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Really Surprised!

Good concept, poorly executed.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

You should think it is going to be a typical zombie movie. Well, there are not zombies, there is a marvelous story and there are characters you will hate and love at the same time. There are also unpredictable twists and a perfect choose of heroes and villains. The movie makes you want to be part of the story; be there and make the right decisions, and believe me, you won't know what to do or think. The film is so good you'll want more at the end. You want to be a hero, and this is where Tarantino meets Romero.

Right from the start I wish to say I know nothing of the Manga that this was based on, so it is purely a film based review. Poor old Suzuki, the misunderstood artist, who gets looked over on all his work at the Manga office.On top of that, his girlfriend Tekko, also had had enough of his lack of skills/luck & they seem to fight a lot. She then tosses him out of their flat. There is a re-union (of sorts) later when he goes back to see her & some of the best SFX I have seen by Tekko therein.A newscaster reads about a person being bitten by a dog, then quickly changes that to a 'dog was bitten by a person' & so the Zombie invasion begins.These creatures are so quick, unlike other Zombie movies ones & the mad scramble to get out of the city begins.I think this movie has something for everyone.

Or a cheap b-movie. But nothing was funny. And no special effects were cheap. It not being a comedy, or parody, wasn't a disappointment, though. It just kept the suspense ball rolling. I mean it wasn't even dark humor. I was actually surprised at how scary this was at times. Zombie films don't scare me. Not one zombie/mutant film I've ever seen from several countries has scarred me (yes, "scarred," with two "R's" and not a "scared" typo), while many have entertained me. And of course only Shaun of the Dead, to me, was a successful zombie parody if not a comedy classic. But this movie...scared me. The first zombie you see in full force was as terrifying as an actual horror movie supernatural villain. I was not expecting and briefly regretted deciding to watch something like it so late at night. Honestly. This movie also had the best zombie-on-human action. Mostly every other film except perhaps UK's "28 Days Later" with Naomie Harris just shows the zombies stumbling around like Michael Jackson's Thriller. But this had some serious acrobatics involved, worse than The Grudge ghost's disjointed movements. Just watch it and you will see what I mean. These zombies mean business. This does live up to Japan's top of the class horror classics, while reminding you that Japan even has those since it can come out with some cheap gore. And it's a nice shock for me to see something actually be scary, cool and kick-ass encased in a zombie film... This isn't Tokyo Gore Police, this isn't Machine Girl, this isn't a silly under-the-bed DVD gore porn you forgot about. I love those films and I love gore porn as well and I'm not ashamed to say, but... This is a top notch action flick with some unsightly scares and pretty much flawless production and CGI. The zombies also look unlike other zombies. Most of the zombies across films from country to country somehow look alike. Not scary, bloody, and weird colors. These zombies however on top of that looked truly disgusting in the face. There's also character development, surprise surprise. Some stuff to cause a little tear bubble to well in your eye... The senpai/senior- admiration bond between the main character and a lonely, good- hearted schoolgirl who he met while fleeing was beautiful. It quickly but smoothly evolves from primal attraction on his end, to a brotherly protection. And it stays that way, which is good because this kind of thing shouldn't be about sex. It should be about saving yourself and whoever else you can. Their relationship doesn't fluctuate and nothing more is ever suggested, and it's built upon to the very end. So I can credit that to good writing and directing. **SPOILER HERE I GUESS*** There's some annoying stuff like why he never changed after being bitten but I can guess he is special. Or why he never shot when he could have but I can guess that eggs on his climactic redemption. I also would've liked to see the female nurse do a bit more raw action earlier on instead of crying on the roof doing laundry or whatever, but she still delivers eventually. **SPOILER OVER**The story is very simple as well, but that could be manga adaption. A depressed man treated like a nobody by everybody basically becomes a somebody while having to kill anybody. And the film is shown as such. It's not filled up with unnecessary stuff.I will add in that one of my favorite Japanese actors, Yoshinori Okada, was in this and had a major role as one of the fighting survivors. He was the comedy relief which isn't surprising considering the films he has done flawlessly with similar roles in "Fine Totally Fine 2008" and "Densha Otoko." These are quintessential quirky Japanese rom-coms, one of which I adore greatly. He's also very sexy and ageless so I perked up when he appeared on my screen. It's important to keep in mind while watching this however, that many good things usually come to an end. So don't get too down about the carnage, if you're that type.

