I could not be more excited to be one of the first movie reviews for “Plaga Zombie: American Invasion“, by lead writer and director, Garry Meideiros.
Recently, I had the opportunity to interview one of the co-writers and stars of the film, Walter “Kobra” Rivero for my podcast, Always Acting Up. I got all the behind-the-scenes details.
We talked all about the making of this film from casting, to the ups and downs of filmmaking, and how they were able to complete this film after 7 years!
With that information alone, I had a large appreciation for this film. What an accomplishment! I can assure you there are HUNDREDS of films that never reach completion. This stuff is hard.
This review I’ll touch on overall storytelling, costumes/wardrobe and of course, the acting.
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Synopsis for Plaga Zombie: American Invasion (Straight from IMDB)
Yes, I copy and pasted this directly from IMDB.
“In 1997 an Alien race attempted an invasion in a small city of Argentina by fertilizing the human population turning them into blood thirsty zombies. The plan almost worked until 3 unlikely heroes emerged, battling back the zombies, and ultimately destroying the Alien mother ship.
Now, 16 years later, the Aliens are back to their old tricks. Their target this time around is America. The city of New Bedford, Massachusetts is quickly overrun by the alien zombie infestation. To contain the outbreak the American government detaches the city at it’s fault line, setting it adrift into the Atlantic Ocean.
Amazingly, 4 new heroes emerge and must not only battle through the hordes of zombies, stop the alien invasion, but also anchor the floating city before it smashes head on into the Azores Islands.”
Let’s watch the trailer!
Movie Reviews=Storytelling
Now that we know what the film is all about, it’s important to mention that this is a no/low budget, full-length feature film made by a very small team. It’s not a big production, nor does it try to be, and I appreciate that.
There were some noticeable technical elements that I picked up on such as the ADR*, a bit of continuity, and special effects. However, this is an entertaining film with plenty of comedic moments, so the “low budget” quirks were fitting.
I found myself smiling through most of the film and I thought the overall storytelling and direction were done well. You could feel that there was a lot of love and time put into this film.
Sound design played a huge role here and 100% helped bring the story to life.
Lastly, I wanted to touch on the overall length of the film. Without giving away any spoilers, there were a few scenes that felt long. It lingered a little bit too much and I caught my own thoughts ready to move on with the rest of the story.
Most importantly, I was engaged and entertained.
*I did have this playing on my iPhone mirroring to my Apple TV. It’s 100% possible that the ADR being slightly off was on my end. This was a bit distracting during a few scenes, but hey, I would prefer clean audio any day over muffled audio that I can’t hear.
Costumes and Makeup
Ok, I’ll just say it, a grown man in a unitard is always entertaining. Sam, the lead character, played by actor Matthew G Hill, pursues a career as a semi-professional wrestler.
Although failing and not in tip-top shape (don’t hate me), he wears a skin-tight costume throughout the entire film which adds to the quirks mentioned above.
Next, my absolute favorite costumes and makeup for Plaga Zombie: American Invasion was of course, the zombies! They were awesome! They were all different colors, wigs, styles you name it!
While not the classic pale, “scary” and dead corpse-like zombies, I absolutely loved them! Again, it all sort of worked out and aided in the overall storytelling of the film.
Last but not least, I can’t talk about the wardrobes/costumes and not mention the badassery for the film’s badass, Kobra.
Unlike all of the other characters in the film which were colorful and quirky, Kobra’s wardrobe goes in an entirely different direction. It was clear who he was and his agenda. Long hair, eye patch, all black…nailed it.
Oh, and just in case you get a call from Garry or any other director, make sure you have these staple clothing items ready to go before you head to set.
Plaga Zombie: American Invasion- ACTING
Moving on, let’s review the acting. After all, I am an actress myself so I tend to pay a little extra attention to the performances of my fellow actors.
In all honesty, there were some rough moments more towards the beginning of the film. I can’t quite pinpoint why, but I didn’t notice as much as the film progressed.
It’s possible that these scenes were filmed towards the beginning of the production schedule and the actors needed a little extra time or rehearsals to get into the flow.
The stand-out performance in Plaga Zombie: American Invasion goes to Nash, played by actor Corey Spencer. He was one of the more natural and realistic characters in the film. Rather than a performance, his line delivery and emotions were more subtle.
To Conclude this Movie Review
I liked it. This is a great film to watch with a few friends, a huge bowl of popcorn, and a few drinks.
Although the movie has a few off moments, it is still a great time to be had. The storytelling, quirkiness of the film, costume and makeup and performance of the actors made for a good experience.
For fans of independent filmmaking and zombie enthusiasts, this is the film for you. While not quite released yet, I MAY or may not have heard that they recently picked up a distribution deal, so It’s really just a matter of time before we have more details of where YOU can watch it.
In the meantime, make sure to watch the trailer, subscribe and follow along on Plaga Zombie: American Invasion Instagram to stay up to date.
Oh, DON’T FORGET to listen and subscribe to Always Acting Up podcast to hear all about how Plaga Zombie” American Invasion was made.
Found on all podcasting platforms and YouTube.