2014, Sun Entertainment Limited
Director:
Joe Chien
Producers:
Gordon Chan
Paco Wong
Paul Cheng
Writer:
Joe Chien
Cast:
Andy On (Andy)
Jessica Cambensy (Jenny)
Jack Kao (Wu Ming)
Michael Wong (Captain Ma)
Terence Yin (Brother Fung)
Candy Yuen (Jailer Leader)
MC Hotdog (Tiger)
Derek Tsang (David)
Abby Fung (Nana)
Ku Pao-Ming (Uncle Liang)
Frankie Ng (Mr. B)
Philip Ng (Brawler)
Part-Walking Dead, part-Fight Club, this zombie film from director Joe Chien definitely brings a B-movie feel to the film that makes good use of its two lead stars.
In an apartment building in Hong Kong, Jenny is eagerly waiting for her boyfriend David when Tiger, David’s friend shows up with some girls just for him. Jenny reluctantly lets Tiger and the girls in where they decide to party with some drugs he brought in. However, the drugs turned out to be tainted and the result turns many into zombies. Meanwhile, a SWAT team has arrived at the building to nab a criminal and they soon find themselves the victims of the zombie horde. One SWAT member, Andy, manages to survive and helps Jenny escape.
However, despite the escape attempt, both Andy and Jenny, along with some of the other survivors have been captured and forced into an underground prison. It is there to their horror, a one-time mild-mannered science teacher, has become the leader of the underground. He forces the survivors to compete in death matches against the remaining zombies. As Andy and Jenny attempt to band the survivors together, a dark secret plagues the leader of the underground and it is up to Andy and Jenny to continue surviving to escape the underground once and for all.
Joe Chien, a Taiwanese director, has become the one to capitalize of the current resurgence of the zombie craze. After his debut film, Zombie 108, he returns with an idea to have survivor face zombies in armed and unarmed combat. However, what he wisely does is create a setup for the titular “zombie fight club” by staging the start of the zombie apocalypse in an apartment building caused by tainted drugs. The first near hour of the film is set in the building where it looks like a meshing between Resident Evil and The Walking Dead.
The film’s two leads, Andy On and Jessica Cambensy, make the most of their roles as the SWAT officer and young woman who are forced to survive the deadly apocalypse. On gets to put his action skills to good use while Cambensy changes from a damsel in distress to someone who must do what it takes to survive, especially seen in one part of the second half of the film. However, she still has a misunderstanding of all the events. Jack Kao undergoes the most change of the film, going from a simple mild-mannered teacher and loving father to a cruel underground leader who has a notion of perhaps punishing the survivors because he lost his daughter Nana, played by Abby Fung, during the film’s first hour. Michael Wong, Terence Yin, and Philip Ng make the most of their short appearances in the film as well.
The zombie make up is nicely done as are the limited amount of stunts and action scenes courtesy of Philip Ng. However, the film’s major flaw comes in any use of CGI effects used because compared to the practical make up effects, the CGI just looks so bad that a child may as well have done them. They just look amateurish. If Chien had stuck to just using practical effects, it would have made for a better movie in terms of making it a true B-movie, but it is safe to say that this has the feel of a meshing of 80’s/90’s horror movie and terrible amateur production.
Zombie Fight Club has more good points than bad points. Andy On and Jessica Cambensy make the most of their roles, but it all boils down to having some very atrocious CGI effects that flaws what could be a heck of a B-movie.
WFG RATING: C+
DVD/BLU-RAY
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