Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

Zombies of Mass Destruction Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 24, 2010

Kevin Hamedani's ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction (2009) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include a standard featurette with raw footage from the shooting of the film and a trailer. In English, without optional subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Mom

It is election time in the small town of Port Gambill, and Mayor Hal E. Burton (James Mesher) is running around reminding everyone to vote for him. After September 11 life has been tough for a lot of families around these parts, but this is the year things will finally start getting better. The Mayor can feel it.

Frida (Janette Armand) is from Iranian decent and has just returned home from Princeton. She is taking a break because her father (Ali Hamedani) needs help with the family restaurant. The Millers (Russell Hodgkinson, Victoria Drake, Andrew Hyde) see Frida at the local gas station and quickly inform her that they feel very bad about everything that is happening in Iraq. Really, her country deserves better, which is why Mrs. Miller always votes Democrat. But not Mr. Miller, he does not vote for pussies. Frida quietly explains to them that she isn’t from Iraq but from Iranian decent, and that she was born and raised in Port Gambil. O, well, it is still a shame that, you know, people have to die over there for a little bit of oil. Frida agrees and walks away.

Tom (Doug Fahl) and Lance (Cooper Hopkins) are a gay couple. They have come back to Port Gambill so that Tom can finally come out of the closet in front of his mother (Linda Jensen). This is the year. Lance can feel it. Tom can almost feel it. In a couple of hours it will be over. Mom will know everything there is to know about Tom.

In the local church Reverend Haggis (Bill Johns) is telling everyone that the country is on the path to destruction. There are signs everywhere - aborted little babies, Islamic terrorists, homosexuals getting married. But make no mistake, God is watching, and He will strike back soon.

Fastforward. The people of Port Gambill begin turning into zombies. Frida is captured and tortured by the Millers because she is a Muslim and, well, it must be her fault that Port Gambril has gone bonkers. Tom and Lance seek shelter in the local church where Reverend Haggis welcomes them with open arms. Shortly after, he proceeds to cure them from being gay. Mayor Hal E. Burton gets infected.

Kevin Hamedani’s ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction is a strange hybrid of a film. It is something of a political satire about everything that has gone wrong in America since September 11, 2001, and a horror comedy of sorts that appears to have been at least partially inspired by the Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland.

Years ago William Klein shot a similarly twisted film called Mister Freedom, which poked fun at America and its fear of Communism. Instead of zombies, however, Klein’s film had superheroes and all sorts of other wacky characters that spoke the truth. The famous critic Jonathan Rosenbaum once wrote that Mister Freedom was "conceivably the most anti-American movie ever made".

Hamedani’s ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction isn’t nearly as good as Mr. Freedom. For the most part it lacks the energy and polished visuals Mr. Freedom has. Its cast is also quite unremarkable, particularly when serious statements about various social issues are being delivered.

There are a couple of zombie scenes in the film with some decent special effects. Most of the action, however, looks pretty amateurish (with many of the nighttime scenes also looking notably dark). At least there was plenty of red paint to throw around.

Zombies of Mass Destruction Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:!, encoded with VC-1 and granted a 1080p transfer, Kevin Hamedani's ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment.

This is a good high-definition transfer. Fine object detail is pleasing, clarity good, and contrast levels consistent throughout the entire film. Because of the restricted lighting, some of the nighttime footage has a somewhat soft look, but the daylight (and indoor) scenes look sharp and crisp. The color-scheme is characterized by the presence of soft blues and greens; the browns, grays, and whites, however, are rich and well saturated. Edge-enhancement is not a serious issue of concern; neither is macroblocking. There are, however, a couple of scenes where I noticed some minor compression artifacts. Lastly, I did not see any traces of heavy noise reduction. I also did not see any purely technical anomalies with this high-definition transfer to report in this review. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).

Zombies of Mass Destruction Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English LPCM 2.0. For the record, Optimum Home Entertainment have not provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.

The English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is strong. The bass is powerful and punchy, the rear channels not overly active but still quite effective, and the high-frequencies not overdone. Generally speaking, the range of dynamics is rather limited, but the sound conveys pleasing depth and clarity. The dialog is also clean, clear, stable, and very easy to follow. Lastly, while watching the film I did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, hissing, or dropouts to report in this review.

Zombies of Mass Destruction Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: Some of the supplemental features on this Blu-ray disc are encoded in PAL. Therefore, if you reside in North America, or another region where PAL is not supported, you must have a Region-Free player capable of converting PAL to NTSC, or a TV set capable of receiving native PAL data, in order to view them.

Trailer - the original theatrical trailer for the film. In English, not subtitled. (2 min, 1080p).

Making of - a standard featurette with raw footage from the shooting of the film. In English, not subtitled. The featurette also contains quick comments from different cast and crew members. (6 min, PAL).

Zombies of Mass Destruction Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you enjoyed Shaun of the Dead and are dying to see something similar this Halloween, take a look at Kevin Hamedani's ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction. There are some pretty funny scenes in it. The Blu-ray disc herein reviewed, courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment, looks and sounds good. It is also Region-Free. RENT IT.