Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead (2014)

Film review #676

Director: Kiah Roache-Turner

SYNOPSIS: After an airborne infection from a meteor shower turns the majority of people into zombies, Barry and his family try to escape, but Barry is left as the only survivor. He goes to try and find his Sister Brooke, who unbeknownst to him has been kidnapped by a mad scientist and his goons, and is being experimented on…

THOUGHTS/ANALYSIS: Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead is a 2014 Australian zombie film. The film starts off with a meteor shower that releases an airborne infection, turning many people into zombies. Barry, a mechanic, tries to escape with his wife and daughter, but they don’t make it. Having only his sister Brooke left, he goes to try and find her, but little does he know, she has been kidnapped by a mad scientist who is performing some strange experiment on her. While there’s a lack of a cohering plot that ties everything together, Wyrmwood provides plenty of action, gore and energy to keep things interesting. It is, at its core, a a zombie film, and there’s a lot of zombie films out there, and I don’t think it makes itself stand out completely from the rest. The film is constantly on edge, with you never knowing really what is going to happen next, or who is going to get their face blown off, and as such, it keeps things entertaining until the end.

There’s a decent balance of gore, suspense and action that should satisfy a wide range of viewers, combined with some colourful Aussie humour too. The second half of the film brings a more clearer focus to the story, but not too much: it’s still a gorefest. Despite the low budget, there’s a good balance of physical and practical effects that are convincing enough, and the fast pace means that a shot doesn’t linger too long on anything to critique it. There’s not too much of substance to critique in Wyrmwood: it’s just a wild ride of dismembering zombies for a good ninety minutes, often without rhyme or reason: do you need a reason to go to town on the undead though? It doesn’t distinguish itself too much from the hordes of zombie films out there, but at least it’s loud, messy, and fun with plenty of flair and style. The story is a bit more linear and centered this time around, but the trouble with this is that isn’t isn’t very fresh or interesting, and thus brings the energy down a bit. Rhys just isn’t that interesting as a character