For so long we only have English zombies and Chinese zombies, then this year we got our first Korean zombies and now we welcome the first appearance of Japanese zombies. The zombie apocalypse genre is excessively tried and tired. How Japan, having some of the most crowded cities in the world, hasn't gotten into the act is one mystifying mystery. Shinsuke Sato, adapting Kengo Hanazawa's massively popular manga of the same name, understands the source material and totally transpose the addictive page-turning frenzy onto the cinematic medium. This is one crackerjack of a movie and if you have to force me to make decision, I would choose to watch this again over Train to Busan.Hideo Suzuki (Yô Ôizumi) is a manga artist still twiddling along long after his sell-by date. He lives with his wife who is tired of waiting for Hideo to score his first success at serialising his comic. Every night Hideo draws and stares at his self-made post-it notes of encouragement - "you rock" and "one day a street will be named after you". If that doesn't work, he will take out his shotgun for skeet shooting and pose in front of a full length mirror. He only stops short at muttering the infamous words of Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver. One night he is thrown out of the house and all hell breaks loose. Together with the quintessential school girl (Kasumi Arimura) in short skirt, they go on to Mt Fuji for safety because they read in one urgent posting on the internet - zombies can't survive in high altitude.The moment the zombie epidemic starts, I am a Hero careens into one giddy blood- soaked adrenaline rush. The film doesn't push the zombie genre to new directions, but it takes the established tropes and gives it a fresh twist and out comes one sicko and satisfying monster-tainer. I love the opening establishing and main character building scenes - Hideo represents the typical male gazer, your favourite type of loser. His name notwithstanding, you know you will be watching an extreme character arc of a loser becoming a hero. How many times have you seen that in a zombie film? He is a pacifist in a cutthroat world of running zombies. How long can he stay that way in this world? Pretty long, I have to say. When the heroic moment finally arrives, and he steps up to the plate, a big smile was plastered on my face. How else did the movie remixed the zombie tropes? Imagine zombies moving and gesticulating in Sadako (Ringu) style; zombies retaining one memory from their lifetime or a muscle memory that they repeat and repeat till someone blasts their brains out. I had a good laugh at one zombie muttering he is a taxi-driver who has won many awards for never being involved in any accident and for being the most courteous driver, and of course you know what happens next. The dark humour is just awesome. Some of them skewers the working class system and I couldn't stop myself from laughing at the absurdity of it all. In fact, I think I was the first one who started giggling. Then my wife caught the cue. Before long the audience in my section was laughing away. The dark humour was spot-on perfect and it works because you recognise the plight of the working class. The visual effects are stellar - blackening veins, clouding eye-balls and gristly cracking noises. They move and contort like crabs and insects, which gave me the creeps. This is zombies J-pop horror style. The mass chaos on the city streets is superbly shot. Imagine people coming from all directions and you are not sure who are the infected until they get nearer. One particular action sequence on a highway is an adrenaline rush. The middle act slows down a fair bit as Hideo and the girl reach a duty free mall at the foot of Mt Fuji. I am guessing that some of you who are true zombie aficionados would at this point cry "George Romero's Dawn of the Dead" - my respect to you if you did. But watch how the film puts a Lord of the Flies twist to it and this act comes up smelling like roses. I also love how Hideo's gun serves as a metaphor of his evolvement from zero to hero. The film's narrative may feel familiar and a little long, but it is still one helluva inventive monster ride and Hideo is a wonderfully drawn character that will slowly but surely capture your imagination. The movie shamelessly sets itself up for a sequel but I can tell you I am so looking forward to another gore fest.