'Redcon-1' (2018)

I've done a lot of reading, this week, and it's been great to get into some good books. What hasn't been so great though is that I haven't been able to finish any of them... I'm not going to beat myself up about it, it happens and all it really means is that next week should hopefully be full of me talking about the great books that I've enjoyed ;o) What's a chap to do in the meantime though? Well, if you're me, there's always zombie movies old and new to watch (or re-watch) and natter about here. Simple, right? 

I watched 'Redcon-1' when it was released on DVD last year (I have a suspicion that it probably went straight to DVD...) and thought that today would be a good opportunity to give it another go. It's a fun zombie movie but your mileage there will depend on just how far you are willing to suspend your disbelief (which sounds weird, given that we're talking about zombies, but let me explain...)

After a zombie apocalypse spreads from a London prison, the UK is brought to its knees. The spread of the virus is temporarily contained but, without a cure, it's only a matter of time before it breaks its boundaries and the biggest problem of all... any zombies with combat skills are now enhanced. With the South East of England quarantined from the rest of the world using fortified borders, intelligence finds that the scientist responsible for the outbreak is alive and well in London. With his recovery being the only hope of a cure, a squad of eight Special Forces soldiers is sent on a suicide mission to the city, now ruled by the undead, with a single task: get him out alive within 72 hours by any means necessary. What emerges is an unlikely pairing on a course to save humanity against ever-rising odds.

What can zombies do? What should zombies be able to do? Most people are happy to see them as just shambling monsters looking for something living to eat but those creative types looking for a better story will stretch that a little further. George Romero is a big culprit here with his zombies able to retain some memories and motor skills (hey Bub!) and there are others happy to push those boundaries and chronicle the results.

How far do you go though? How far do you push it before it just looks a bit silly really...? Well, if you're 'Redcon-1', you push it to the point of no return and with no hint of irony whatsoever...

Yep, we're dealing with zombies that are able to set up ambushes, zombie soldiers that run their own base camps and random zombies that totally know karate and are not afraid to use it... And that's why I mentioned suspension of disbelief at the very start. If you can deal with that, you are going to have a lot of fun with 'Redcon-1'. If you can't then 'Redcon-1' clearly isn't the movie for you.

Now as far as I'm concerned, when I'm watching a movie my sense of disbelief gets locked away, in the back of my head, and picked up when the movie is over. For me then, 'Redcon-1' was just this manic two hour deluge of gore (there's a pretty grim scene with a dead pregnant lady so be warned), zombie fights and a mission, to find the professor, which becomes a whole lot more. No big surprises then (when you're expecting a twist, it's not really a big twist when you get that twist) but what story there is pans out and is told very well. The supporting soldiers are just there to die bloodily and that puts the focus on Oris Erhuero's Captain Stanton, a character played with enough depth to him that you're happy to follow him through to a unexpectedly tender and heartfelt ending (I really need to do something about the dust in my flat...)

'Redcon-1' isn't going to win any prizes but I think it's perfectly happy being just what it is, a kick-ass zombie movie where a zombie with nunchucks is no big deal. It's only a couple of quid on Amazon, you could do a lot worse than give it a shot.