By Melissa Ann
The horror genre has had many additions from Australian filmmakers, but zombie films from Down Under are nearly non-existent. Filmmakers and brothers Kiah and Tristan Roache-Turner decided to change that and make Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead. With a modest budget of $160,000, the movie premiered at Fantastic Fest in September 2014 and saw its theatrical release a year later. Kiah and Tristan Roache-Turner successfully combined Dawn of the Dead and Mad Max for one hell of a zombie movie.
During a meteor shower, Barry (Jay Gallagher) and his sister Brooke (Bianca Bradey) find their lives turned upside down. Barry receives a frantic call from his sister telling him to get out of the city. She had just been attacked in her studio by two savage zombies. Still not understanding the situation, he promises to come get her, along with his wife and child. While on the road, Barry’s family meet unfortunate ends and he winds up as the only survivor. He teams up with a man named Benny (Leon Burchill) and the pair comes across a group fighting off an undead horde from within a barn. After fighting their way through, they join the men inside and find supplies to equip themselves with homemade armor and a kick ass shielded vehicle. As Barry’s group make their way through the Australian landscape, the number of survivors dwindles. Surprises emerge about the zombies themselves, including why they are slow during the day, but agile at night. Meanwhile, mysterious soldiers bust into Brooke’s building and kidnap her. She is taken to a lab ran by a mad scientist and forced to undergo brutal experiments alongside several subdued zombies. Brooke finds out that the experiments may inadvertently be her, and her brother’s, only chance of survival against the the zombie apocalypse.
Wyrmwood’s goretastic effects help hide any evidence of it being a lower budget movie. The zombies are intense and the blood splatter never feels cheap. Despite this being Kiah Roache-Turner’s feature length directorial debut, his inexperience doesn’t hold anything back. Actress Bianca Bradey is mesmerizing to watch and is the epitome of a “lethal beauty”. Actors Jay Gallagher and Leon Burchill bring much appreciated humor to what is otherwise a gritty film. The references to other horror movies are obvious, but the movie still feels extremely fresh and original. It was action packed from beginning to end and I got a huge thrill out of the Mad Max style vehicles. Wyrmwood is without a doubt one of the best zombie flicks I’ve seen recently and I’m eagerly awaiting the sequel that has been announced.
Rating: 9/10
