Goal of the Dead (2014)
Olympique Des Paris turn up in a small town to play a cup tie against a lowly fourth tier team. However as the game gets underway a genetically engineered zombie style virus leaks out and a football match turns into a fight for survival.
Hyped Here in the UK as Shaun of the Dead at a football match, this is a lazy depiction of the film. If i was to describe it i would say it was a horror film produced in the style of the excellent Taxi movies from the Luc Besson stable. Serious subjects broached with a certain type of laugh out loud humour which has a French twist rather than the lads down the pub approach to the English Simon Pegg film.
The success of the film lies solely with the writing as it certainly isn't a conventional zombie film - there is no flesh eating for a start. The script is so well written that even very minor characters appear to be well rounded and therefore memorable during the brief scenes in which they pop up. Billed as a film of two halves which is a play on the old football cliche of a game of two halves, the film makers don't disappoint. The first fifty or so minutes is all getting to know you chat among the team, fans and a couple of really funny tv pundits, this half boasts some blackly comical humour and is a pleasure to watch. Once the match is over the film stops we get some opening credits and the second half begins. It's totally unnecessary, but wholly original and a fun idea.
The second half of the film is run of the mill as various characters we already met in the first half, hole up in a bar and the fight for survival against the infected begins. Whilst the horror aspect is upped it really isn't anything new, the odd moment of laugh out loud humour aside nor is it scary.
On the whole Goal of the Dead is way overlong at two hours and falls apart when the horrors begin following a nicely scripted opening hour.
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