Things aren’t always as they seem. Originally when I posted about Dead Heist I linked to a less than kind review on Fangoria. I was called out by Adam on Neurotrash for making a snap judgement on a movie I hadn’t seen myself.

Busted. By not reviewing the movie myself I was doing our readers a disservice. So without further ado, here is our full review of Dead Heist.

A group of thugs led by Ski (Brandon Hardin) who are fed up with hustling on the streets decide to pull off a big bank heist worth millions. Hustler (E-40) provides them with the weapons for the job in exchange for a cut of the profits. In order to make sure everything goes smoothly, he sends Jackson (DJ Naylor) along to oversee things. Jackson has had his fair share of run-ins with the law and is one of the few memorable stars of the movie. Ski’s gang is rounded out by a bunch of forgettable characters and poor actors.

The gang arrives in town and Jackson begins to scope things out while everyone else hangs back at the motel. While strolling through the town he meets Hunter (Big Daddy Kane) in a gun store who urges Jackson to stay inside for the night, foreshadowing things to come. Meanwhile, the idiot crew decides they can’t possibly wait another day and decide to just go ahead and rob the bank now by just running in waving guns around. There’s a stand-off with police, and as it gets dark the zombies come out to feed – first on the cops and then (after working their way into the bank) on the robbers. Ski’s crew, Jackson, Hunter, and a female deputy must all work together to save themselves.

Dead Heist is no Oscar-winner by any means, but manages to do some things well. The camera and sound work is much better than anticipated for films of this level. The director (Bo Webb) does a reasonable job of getting interesting shots and following the action. The zombies looked realistic and there are a few really fun scenes where the screen is filled with zombies. It takes a while to get moving, but once it starts the action is decent (but could be gorier).

Unfortunately there are several things that prevent Dead Heist from being a fully enjoyable film. First, the language. I’m far from a prude but this movie tossed around the “N word” more often than it used poorly constructed gangsta metaphors about gambling, hustling, and pimping (and trust me there were a LOT). E-40 seems to just make up his own terminology, saying things like “Give me the 555-1212″ (instead of the simpler “give me the info”). I couldn’t help but groan at phrases like that – no one really talks that way. In fact it was at that moment my wife stopped paying attention and went off to do something that wasn’t a total waste of her time.

Speaking of a total waste of time, there are many scenes in Dead Heist that do nothing to move the story along or provide insight into the characters. Some, like the scene at the beginning of the movie, are so out of place I’m pretty the director started out making an entirely different movie. These should have been stripped out entirely to make time for more zombie killing.

The best zombie movies aren’t mere horror films – they tell us a story about the human condition. As such my spirits were lifted when the zombie action started and the thugs started dying off one by one. Could it be that underneath all this gangsta posturing Dead Heist has a moral story to tell? Crime doesn’t pay, something like that? Unfortunately no – Ski ends up not only surviving but also walking away with the money.

If you can overlook its flaws and sit through the grueling first half of the movie, the zombie attack finale is worth the wait. The zombies look great, the deaths are plentiful (though not gory enough for me), and the scenes with the elevator and never-ending escalator of the dead made me giggle with glee. I’m sure if the budget had been bigger we’d have seen more special effects, but director Webb manages to make the most out of limited resources.

Dead Heist isn’t a home run, but it doesn’t completely strike out either. It’s fun for a while but overstays its welcome quickly.

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The Zombie Reporting Center strives to have the most comprehensive listing of zombie books. You can help! If you notice mistakes or omissions from our list, please let us know by emailing submissions@zombiereportingcenter.com.

Non-Fiction

Book of the Dead: The Complete History of Zombie Cinema – Jamie Russell (Fab Press, 2005)
Gospel of the Living Dead: George Romero’s Vison of Hell on Earth – Kim Paffenroth (Baylor University Press, 2006)
The Undead and Philosophy: Chicken Soup for the Soulless – Richard Greene and K. Silem Mohammad (Open Court, 2006)
The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia – Peter Dendle (McFarland & Company, 2000)

