Storm of the Dead (2006 Video) User Reviews

Catacomb of Creepshows #6 (of 50) or Leisurely stroll of the dead

[movieman_kev · 3/10 · 24 September 2012]

Forewarning there are long stretches of this low-budget horror film about a vengeful voodoo grandmother still smarting over the fact that the Florida militia killed her no-good criminal son where no action whatsoever happens. Stretches where people talk and talk, stretches where people walk and walk silently, not that I'm saying the films horrendous as I've seen much worse (refer to "the forever dead" also on the Catacomb of Creepshows DVD-set) Just that the movie is very slow and features pretty unfunny 'comic relief'

Eye Candy: Karin Justman shows some T&A, Debra Cassano and Xiomara Ortiz both get topless

Boredom of the dead

[alistairc_2000 · 2/10 · 6 November 2011]

I love low budget zombie movies so I was stoked at the prospect of seeing another one.

Plot

All looters will be shot. Some soldiers are tracking a looter and when they find them there is a gun battle. Some what improbably a looter with a pistol gets the jump on two soldiers. The third gets murdered by the evil grandmother who is a voodoo witch doctor. Then another mission is sent in to find out what happened to the last set of people.

Thoughts. Everyone in this low budget movie behaving like they have taken leave of their senses. The troops just seem to have forgotten all military codes and orders. They are just cannon fodder for the story.

Rather that zombies dawn of the dead this is more I walked with a zombie as there is only one zombie which you get to meet about 80 minutes into the movie and even then he is not a threat.

The pacing is slow. The acting is very limited as well. I enjoyed the nudity hence the 2 out of ten. If you want a thrilling or horrifying zombie movie this is not for you. If you want a voodoo southern comfort you may and I stress that word may enjoy this film.

Excruciatingly Dull

[gaius-octavius · 1/10 · 1 March 2010]

I quite like bad horror movies – but only if they're bad in an entertaining kind of way. Unfortunately, there's very little to entertain in 'Storm of the Dead'. Instead, it's boring and poorly paced, with a thin plot meandering through an hour and a half of film when it could probably have fitted nicely into a short.

The film's writer/director has posted a review, which is interesting to read in terms of the thought process behind different aspects of the movie. In particular, he noted that five minutes of Just Plain Walking Around was added to plump up the film to meet international length standards. In my opinion, that's just lazy film-making, and an insult to the viewers who are forced to sit through that five minutes of filler.

That said, I was quite impressed by J. Todd Smith (Hutch), who was definitely the highlight of the movie. Karin Justman (Lisa) was also decent. In contrast, Brian Renner (Red) was supposed to be providing comic relief, but instead provided poor delivery that made me cringe every time he spoke.

Not a film I'd recommend by any means, but there's possibly something in there for people who like their horror slow-paced.

Storm of the Dead: Let's be clear, this is NOT a zombie film

[Platypuschow · 4/10 · 10 September 2017]

With a title like Storm Of The Dead you naturally expect a zombie flick, this isn't.

Immediately I found myself a tad uncomfortable as the film opens with a series of news reports about a storm raging across the Caribbean and hitting Florida which is exactly what's happening in real life at time of writing.

Once I'd gotten past the shock of that I gave this story about a militia search and rescue mission gone wrong a try and was confused at the absence of zombies.

The story culminates quite well and is fairly interesting, but the route there is slow and poorly constructed.

Storm of The Dead is hyper low budget make no mistake, but I feel they still could have done a lot more with the material.

The Good:

Some nice ideas

Some interesting characters

The Bad:

A bit deceptive

Amateurishly made

Very slow burner

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

If you have the choice between travelling on land or wading through a swamp was then do the latter, especially when chasing someone

I can't believe I have watched this twice

[CorblimeyGuvnors · 4/10 · 18 January 2015]

This is the second viewing of this film for me. I watched as part of the Catacomb of Creepshows box set and previously watched this on the Movies for Men channel (in the UK). What can I say I am a glutton for punishment !!!

Having said this, Storm of the dead is not too bad. The Florida Military are deployed to stop the looting after a hurricane. A man is shot dead for looting essential supplies, like baby food and nappies. His Grandmother is a local voodoo priestess and she vows to avenge his death.

This starts off well with director Bob Clark actually reporting from what looks like a Hurricane, I found this to be quite effective. It then moves on to stock footage of the aftermath of real hurricanes, again, this sets the tone for the film well.

The story itself is not a bad one and there is some social commentary about the social divide in America (As I am British I presume there are similar divisions in the states as the UK). I would agree with fellow reviewers there is a lot of the running time spent on people wandering around and the biggest problem for me was the title makes it sound like a zombie film, well there is only one. But hey, perhaps that is what the film-maker intended or perhaps he was restricted by budget (or both!!). Overall I have seen better, but also I have seen many more worse than this and found myself quite liking it.

The lead actor J. Todd Smith gave a solid performance.

At the time of writing this is only scoring 2.2 on the IMDb and I would rate this higher than that. I gave it a 4.

Voodoo Swamp Zombies!

