Movies
[Review] ‘Anger of the Dead’ Inspires Anger With Its Dense Characters and Mindless Script
Anger of the Dead comes to us courtesy of Uncork’d Entertainment, a distribution company that has given us such gems like Krampus: The Reckoning, The Ouija Exorcism and Patrick: Evil Awakens (Okay, that last one is actually pretty decent). It tells the familiar story of a small group of people attempting to survive the zombie apocalypse. Oh yeah, and it was produced by Uwe Boll.
That last part should tell you everything you need to know about Anger of the Dead, as it is a poorly-scripted and poorly-acted slog of a film that should satisfy only the most hardcore of zombie fans.
Alice (Roberta Sparta) is taking care of her toddler daughter when she receives a frantic call from her husband warning her not to leave the house. Little does she know that her daughter has opened the front door and let in a zombie. Some mayhem ensues and Alice teams up with Stephen (Marius Bizau) before the film flashes forward four months and they have had enough time to become seasoned zombie fighters. Meanwhile Rooker (Aaron Stielstra), a truly loathsome character (at one point he threatens to sic his “racist and pedophile friends” on someone), is attempting to locate the unnamed female Prisoner, a young woman whom he was holding hostage that somehow escaped his clutches.
There are a slew of problems present in Anger of the Dead, the worst of which is the aforementioned script. For example, there is a groan-inducing monologue in which Rooker compares a disloyal henchman to Pinocchio and proceeds to explain to him in detail who Pinocchio is and how his comparison is apt. There are also a plethora of plot contrivances. From a character leaving himself wide open to zombie attacks by sitting in his parked car with the windows open to another character who had previously been willing to shoot a friend for getting bit suddenly wanting to keep another infected until the moment when they turn. There are enough nonsensical moments in Anger of the Dead to make your head spin and to attempt to list them here would be a seemingly endless task.
Side-by-side comparison of the one-sheets for Anger of the Dead and season four of The Walking Dead.
What Anger of the Dead truly suffers from is issues with its tone. Everything on screen plays as silly while the actors are all doing their best to deliver lines in the most melodramatic ways. Had the film just gone the Sharknado route and played it all for laughs, it would have been a better film. Unfortunately the film takes itself so seriously that it makes a joke of its entire 84 minutes.
It’s not all bad though. The makeup effects are well done by Carlo Diamantini, even if the zombies look more like vampires from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (see above). Francesco Picone, adapting his short film of the same name, is actually quite a talented director. He chooses to film about 95% of the film in daylight and it works in his favor. The film isn’t gorgeous by any means, but it looks a lot better than you would expect something like this to. Cinematographer Mirco Sgarzi’s should also receive credit for this. These factors make Anger of the Dead somewhat watchable, as it is a competently made film.
Anger of the Dead might entertain those who are desperately in need of a zombie fix before The Walking Dead returns in February, but all others should stay away. It is nothing more than a cheap way to cash in on the buzz surrounding AMC’s popular series (the opening credits of the film are a near-replica of the credits of that show, music and all). This is depressing, since zombie films can be so much better than this. Anger of the Dead just isn’t up for the task.
Anger of the Dead opens theatrically in NY and LA on January 8th before its DVD release on February 2nd.
Ghostface is back on the big screen this weekend… well, sort of… with the release of Scary Movie, which marks the Wayans brothers’ return to the horror spoof franchise for the first time since Scary Movie 2 back in the day. It’s likely to be the talk of the horror community for the weekend, but don’t overlook the other six genre movies that were freshly unleashed today.
Here’s all the new horror that released on Friday, June 5, 2026.
The horror spoof franchise is back with Scary Movie now playing in theaters!
Marlon Wayans (“Shorty”), Shawn Wayans (“Ray”), Anna Faris (“Cindy”), and Regina Hall (“Brenda”) reunite for the new Scary Movie, with the cast also including Dave Sheridan, Lochlyn Munro, Cheri Oteri, Chris Elliott, Jon Abrahams, Damon Wayans Jr., Gregg Wayans, Kim Wayans, Benny Zielke, Cameron Scott Roberts, Heidi Gardner, Olivia Rose Keegan, Ruby Snowber, Savannah Lee Nassif, Sydney Park, and Felissa Rose.
Twenty-six years after outrunning a suspiciously familiar masked killer (“Ghostface”), the Core Four are back in the killer’s crosshairs and no horror movie IP is safe…
Scary Movie will slash through reboots, remakes, requels, prequels, sequels, spin-offs, elevated horror, origin stories, anything with the word legacy in it, and every “final chapter” that absolutely isn’t. A whole lot has changed in the horror genre since the Wayans Brothers were in charge of the franchise; their involvement ended with Scary Movie 2 back in 2001!
Michael Tiddes (A Haunted House) directs Scary Movie 6 from a script written by Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, original Scary Movie director Keenen Ivory Wayans, Craig Wayans (Scary Movie 2), and Rick Alvarez (A Haunted House).
