Yup – I still haven’t run out of Bloody Disgusting Selects. Quality has been all over the map. Rammbock (Berlin Undead) is currently available on instant Netflix.
Rammbock – Berlin Undead (2010) – Not rated
“Hoping to reunite with his ex-girlfriend, a lovesick young man drops in to see her but instead finds a brash teen plumber — and before you can say “the undead,” the twosome must barricade the door against a legion of insatiable zombies.”
This is a wonderfully intimate viral zombie thriller. The vast majority of the movie takes place from hapless Michael’s point-of-view. As in Night of the Living Dead, the overall situation is communicated through the occasional television or radio transmission. Almost the entire movie takes place in a single apartment block.
Rammbock also wastes no time at all. There is only a single brief scene before the carnage begins. There are no character backgrounds and little character development. Rammbock is just a bunch of apartment dwellers trying to cope with a zombie outbreak.
The type of outbreak is borrowed liberally from 28 Days Later and [REC], both of which are better films. Rammbock’s zombies are clearly done on a budget and look somewhat like Evil Dead extras. Director Marvin Kren is aware of this and uses them sparingly, concentrating instead on the dwindling number of apartment dwellers.
The actors are all serviceable and look refreshingly like a random group of apartment dwellers. Michael Fuith has to carry the film as our protagonist and he is delightfully schlubby.
Rammbock maintains a breakneck pace straight through to the end of its one hour running time. Yes, writer Benjamin Hessler could have written a much longer script, throwing in additional characters, character development, or exposition but I’m glad that he didn’t. While not the best of zombie films, this is a very good one and only requires an hour’s worth of investment (but you will have to read subtitles).
