[The Veil]
Plot:A small town infected by a deadly virus and a frantic cover-up is taking place... Three days after the initial contamination several; Special Forces units are sent in on a mission. Their objective: to measure the effects of the virus and locate any survivors unaffected by the plague. Upon entering the town, the team discovers that not all of the inhabitants have died from the disease. In fact, those that had survived the plague have become rabid, wandering the streets attacking those unaffected by the virus. Forced to take sanctuary in an abandoned house, the battle for survival begins.

Cast:Richard Chance John Chance Michael Himsworth Martin Dorkins.

My Thoughts:Good idea hurt by low budget.

Review:I recently was privy to seeing indie filmmakers John and Richard Chances freshman horror effort, "The Veil". The film is a low-budgeteer which mixes zombies, espionage, and action all into one big box. The film follows an outbreak of the undead which sets upon a small town, and is as a result of a man-made virus exposed into the atmosphere. The Chances film really does an excellent job of giving the viewer enough zombie action chew on during the early and middle parts of the film.

In fact, the espionage subplot which is also a part of the movie takes a backseat to the zombie action for most of the movies early acts. The pic tries to put forth a claustrophobic bent by having the three main characters holed up inside a house on the edge of town, trying to keep as much space between them and the zombies as possible. Ala George A. Romero's "Night Of The Living Dead". This film in fact really feels "Night Of The Living Dead" inspired, and you really get the sense that the directors who also wrote the pic, have seen Romero's classic a ton of times because they really spend an awful lot of this movie utilizing the house, the zombies outside it, and the man vs. undead battle as the cornerstone for what they're trying to accomplish early on.the Chances brothers do a good job as the films stars, and are one of the few duos who can direct, write, and star in their own production and have it turn out to be pretty decent.

They spend most of the film wearing gas masks as they're covert agents so you don't get to see their faces for too much of the film, but at the same time...the constant wearing of the masks sort of add to the mystery of the characters. Especially when the flashback scenes begin to harp upon the secret agent part of the storyline. The zombies, as you can imagine in a production this financially challenged don't look exceptionally well done, but good enough nonetheless.

Alot of this film is set during the nighttime hours, so that really helps to add to it's effect as a horror film, and a zombie film first and foremost. The Chance brothers really do show some imagination with this film, using very unique camera angles to capture the action, and keeping the action at a very steady and impactful pace. They even manage to put a new spin on and actually make the tired storyline of evil government types and their experiments running amok, likeable for the duration of a nearly three hour picture.

Which is a very difficult thing to do considering how many zombie films I've seen that have all dealt with the same thing. The movies climax is a very fast-paced, kick-you-in-the teeth, and high octane one, and there is a pretty intriguing twist that takes place outside of the zombies and the walking dead that stalk the town, and mostly involves two of the remaining covert operatives. Although there is alot to like about this film, it's budget really did hurt it in many places, and it's a shame these two young and talented filmmakers couldn't find someone to fully invest in their vision. Nonetheless, films like this make you appreciate indie horror in many ways, and also make you appreciate what the determined filmmaker can accomplish.

Positives:A really creative vision from the directors, decent looking zombies, a good ending with a few nice twists.

Negatives:Again, the very low budget hurt the picture which was expected.

Overall:Above average indie film.





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