The Eschatrilogy: Book of the Dead (2012)

How sad is this?

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

First of all I will start out by saying that the cover for this movie has absolutely nothing to do with the contents of the actual movie. Two words: false advertising. I bought the movie because it is a zombie movie and because of the cover, so I was sorely disappointed with a slap to the face.This is a compilation of three tales that are interwoven. That being said, I will have to stress that the stories weren't particularly entertaining, neither alone nor in their tied in connections, nor did the overall feel of the movie come off as anywhere near captivating. And come daybreak of the next day you will have forgotten about this movie already, trust me.There were a bit too many wrong Things with the zombies, such as they could remember their Family members, some were quite fast and agile, and of course the typical poor zombie make-up in low budget zombie movies - where they paint the face a horribly bad gray color and forget about the rest of the body, with the neck and hands standing out like sore thumbs.As an avid zombie aficionado I devour, pardon the pun, anything even remotely zombie. This movie, however, falls into the lower aspect of the zombie genre, and I can't recommend it to anyone because it is boring and bad on the level that only low budget zombie movies manage to reach.

I attended Grimmfest in Manchester with my brother for the very first time this year and saw this film early on the Sunday morning we were pretty tired but were ready to kick the day off with Twisted when we discovered it had been switched with this film instead, so we decided to give it a watch, Im glad we did, because it was the film we talked about the most on the drive home.I didn't know much about it apart from the fact it was a zombie anthology film and it was made by unknowns in the North of England. The film opened amazingly well and I was immediately drawn in, a young man in a secluded camp (which would not have been out of place in THE ROAD) scours the roads, picking up the now starved dead and burns them in his camp. On one of these repetitive trips he is confronted by a hagged and bloody man. This man (played by the director) utters a few words and collapses, the man is dragged into the camp, tied up, and his things are searched. Inside his pack is a book, and the book documents the stories. As the young survivor begins to read, we are then transported into each particular zombie tale. First of all the soundtrack was ace, and it reminded me of every great 80's horror film ever made, the production values and locations were very good, far beyond what you would get in a movie of this budget, you can tell the filmmakers were never lazy with their approach.I did have issues with acting on a whole, only the two leads in the framing story really convinced me , the rest of the cast seemed less experienced, some even looked uncomfortable in their roles, maybe having bitten off more than they could chew so to speak, also the mixture of accents at times was off putting, but thats down to personal preference! What amazed me most was after the film we attended the Q & A where the director, main actor and two crew members were told us it was made for around £15,000, it was a shock and put the film very high on my list of best of fest! I am an amateur filmmaker and watching something like this gives me a bigger push to get my own work out there and proves it can be done with dedication and hard work, so i suppose the film was pretty inspiring that way! If you are a fan of horror anthologies and especially zombie movies, this is definitely one of the best low budget zombie movies next to Before Dawn (which also screened at Grimmfest), it's originality alone is worth the look, let alone proof that things can be done with very very little! I hope to see more from these guys, they looked like they were just there to have fun at the Q & A and I think they have done a great job.

You know .. I was really eager to see this film, and when I started watching it I thought this film looks truly beautiful! It got me interested right from the start. The score sounded good and really added to the action. The plot kept you gripped and this isn't the usual 'zombie/monster' film, it is far more special than that. Even if you don't like horror films, watch this as this film is something different.The acting was good and especially the children stood out for me, they added to the story.Please make a point of seeing it, it will make you jump, feel moved at times and there were also some funny one liners. Brilliant!

I love horror films. Not the gorefests, or the ones that exist only to make you jump out of your seat every two seconds. No, I like CLEVER horror films - ones that make you think, keep you guessing and twist your perceptions of what you think you know. The Eschatrilogy is such a film.When a stranger walks into the refuge of a lone young man following what looks like the end of civilization, and then faints at his feet, the man finds a book telling of 3 stories involving 3 different protagonists. This is the true genius of Damian Morter's storytelling, as you are treated to 3 sub-stories all interwoven together to slowly help the man (and the audience) put together the pieces of how things came to pass. Each story is wonderfully shot and told, and the actors (especially the children) are superb in showing everyday people faced with extraordinary choices.Without giving any spoilers, let's just say characters from each story turn up in the other tales to varying degrees, helping to give a sense of continuity to events rather than it being 3 random stories. So what happens once he's read the book and the stranger wakes up? Well, that's a story in itself, and one that brings the film to a logical, yet fiendishly clever conclusion.Look out for cameo appearances from Sarah Jane Honeywell (of CBeebies fame) and several other reasonably well known actors, all of whom lend a sense of credibility to an inexperienced but talented cast who will no doubt go on to great success following this work. If there's one small criticism, the opening 10 minutes could probably be trimmed but make no mistake - this is one of the best films of the year. Filmed on peanuts, with a cast of over 300 volunteers and with excellent cinematography, sound and a chilling score, catch this one on the horror convention circuit or eagerly await the DVD release in 2013. Clever, thoughtful and in places heart-tugging, this is no ordinary chiller!