Search - Dead Heist on DVD

Michael G. (mgmirkin) from PORTLAND, OR
Reviewed on 7/7/2010...

Well, this is a pretty so-so piece of zombified "black" cinema...

Honestly, I didn't care for this one much.

The cinematography was certainly better that most low-budget zombie flicks made with handycams and gray face makeup effects. But, it seems wasted on this movie.

The movie itself is pretty bad. The acting is only so-so. Not that they had much a script to work with. The basic premise is a bunch of black "thugs" from the hood wanting to rob a bank... Nothing trite, clichéd or stereotyped there! Oh, and then there's the one token white guy who plays another "thug," barely convincingly...

Then there's this other black guy with guns, lots of guns. Supposedly "used to work for the government" and is now hunting the zombies, who were the accidentally released result of a government experiment trying to generate artificial blood. (Really? And how exactly does this "zombify" you?)

Then there's silliness like one of the thugs saying they should all take the zombies out with head shots. He's corrected by the mouthy guy with lots of guns, who tells them that only shooting them in the heart will kill them. (Say what?? How does blowing their brains out NOT kill them? No brain, no control of body, no bitey bitey. Like I said, silliness.)

There isn't much by the way of zombie makeup effects. The zombies seem to just be people, albeit crazy, bloodthirsy people.

Overall, the movie amounts to nothing much and we don't even really find out whether they killed all the zombies or if more are out there waiting for the next New Moon (yep, you heard it right, they only feed once a month!).

Certainly not high zombie cinema. But, then again, it's also not the complete bottom of the barrel. May be worth a rental for the die hard fan who has seen EVERYTHING else. Otherwise, please see something better, like Zombieland, Fido, Shaun of the Dead, Resident Evil, Undead, Land of the Dead, Flight of the Dead, Slither, Quarantine, The Crazies (not really a zombie movie, but the remake is pretty good).

1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

Good cheesy vampiric zombie fun

Mangy Fox | 08/17/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I knew just from the description that this movie had it all. Rappers and DJs acting, zombified vampires, a bank heist. Although the synopsis was compelling for me, I'm used to being disappointed. But as you can see from the four stars I was not disappointed. The acting at first seemed a little wooden but either it started to not matter or they got better. I thought it was a pretty solid movie, I wondered how they were going to pull off such an outlandish storyline but they did it with aplomb. This movie is just plain fun. Lots of action, comedy and absurd story done so well. My only complaint would be that it ended perhaps a tad too abruptly, but that would be nitpicking. This movie was thoroughly enjoyable."

A review from Zombiefans!

Zombob | U.S.A. | 11/05/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Surprisingly, this one wasn't really all that bad!





1) ACTING: For the most part, everyone was pretty good. Some of the minor characters had some problems, but I'm thinking that's why they were in minor roles and not major ones.



2) PRODUCTION VALUES: Again, it was pretty good. There were a few moments where lighting could have been better during some of the darker scenes, but overall, a good effort. The soundtrack had a few hip-hop songs, but mostly, it consisted of music that fit the scenes. People walking through an abandoned(?) building...cue the creepy, suspenseful music. Lots of blood & gore, othing over the top, but when someone got shot or hurt or stabbed, there was a good amount of blood.



3) THE CAUSE: A government experiment gone awry.



4) ZOMBIES: I would liken these more to the "infected" of movies like 28 days / weeks later. It wasn't just that factor either, that made them different. a) they only came out at night; b) they could be killed, but only by shooting / stabbing/ destroying / etc. the heart (no head shots here!) and c) they only came out once a month during a new full moon. So, take a zombie, throw in a little vampire, some werewolf, a bit of 'Creepers Jeepers" and some infected and the result was the "zombies" in this movie. Like the infected from 28 days / weeks later, these guys travelled fast and furious. That would put them in the same category as "Snyder runners."



5) NUDITY: None.





My main complaint, I suppose, is the same one I had with 'Gangs of the Dead' AKA 'Last Rites.' Other than the police officer that gets trapped in the bank with the bad guys, I really didn't care if these guys lived or died. They were everyday common street hoods. They were out to rob a bank and got caught up in the nightmare that was. I probably would have enjoyed this more, if this was just a regular neighborhood (or 'hood) where the majority of the characters were worth rooting for.





RATING: 3 out of 5"

I thought this was a movie about a bank robbery.......

Alex W | houston, tx | 08/08/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The movie actually started off pretty good. Getting you all hyped up for a bank robbery. then out of nowhere the town is taken over by zombies. but its worth a good rental."