Stand Off

Director - Joseph Springer Jr. (Aura, The Legend of Young Link)

Starring - Bill Kennedy (Frankenstein's Patchwork Monster, Captain America: Winter Soldier), Erika Frase (Return to Nuke 'Em High Volume 1, The Legend of Six Fingers), and David Clemins (Tail, Tales of Darkened Light)

Release Date - 2015

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "Mankind's last...Stand Off"

Format - Streaming (Online Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     When I was first getting into horror I found myself becoming obsessed with zombie flicks.  Tom Savini's Night of the Living Dead was the film that pulled me into the genre but Romero's Night of the Living Dead was my first obsession.  This spiraled out of control and before long I was grabbing any and every zombie movie I could find.  This would go on for almost a decade and would change after the release of AMC's The Walking Dead.  I was a huge fan of the comics and the series had me until season four.  Since then the market has become saturated with Walking Dead clones that offer up nothing for the viewer.  A few zombie flicks has popped up here and there since 2010 that was worth a damn but for the most part they all have been underwhelming.  A few weeks ago director Joseph Springer reached out for me to review his 2015 zombie flick Stand Off.  It had been a few days or weeks since my last zombie flick so I agreed to check it out.  Thanks Joseph for sending this one over!

     The film follows an ex-government agent who finds himself in the middle of a zombie outbreak when a secret experiment was is accidentally released.  As he fights for his life with other survivors he soon discovers that the person that set him up originally is the person behind the outbreak.  Revenge soon follows.  \

     Stand Off is not a straight forward horror flick.  It's an action film with zombies which may explain why I liked it as much as I did.  I didn't find myself rolling my eyes as I realized it was yet another Walking Dead inspired film.  Instead, it was a great action flick with horror elements scattered throughout.  It was still pretty cliched and cheesy at times but very enjoyable.  The acting in this one is surprisingly well done.  The cast has some serious film credits to their names and they deliver some great performances.  The characters, as I stated before, is cliched but the cast really dives into their roles.  Their on screen chemistry is great and they all work very well with the story.  With that being said, the characters do blend into the background and are not that memorable.  The story for this one is one that reminded me a lot of the zombie flicks that would play on Sy-Fy around October.  We follow a copy (?), a nurse, and an ex-government agent as they fight through the undead and a conspiracy.  Nothing really new or clever but it does entertain and the story has just enough action and additions that it holds your attention.  Finally, the film features some no budget make-up effects and some of the worst visual effects I've seen in a feature film.  The make-up effects reminded me a lot of the early 2000s horror film Meat Market.  It's not the best I had seen but it wasn't the worst.  With that being said, the visual effects were laughable at best.  The blood splatter and the bullet scene were extremely goofy and had me laughing my ass off.  The film really didn't need these added.  Overall, Stand Off may not be for everyone but I fucking enjoyed it.  It took me back to the world of no budget zombie flicks before The Walking Dead ruined it.  I recommend checking this one out if you are in the mood for some undead fun.