[Uriah43 · 3/10 · 7 June 2022]

This film essentially begins with a Category 5 hurricane slamming into the state of Florida and leaving complete devastation in its wake. Therefore, to prevent massive looting and other problems of that sort, the Florida Militia has been called upon to patrol certain areas that have been especially hard hit. To that extent, the scene then shifts to a squad of militiamen tracking a looter through the swamp and eventually catching up to him near a small house that has mysteriously sustained no damage from the storm. A shootout soon takes place and the looter is killed. What the militiamen don't realize, however, is that they have just killed the grandson of a woman with formidable skills in voodoo and their action will soon have disastrous consequences for everyone involved. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this film had a couple of rather obvious flaws which included a poorly written script and some really bad acting. Admittedly, Karin Justman (as "Lisa Hicks") performed well enough and she certainly didn't hurt the scenery in any way either. But even so, her presence wasn't enough to really overcome the faults just mentioned and I have rated this movie accordingly. Below average.

Storm

[BandSAboutMovies · 3/10 · 9 March 2024]

After Hurricane Xiora, the empowered Florida militia shoots a looter who has run into the swamps after he kills two of their men. Sergeant Barnes (Todd Terry) shoots him and learns that he was stealing diapers and baby food, just in time for the man's voodoo grandmother (Yvone Williamson) to snap his neck.

Lieutenant Hutchinson (J. Todd Smith) and his unit are sent to find Barnes. He's conflicted, as he joined to honor the memory of his father, who died in Desert Storm. He's also not so sure that as a black man he should be ordering white men to shoot black people no matter what they're doing.

Joined by weather reporter Lisa Hicks (Karin Justman) - yes, that happens in this movie - the unit finds two survivors who just so happens to be voodoo slaves to the grandmother.

Directed and written by Bob Cook (Rock-A-Die Baby, Animals), this has people wandering a swamp for most of the movie and delivers its one zombie quite late in the film. My favorite character was Corporal Dani Stevens (Debra Cassano), who ends up tongue kissing one of the privates by force in the bar and laughing at him. She got kicked out of the Marines for attacking her commander and is only in the militia to make her dad happy. Cassano is really good in the part and stands out.

This has an interesting anti-military, pro-looting message that you may not expect and some nice scenery. If you aren't into movies where people wander aimlessly - I am kind of comforted by it - you will probably not enjoy yourself.

Director's Commentary

[BobCook03 · 10/10 · 28 June 2007]

In response to the posting of STORM OF THE DEAD being the worst movie ever made, "I guess you don't get out much." You obviously either purchased or were given a pre-release copy via either Fangoria or Rue Morgue magazine. I am ruling out that you were given one by either the cast or crew. The film officially doesn't come out on DVD (Maxim Media International) until August 8, 2007.

In retrospect I would have made a couple of changes to the film but there is more to it than just making the film. The walking scene you refer to that lasts the entire movie in reality lasts only 5 minutes. Yes, it does seem longer but the film was running short (88 minutes) and several foreign territories require a certain length. The nudity which you call gratuitous actually was put in not only for commercial reasons but for character development as well. Dani the soldier thinks nothing about taking off her clothes and washing in the river. While her male counter part is shy and uncomfortable. That scene showed she was one of the boys. For Lisa's shower scene she had to be naked. I don't know how you bathe but most of us are nude and use soap and water. Again, it you were paying attention to detail you'd notice that the third nude scene was to show the girl was in a vulnerable position and couldn't possibly be evil as she was a victim. It also brought out the final temptation of Red.

It's easy to write a bad review but we've been reviewed by professionals on the web and in magazines and fortunately they were able to see some of the symbolism. They also enjoyed fine performances from the main stars including Jason Todd Smith who played Hutch and excellent relief humor from Red and Dani.

When someone buys or rents a 'low budget' feature to watch they are looking for something to entertain them. I disagree with your statement that the storyline was stupid. Anyone living through a hurricane (Jason was a Katrina Survivor and brought much to the role) would agree there were moments of truth and politics hidden in the storyline. The movie is being released on DVD August 8, 2007. My suggestion to everyone is to pick it up and watch it. Then make up your own mind.

Another reality check is MST-3000K isn't around any more. I guess they couldn't get enough people like you to support it.

See you at the movies!

Regards, Bob Cook Writer/Director

I liked it

[man-who-watches-crap · 6/10 · 19 April 2012]

I'm stuck at home with a broken hand and have been trawling youtube for free full length movies. I've watched a lot of rubbish and I think this one is above par.

It is the typical band of misfits, the grizzled commander and his mate, the whiny milk sop and the shy man child, and the feisty tomboy who's the best soldier in the platoon(and not afraid to wash with the guys). Also the reporter who they have to take along, who eventually falls in love.

The action is kind of slow in parts, but if you've ever walked through the scrub looking for something, you'd realise nothing happens in a hurry.

There are plenty of plot holes and continuity errors, and who on earth cast a blonde white girl as the younger version of an old black woman who doesn't look old at all.

And it's free to watch on youtube.

Not bad...

[mikefurry · 6/10 · 12 May 2011]

Look, this isn't going to win any Oscars, but i don't think thats what they were going for. I checked this out because i love low budget films, especially zombie flicks. Some of the reviews on here and around the net pick apart the movie for being exactly what it was meant to be! Its supposed to be entertaining and fun, and if you like this sort of thing, then give it a chance. I thought it was hokey, but in a good way. The cast was great and the acting not bad! The story was interesting enough and for the most part i really enjoyed relaxing and watching this movie. The people who did this one have put out some very entertaining low budget movies and have always entertained me.