Zombie Warz: Falls the Shadow is an extremely low-budget
independent film, one that has much less to do with zombies than it does
its cast of characters. I have to imagine that the “Zombie Warz” title was
added just to sell DVDs to the crowd that loves awesomely bad B-movies.
However, people expecting some cheap-looking zombie guts are going to
be disappointed. While Falls the Shadow is definitely a film made
on a micro budget, it’s a beautifully photographed, well-directed
little gem, that accomplishes more than most student films of its ilk
could ever dream of.
The film opens with the execution of a young black woman by a gang of
southern neo-nazis, led by the appropriately named Reverend Phelps
(Phil Perry), who seems hell-bent on rebuilding a post-apocalyptic
America in the image of some violent right-wing God. His organization
exemplifies the negative side of how humanity may act in a world where
all organized governments are gone; his band of raiders use fear and
violence to get what they want, including sex.
s their counterpart we meet a cast of compassionate characters, all
of whom begin with their own separate stories. Eventually their lives
intertwine, thanks to an invariable link to the band of
neo-confederates, who are expanding their reach by raping, murdering,
and robbing anyone they come into contact with.