From IFC, shark attack movie Chum is now available on Digital.
Alice Eve (Haunting of Queen Mary) stars in shark attack movie alongside Eric Michael Cole, Jim Klock, Elle Haymond, Lisa Yaro, Johnny Gaffney, and Sarah Siadat.
This one sounds very similar to last year’s Dangerous Animals…
Here’s the plot: “A newlywed couple joins friends on a Mediterranean yacht excursion, only to find themselves caught between a predatory shark and a psychopathic killer in their midst-transforming a sun-drenched escape into a fight for survival.”
Jonathan Zuck directs Chum, from a script by Jonathan Zuck and Joe Leone.
Samara Weaving (Ready or Not 2: Here I Come) and Kyle Gallner (Strange Darling) come together in Carolina Caroline, a sexy crime thriller now playing in theaters.
It’s not a horror movie, mind you, but it’s worth a mention here all the same.
Kyra Sedgwick (Family Movie) and Jon Gries also star in the romantic crime thriller.
Director Adam Carter Rehmeier’s film stars Samara Weaving as Caroline Daniels, whose desire to leave her small Texas town brings her into the orbit of a charismatic con man (Kyle Gallner), and together they weave a path of crime and passion across the American Southeast.
Adam Rehmeier previously directed the films Dinner in America and Snack Shack.
Tom Dean wrote the screenplay for Carolina Caroline.
Similar to Steven Spielberg’s upcoming big screen blockbuster Disclosure Day, Signal One explores humankind’s enduring question: what if we aren’t alone in the universe?
The sci-fi thriller is now available on Digital.
Isabelle Fuhrman (Orphan), Josh Hutcherson (Five Nights at Freddy’s), David Thewlis (Harry Potter), Raoul Bhaneja (Possessor), Emma Ho (“The Expanse”), and Dennis Quaid (The Substance) star in Signal One from director Jonathan Sobol (The Art of the Steal).
When tech billionaire Sam Houston (Quaid) hires the brilliant computer scientist Annika (Fuhrman), she ventures to an isolated facility run by the brilliant, nihilistic creator of LITTLEMOUTH, a machine which can communicate with alien intelligence.
Annika soon learns some humanity-altering facts: that we are not alone in the universe, that alien intelligences are communicating around us at every moment, and that we are likely too primitive to even remotely understand what they are trying to tell us.
When the goal of the endeavor shifts from listening to talking back, the project rapidly devolves into chaos. With contact comes consequences, and soon Annika and the team must work to ensure the very survival of our species.
A schoolyard dare becomes an urban legend in the creepypasta-inspired horror anthology The Summoning. The indie film is now available on Digital from Brainstorm Media.
“A babysitting gig becomes a nightmare of urban legend when three teens summon Baby Blue. Survival depends on uncovering the past to escape a mother’s wrath from beyond the grave.”
Felipe Vargas (Rosario, Hive), Sergio Gonzalez, Brandon Piskorik, Corey Benson Powers, and Brian Sepanzyk direct the segments. Valeria San Martín, Justina Ceballos, Daniela Flombaum, Nannu Spannauss, Agustín Olcese, and Giovanni Onetti star.
The Summoning is written by Camilo Zaffora.
Happy Death Day actress Jessica Rothe stars as a mom struggling to keep her grip on her sanity and memory in the mind-bending Affection, now available on Digital at home.
In Affection, “Afflicted by a mysterious condition that resets her memory, Ellie becomes trapped in a cyclical nightmare with a man who claims to be her husband. She soon must uncover the horrifying truth of her existence—before she forgets it all again.“
Joseph Cross (“Big Little Lies”) and Julianna Layne (“Chicago P.D.”) also star in the sci-fi horror thriller. Affection marks the feature debut by writer/director BT Meza.
Daniel Kurland wrote in his review out of the film’s premiere, “Affection is steeped in existential questions and fears that plague modern society, while it embraces the ethos of the ’80s through bold body horror. Add to that Rothe’s revelatory performance, and Affection is a hidden gem that will connect with your mind, body, and soul.”
Lucile Hadžihalilović’s latest dark fairy tale, The Ice Tower, loosely reimagines Hans Christian Andersen’s fable “The Snow Queen,” and it’s now streaming on Shudder.
In the ’70s set film, “Jeanne, a 15-year-old orphan, witnesses the shoot of a film adaptation of the fairy tale The Snow Queen, and she becomes fascinated by its star Cristina (Marion Cotillard), an actress who is just as mysterious and alluring as the Queen she is playing.“
Clara Pacini stars as Jeanne. August Diehl and Marine Gesbert also star in The Ice Tower, and look for a cameo from director Gaspar Noé (Climax, Irréversible).
“For me, The Ice Tower solidified Lucile Hadžihalilović’s place amongst the most fascinating creators of fairy tales today,” said distributor Yellow Veil Pictures co-founder Joe Yanick.
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