Fiction
0-9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A
Autumn – David Moody (Infected Books, 2005)
Autumn: The City – David Moody (Infected Books, 2005)
Autumn: Purification – David Moody (Infected Books, 2005)
Autumn: The Human Condition – David Moody (Infected Books, 2005)
Autumn: Desintegration – David Moody (Infected Books, 2008)
Axiom-man Episode No. 1: The Dead Land – A.P. Fuchs (Coscom Entertainment, 2008)

B
Berserk – Tim Lebbon (Leisure, 2006)
Bits of the Dead: An Illustrated Flash Fiction Zombie Anthology – Keith Gouveia (Coscom Entertainment, 2008)
Blood of the Dead (Undead World Trilogy, Book 1) – A.P. Fuchs (Coscom Entertainment, 2008)

C
City of the Dead – Bryan Keene (Leisure, 2005)
Cluck – Eric D. Knapp (2007)
Cobble – Eric S. Brown (Mundania Press, 2005)

D
Day by Day Armageddon J.L. Bourne (Lulu.com, 2004)
Dead City – Joe McKinney (Pinnacle, 2006)
Dead Sea – Bryan Keene (Leisure, 2007)
Deadlands – Scott A. Johnson (Harbor House, 2005)
Down the Road: A Zombie Horror Story – Bowie Ibarra (Permuted Press, 2006)
Dying To Live – Kim Paffenroth (Permuted Press, 2007)

E
Empire – David Dunwoody (Permuted Press, 2008)

M
Monster Island – David Wellington (Thunder’s Mouth Press, 2006)
Monster Nation – David Wellington (Thunder’s Mouth Press, 2006)
Monster Planet – David Wellington (Thunder’s Mouth Press, 2007)

P
Plague of the Dead: The Morning Star Strain – Z.A. Recht (Permuted Press, 2006)

R
Rise & Walk – Gregory Solis (Hadrian Publishing, 2007)
Rising, The – Brian Keene (Leisure, 2004)
Roses of Blood on Barbwire Vines – D.L. Snell (Permuted Press, 2007)

T
Thunder and Ashes (aka Plague of the Dead 2) – Z.A. Recht (Permuted Press, 2008)

U
Undead: Zombie Anthology, The – ed. D.L. Snell & Elijah Hall (Permuted Press, 2005)

W
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War - Max Brooks (Crown, 2006)

Z
Zen of Zombie, The – Scott Kenemore (Skyhorse Publishing, 2007)
Zombies In My Hometown - Gary Wedlund (Writers Club Press, 2002)
Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead, The – Max Brooks (Three Rivers Press, 2003)

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Tyrese Gibson (…OK, not THAT Gibson) of 2 Fast 2 Furious announced today he will be producing a new zombie film called Condition Dead. The movie will center on an elite squad of goverment zombie hunters, who must face new and powerful undead creatures.

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2009

• Dead Snow (aka Død snø) (TBA 2009)
• The Horde (France) (TBA 2009)
• George A. Romero’s Survival of the Dead (TBA 2009)
• Edges of Darkness September 22, 2009 (DVD only release)
• Zombieland October 9th, 2009

2010

• Resident Evil: Afterlife (September 17th, 2010)

TBA

• 12/24
• Army of the Dead
• GP506
• Colin
• Condition Dead
• Corporate Zombie Killers, The
• Dawna of the Dead
• Dead Air
• Descendents aka Solos/Alone
• Escape of the Living Dead
• Gatekeeper
• George’s Intervention
• House of Re-Animator
• I Spit on Your Rave
• [REC] 2
• Silent Night, Zombie Night
• World War Z
• Zombies Eat Brains & Clay
• Zombie Massacre
• Zombthology
• Zona mrtvih (aka Zone of the Dead)

UPCOMING/ TENTATIVE TV SHOWS

• Babylon Fields (CBS) Passed on by CBS
• Last Larry, The (Comedy Central)
• Rising, The (ABC)

The ZRC has no control over changes to release dates, titles or cancellation of films. But, we will do our best to keep you informed of any changes.

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The developers of the the successful Counter Strike: Condition Zero game have a new project on the horizon: Left 4 Dead. Developed with multiplayer in mind, it will focus on a small group of people trying to survive a zombie apocalypse. Players will share ammo and resources with each other, while other players will be able to play as zombie characters, thwarting the humans’ every move.
No release date yet, but supposedly it will be available later this year.

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