Film Review: DEATH RACE 3: INFERNO (2013)

The entire cast of the previous film (that survive anyways) is back for more death racing in Death Race 3: Inferno (2013).  Lucas (Luke Goss) barely survived the car accident that left him scarred for life but he was resurrected as Frankenstein who is the greatest racer of any Death Race.  When this film begins Frankenstein has won four matches and only needs one more to gain his freedom but everything changes when Weyland’s (Ving Rhames) company is taken over through a hostile takeover orchestrated by Niles York (Dougray Scott) who has bigger plans for Death Race by taking it global and expanding to all parts of the world instantly.  It seems that Death Race is the greatest sporting event in the world and Niles wants to take the first iteration of the global phenomena to Africa in a cross country race to the death. 

 

Returning to help Frankenstein is his pit crew Goldberg (Danny Trejo) and Lists (Fred Koehler) not to mention his always dependable navigator Katrina (Tanit Phoenix Copley) and they’ll have to work overtime as the rules to the game have changed and it will take all of them to overcome the new game and the new mastermind behind the game York.

Like the previous film in the series this one is a prequel story that leads up to the events depicted in the very first film.  Being a sequel to part two it doesn’t even seem like much time has passed but this is a new game with bigger stakes, more racers, more killing, and more danger and fans of the previous films will not be disappointed.

Film Review: DEATH RACE 2 (2010)

Death Race 2 (2010) is a prequel to the original film that centers on the beginning of the prison system reality game Death Race.  This film starts at where it all began with mob criminal Carl ‘Luke’ Lucas (Luke Goss) getting sent to prison after being apprehended after a botched bank robbery. 

At prison the talk of the town is the show Death Match in which inmates fight each other to the death.  It’s a program orchestrated by manipulative September Jones (Lauren Cohen) who works for Weyland (Ving Rhames) whose corporation owns the prison system and a broadcasting network.  After Jones sees the greater potential in Lucas she decides to convince Weyland to invest in a new venture called Death Race, in which inmates are given supped up cars in a death defying race over the course of three days and which is broadcast live for public consumption.

Lucas only has the help of his pit crew lead by Goldberg (Danny Trejo) and his navigator Katrina (Tanit Phoenix Copley) to help him get through the death race and survive when everyone around him wants him dead.

Roel Reine takes over as director of this sequel from the original’s Paul W.S. Anderson (who is producer and came up with the story on this film).  The screenplay is by Tony Giglio who does a fine time crafting a film that essentially is designed to help set up events in the first film.  Goss is no Jason Statham but he does a fine job as the lead in this film.  Although the film is not a great film by any stretch of the imagination it is very fun and exciting and plays directly to fans of the original film and these type of films in general.

Film Review: KILL ZOMBIE! (2012)

Leave it up to the film makers in the Netherlands to come up with yet another way to make a zombie film into a zany comedy which is the case with Kill Zombie! (2012), an outrageously funny film about a group of survivors trying to survive in a world overrun with the undead. 

Aziz (Yahya Gaier) is in love with a co-worker who won’t give him the time of day until the world is overrun by zombies and she gets trapped in a building and needs him to rescue her.  Now with the help of a blond cop by the name of Kim (Gigi Ravelli) and a group of other survivors, Aziz must go into the heart of the city to save the woman he loves or die trying.  Unfortunately, Aziz is not really the hero-type so everything he does never goes as planned.  As the zombie horde grows larger, Aziz must decide whether or not the danger to save the woman he loves is too great.

For a horror-comedy writer Tijs van Marle and directors Marijn Smits and Erwin van den Eshof have crafted a film full of gore, full of zombies, and full of zany fun but if you’re looking for something new and original, it isn’t here.  Just about every angle for a zombie-comedy has been done before and there is nothing new in this film and it doesn’t really try.  The film-makers know exactly what type of film they are trying to make and they know their audience and they deliver the goods from beginning to end.

If you enjoy having a good time with gore and humor in your zombie film then you’ll enjoy this film despite the fact that it feels like a film you’ve already seen before (just this one is from the Netherlands).