This latest production from The Asylum comes out swinging for the fences as we see a guy armed with a shotgun bloodily shooting up a group of zombies as blaring heavy metal music plays in the background. Expending multiple shots on his victims, who just won't stay down, the police eventually show-up to arrest him and when it turns out he didn't save a bullet for himself, he ends up at Harwood Maximum Security Prison charged with multiple counts of murder.

Not too long after entering the prison it turns out our shooter has been infected by an experimental bio-toxin that not only kills anyone who comes into contact with his bodily fluid (be it blood, urine, etc.), but it also turns them into rabid, flesh-hungry zombies. This doesn't bode well for our strict warden and his guards who have to deal with an outbreak of the undead. It also isn't good for government investigator Samantha Beckett (Bay Bruner), who has been sent in by top secret agency the "CDC" to try and contain the virus.

Containing tons of sped-up attack sequences more in tune with such modern day zombie flicks like 28 Days Later... and the Dawn Of The Dead remake, Dead Men Walking is a pretty passable flick that can't deliver on its promising box art or good premise of setting the whole thing inside a prison. It does manage to sling a whole slew of gore effects at the viewer, and they're decent looking, but director/editor Peter Mervis stages all his zombie attack scenes much too chaotically and edits the entire thing with such quick jump cuts and blurring effects that it feels more like you're watching a low-budget, and uninteresting, video game.

That's just one of the things keeping, Dead Men Walking firmly in "skip it" territory. It also doesn't help that the acting is, for the most part, pretty weak (especially Bruner who is completely unconvincing) and that it relies on dumb logic to kick the entire thing into gear (seems our killer can puke blood all over everyone and nobody really bats an eyelid over it). The film also overuses sound effects to try and trick you into thinking more is going on than they show - and it just doesn't work.

However, there are some positive things to be gotten from the movie as it's marginally better than most of the independent zombie movies out there, it has enough balls to show some small children being eaten (even if we're never sure just what the Hell they're doing in a prison in the first place), and Chriss Anglin turns in a decent performance as the hard-assed head guard.

Nothing at all original and not nearly as exciting as it could've been, Dead Men Walking is an okay attempt - it's just too bad the location wasn't exploited more. And it seems that The Asylum must have gotten a deal on their filming location as their next film, Shape Shifter, was apparently shot back-to-back with this one. Keep an eye out and you'll see regular Asylum writer-director Leigh Scott (nee Slawner) in a bit role.

Visit The Asylum for more info. (Chris Hartley, 12/4/05)

Directed By: Peter Mervis.
Written By: Mike Watt.

Starring: Bay Bruner, Brick Firestone, Chriss Anglin, James Ferris.

Picture Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen.

Picture Quality: The first effort from The Asylm shot using DV, Dead Men Walking suffers from a bit of a soft picture at times but generally holds up pretty well and is solid throughout.

Extras: The usual batch of extras from The Asylum as we get a trailer (plus trailers for The Beast Of Bray Road, Shape Shifter, Frankenstein Reborn, and The Girl In The Basement), a "making of" featurette, and the expected group commentary.