Archives for April 2009

A low budget film from director Jim Mickle; ‘Zombie Virus On Mulberry Street’ has finally come to DVD in the UK, three years after its completion back in 2006. Originally titled ‘Mulberry Street’, Mickle’s debut feature has definitely proved to have been well worth the wait, and despite its low budget; Jim Mickle has here put together a very impressive horror film indeed.

The basic premise here is that an infection is spreading throughout New York City, and when bitten by rats, people are slowly turning into oversized rodents, and feeding on the flesh of others. Once bitten by either a rat or the infected; a person will become one of them, and join the growing population of rat people that is currently taking over the streets of New York City. The infection has been contained within Manhattan, and all bridges and tunnels to the island have been sealed off. For those that are left alive in Manhattan; staying alive is becoming an increasingly more difficult task.

Clutch (Nick Damici) is our main man here, and is expecting his daughter Casey (Kim Blair) to return home anytime soon. He braves the infected streets of New York to help his friend from downstairs Kay (Bo Corre) arrive home safely from work, what he doesn’t yet know however is that at the same time as this; his daughter Casey is also fighting her way through the infected streets of New York, attempting to arrive home at 51 Mulberry Street. They’re both battling hard against the infected, but will they be able to survive?

‘Zombie Virus On Mulberry Street’ truly is an absolutely brilliant horror film; Jim Mickle is here able to put together a film that is incredibly tense from start to finish, and the film can certainly never be accused of being dull. You’re left guessing all throughout the film, and right up until the very last scene; you’re still never sure just what will happen next.

The film has been supremely well shot, and an incredible amount of excitement has here been packed within the film. The acting quality is high from all of our key protagonists, and although you can tell that the budget was low; this merely adds to the appeal of it all, and makes the film all the more enjoyable to watch.

For the entirety of the film’s 84 minute runtime; ‘Zombie Virus On Mulberry Street’ most definitely had me hooked, and everything about the film really does provide for a very entertaining viewing experience. The film ends very abruptly, and when the film does finish it’s actually quite unexpected; the great thing about ‘Zombie Virus On Mulberry Street’ though is that is leaves you wanting for more right up until the very last second. It keeps you on your toes at all times, and is most definitely one of the very best horror films I’ve seen in a long time. You actually care about the characters here, you want them to survive from the infected, and feel a genuine connection with them. The idea of the film is excellent, and the way that it has been carried out in all areas truly is absolutely sensational.

It’s not often that you’ll come across a low budget horror film as high in quality as ‘Zombie Virus On Mulberry Street’, this really is a very impressive horror film, and Jim Mickle certainly shows supreme strength here as a director. This may be Mickle’s first feature film, but hopefully there’ll be many more to come from him in the future.

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