Starring: Clint Glenn, Parrish Randall, Erin McCarthy, Dion Day

Written & Directed By: Gerald Nott

Released: 2006

Grade: B+

Watching The Quick and the Undead reminded me a lot of the film, Undead or Alive. They both take place in the South and merge the western genre with the zombie subgenre. The Quick and the Undead actually took the lead on this, as it was made before Undead or Alive, which took a more spoof based approach to the merging where The Quick and the Undead has a more serious take on it. Could this lead to a new sub-category in horror? Both of these films have combined these together in a way that makes them very fun and interesting. Whether this becomes a trend or not, The Quick and the Undead is still a film that should be noticed and recognized for its’ originality in the day and age where zombie films are in danger of being overused.

The film takes place 82 years after a zombie epidemic had occurred. The problem really hasn’t been solved though, as there are still zombies all around, some laying low until they decide to strike. Still working to defeat the undead are the bounty hunters, Ryn (Glenn), and his rival, Blythe (Randall), along with his partners, Jackson (Day), Hunter Leah (McCarthy), and Walters (Jeff Swarthout). After hunting the zombies, they collect their body parts, which become their job and what keeps them going. However, the more zombies are killed, the less there are to hunt and the less money for each person. Blythe and his gang attempt to run Ryn out of time, to narrow the competition. In this process Ryn is deceived and set up by people who he trusted, even his own partner did this just to gain a little extra money.

After attacking him, everyone else leaves assuming that Ryn is dead. However, he manages to get up and keep going, now on a new mission: revenge. He finds his old partner and resists killing him at first, since by keeping him alive, he can be brought to Blythe and the others. Blythe becomes suspicious that he is being followed though. He doesn’t plan on letting anyone take the body parts he has stolen from Ryn. More importantly, he has an even larger plan up his sleeves that goes beyond the role of a human hunter and could end up causing many innocent lives or perhaps the end of the small human existence that is left, all for his own personal benefit.

Parrish Randall is the standout actor in the film as the villainous Blythe. He brings the bad guy character to full potential here. He is successful in making his character seem brutal, nasty, and downright selfish. However, he is not a block character, we see a sort of reason to his madness. The zombie attacks have turned him in to what he has become, showing that not only are they producing evil through those they infect, but the one who almost seems to be untouchable is still affected by them in an even more extreme sense. This violent villainy through him is very important, to work against Clint Glenn’s performance as Ryn. This is because although Ryn is out protagonist and the one we find ourselves rooting for, he constantly commits plenty of wrongs himself. Glenn almost has a sadistic sense to him one we would expect to see from a intelligent, but sick killer. However, the sad state that the film is taking place in shows this is what it has come to, this brutal and relentless figure, is the best hope in a world where death, violence, and greed are everywhere. Erin McCarthy also did well as one of Blythe’s partners, Leah. She was really in between the two sides, torn between money and love.

The atmosphere really worked in the benefit of the film. Most zombie films take place in a big city, but having it occur in a more isolated place makes the situation seem all the more scary. There aren’t as many other people to depend on and there is no type of governance around. It is more of an anarchy state, each man fending for himself. Also, since the zombies have been attacking and around for such a long time, infecting others, and enlarging the living dead population, there are very few people left. Our main characters are really the only ones we see, making the setting feel like a dark and eerie ghost town, infected with the mayhem of constant attacks and threats of becoming what the people are forced to hunt.

It is more than just the atmosphere, that makes this a western driven horror film. There are many tendencies and elements of the western genre that are displayed in the film. Of course, we have the rivalry of the two bounty hunters, who take the place of cowboys. They have several shoot outs and they give us a “This town ain’t big enough for the both of us” vibe. Even with the characters themselves this is shown. Blyth clearly wants control and to make everything his territory. As I mentioned, Ryn, has many flaws and is far from the clean cut protagonist, but rather the anti-hero.

One thing I can say really took me by surprise, was the brilliant cinematography work. From a low budget, western-zombie film, that was one element that I wouldn’t have thought would be emphasized. The overall production quality in The Quick and the Undead, is much higher than the vast majority of independent films, and based on quality does much better than most movies with million dollar budgets, because it uses these effects to mirror the context in the film. The colors are very vibrant in the film. The light brings out the dark that is present in the movie. It is very stylized and its’ boldness triggers our senses.

The Quick and the Undead is more than your average zombie film. In the beginning of the film, the constant state of attacks that are going on are described as biological warfare. Although, the main concern should be to simply stay alive and to protect themselves from these zombies. It may have started that way, but it has risen to something much less important as a representative of the majority of wars about land and money. There is a strong sense of each person, wanting everything for themselves in a very imperialistic way. Greed is also a major theme here, which drives everyone to act in the way they do. Those who betrayed Ryn did it because of their hunger for money and Blythe shows this in the most drastic way since he is the one who offered this to them and further more, has lost all sense of morals and humanity. Really though, it’s just the reality of what is around them. With so few people around and the continuous state of danger, there seems to be so little left to be able to appreciate, this greed is just the result of searching for something more.