Movie Review: Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead (2014)

The movie stars Jay Gallagher, Bianca Bradey, Leon Burchill, Berynn Schwerdt and Keith Agius.

My wife and I actually started out watching another horror movie a couple nights ago and, when that film turned out to be a bust, ended up looking for an alternative. Not wanting to spend all night searching, she picked the first movie that looked halfway decent and that turned out to be this film.

At first, I wasn't really sure what to expect from this movie. When we first started watching it, it seemed a bit strange (even for a zombie movie) and, at times at least, we felt like it was a sequel to another movie we had not seen. However, after watching the film, I have to admit it was pretty entertaining.

The best way to describe this movie is it takes the elements of the typical zombie film and combines them with a campy action movie. The end result is you have a movie about the zombie apocalypse but the various over-the-top characters are easily the most memorable element of this movie.

For example, the evil mad scientist (Schwerdt) was one of the weirdest characters I have ever watched. He was sadistic but also had a bit of a fun side, especially when he made sure to play and dance to music whenever he did his work.

Adding to this was the fact the movie never really reveals what he was hoping to accomplish. Yes, the one character, Brooke (Bradey), ends up with some pretty cool abilities as a result of his efforts. But, at least from watching the movie, I got the feeling her transformation was something he wasn't expecting.

In addition, I loved how the movie never reached a point where it took itself too seriously. This did lead to a variety of entertaining and unique moments, including (but definitely not limited to) the zombie-powered truck.

Probably my only real complaint about this movie is it did seem to be lacking something as far as an overall explanation. As I mentioned, when we first started watching this movie, it had a bit of a sequel-like feel to it because there just seemed to be a lot of elements that were in desperate need of clarification. For example, was the zombie apocalypse a natural or accidental event or was it intentional? And, how did the apocalypse relate to gas no longer being flammable? I can only hope, if they decide to have a sequel to this movie, they make an effort to explain those things.

As I just said, there are some things about this movie that could use at least an effort to explain. But, overall, I thought this was an entertaining film and it is one I would recommend.

My Grade: B