reggie Bannister has a small role as a street wise weapons dealer, too. This was a bit of miscasting but I'd watch Reggie try to sell Rogaine on a late night infomercial. I think he's a blast to watch and is underrated as an actor.

"Gangs of the Dead" isn't a great movie but its WAY better than it could have been given the budget and not very original premise. If you're looking to watch something original and really scary, look elsewhere. If you're in the mood to watch a zombie flick that you haven't seen tons of times, you might consider giving this little movie a try. It has a few nice touches and a satisfying conclusion that doesn't betray the rest of the film. In other words, it meets a couple of the criteria for me not hating a movie; 1) It didn't bore me out of my skull… 2) It was better than the "The Village". 5/10