FILM REVIEW: OSOMBIE

Director: John Lyde
Release date: 2012
Genre: Zombie
UK premiere viewed at Sci-Fi-London 11.

The story follows Dusty, a yoga instructor from Colorado, who is on a desperate rescue mission to save her crazy brother Derek, a conspiracy theorist who is convinced Osama bin Laden is still alive, despite having (reportedly) been buried at sea. In Afghanistan, Dusty falls in with a team of NATO Special Forces on a secret assignment. It turns out Derek is not so crazy after all, and Osama has returned from his watery grave to gather together an army of zombie jihadists. When the NATO group crashes headlong into the growing zombie apocalypse, Dusty and the troops must find and destroy the root of the zombie insurgency before it infests the rest of the world.

With plenty of action, Osombie pulls apart historic events and gives it a humorous zombie twist. As the title would have you believe, Osama Bin Laden is the key focus of the film. However this isn't the case. Yes, the film revolves around the conspiracy theory that he wasn't actually killed, and it takes this idea one step further and adds in the zombie element. But the story actually follows a small group of NATO troops on a secret mission. I would have liked to have seen more of the terrorist leader turned zombie, but I have to admit I did like following the story of the different characters within the troop. Each had their own distinct character and personality, and several characters had a nickname to describe their key traits such as 'Tomboy' or 'Joker'. Although the film tried to make a fairly serious point there was plenty of humour, with one male character always ending up topless shooting zombies, and another screaming profanities at his ex-wife whilst blowing up zombies with a heavy machine gun.

There were a few inconsistencies and cheesy scenes…cue the upset 'tomboy' practising martial arts against a setting sun. But there were also some serious moments as different characters were bitten and likewise bit the dust. Even military training and ammunition provisions couldn't stop flesh-eating zombies and when soldiers died, I felt the emotion of the rest of the troop which was testament to the casting and writing.

Conspiracy theories, gun-toting, and a stunning desert backdrop combined well in Osombie to give a zombie enemy worth fighting against.

Rating: 4*