Zombie Film Review:

Death Valley: The Revenge of Bloody Bill

Director: Byron Werner

Year: 2004

Tagline: BILL WILL KILL

Review: Starts with what looks like good production values, decent cinematography, cops, drug deals gone bad and a car chase across the desert. Before the end of the opening credits you will be fed up of the pumping metal sound track, the plot however, although not traditional zombie fare is good enough in its own right with a long cursed Civil War Psycho, a Brigadoon style town and a whole host of flesh munchers.

Zombie Quality: **

These are not the worst zombies to appear in a film, but they are not the best either by a long way. There is a lot of claret splattered about and, for the make up artists out there, a lot of gelatine work. The clothes are not aged, just look a bit hacked up and covered with paint… The one major plus point is that the camera work not only covers up some of the zombies short comings but adds to a good atmosphere of panic throughout.

Zombie Behaviour: **

Yes, they are zombies, they bite people, they eat people but they are also seen tending bar and eating flesh at a table in way that is reminiscent of Land of the Dead, rather than good old mindless behaviour. Some of the lurching just makes them looks like they have enjoyed one happy hour too many, rather than any proper rigor mortis acting being enacted. Bloody Bill, a cursed, sibling obsessed sword wielder… Not my idea of a zombie !

Zombie Threat: *

Unless you are a drug dealing addict or nauseating teen who has happened to memorise every legend of the old west (which does come in very handy) AND you get stuck in this cursed town which is in the middle of nowhere, then you should be perfectly safe. Stay on the road and you will not have to face Bloody Bill!

Gore Content: **

Faces being bitten, plenty of claret, fingers being eaten and lungs/heart/organs being ripped out are good, but still a little tame compared to some that have come before.

Overall Quality: **

This film is greater than the sum of its parts, it is a new take on old classic, which if taken at face value will leave you disappointed, but if you approach this bargain bin DVD then you will be pleasantly surprised. It contains a Scooby Doo villain in Bloody Bill, a strange tribute to the climax of Scarface and some really poor acting, but there are certainly worse films out there. It feels a little more like a Ghost/Monster flick than a pure zombie film, but will enable you to expand your horizons without straying from the genre too much !