Paul Andrews Last Rites of the Dead is set in a world where the dead don't stay dead, any freshly deceased person returns to life as a zombie. Office worker Angela (Gina Ramsden) is shot dead by her abusive boyfriend Josh (Joshua Nelson) but she doesn't stay dead for long, Angela quickly learns that being a zombie is difficult. Your skin rots, you have no legal rights & you are treated as dirt by the living. As the debate rages over what should be done about the living dead a section of society who are against zombies having equal rights set up their own terrorist organisations who persecute the zombie population as they try to get on with their lives (death's?) in normal society. Josh is one such extremist & joins one such organisation & uses his knowledge of Angela to help further his cause...Edited, written, co-produced & directed by Matt Fratto who also co-composed the music score & also known under the title Zombies Anonymous I have to say I thought this was crap despite all the glowing reviews from people who seem to have seen it at some obscure film festival & somehow that makes it great. Unfortunately I had to endure the full almost two hour cut of this crap rather than the shorter US DVD version which apparently makes no sense but would have thankfully lasted for twenty odd minutes less, I just have no luck at all. Last Rites of the Living Dead is an all too obvious take on the issue of mass immigration & racist attitudes. I guess the filmmakers were trying to go down the George A. Romero route by mixing zombies & (rubbish unconvincing) gore with a little bit of social commentary & satire but fail miserably, I will give Last Rites of the Dead some credit as the initial ten or fifteen minutes are quite good as the script focuses on the plight of a zombie in the real world, the fact they wouldn't be entitled to any money or have any rights, adverts on telly for make-up to hide rotting skin, the issue of termination centres & the basic core of the film the racist attitudes of the living. But once all the clever little allegories & references are out of the way including a support group for zombies in which they call themselves the 'mortally challenged' the film focuses on the battle between some left wing Nazi style terrorist group who attack & kill zombies & Angela & her struggles to survive in the world as one of the living dead. The plot is poor, there's some crap about a zombie cult which in a way exonerates the racists & what they are doing, the character's are poor, the dialogue is rubbish with every other word being a profanity because that's as imaginative as the writers can be & the film never elaborates or builds on it's central premise & the issues & ideas it first brings up. I also thought the film was incredibly boring with poor narrative & a very bitty plot that falls apart at the end& becomes a mess.Don't let anyone con you into thinking this is gory, sure there's a bit of blood but it's very poorly realised with very watery blood & poor make-up effects created by the interestingly named 'Demonic Pumpkins' whoever they are. There's some decapitations, some severed heads placed on stakes, there's a few exploding heads, a few bites, a bit of flesh eating, some blood splatter & a really poor scene in which Angela cuts Josh's testicles off & he just literally stands there & lats her do it. I'm not being funny but if I was stabbed in the groin I would at least take a few steps back to try & get away from my attacker, wouldn't you? Or would you just stand there & let them continue to mutilate you? The zombies in this aren't a bad lot really, they still have their human personalities & even though some like to eat human flesh most don't. Bless 'em. Shot almost entirely during the day in the cast & crews homes there's nothing scary here, there's no tension or atmosphere & the action & set-pieces are poorly handled throughout.Shot in New York this has all the production value & polish of one of my holiday videos, it looks awful with a really digital video camcorder look to it that I despise so much. I really wish filmmakers would go back to using grainy 35mmm film. Sigh. The acting by no-one I have ever heard of is up to the standard of the rest of the production, basically it's crap.Last Rites of the Living Dead had a few promising Romero style touches & ideas at the start but it all goes downhill very quickly & I thought it was pretty crap all round. It tries to clever & say something about immigration & racism in particular but it forgets all about the entertainment value in the process.

ZRambeau First off let me say that this film should be examined within the confines of low budget horror films. Does it stack up against Dawn of the Dead or 28 Days Later? No. Those are examples of both realms of monetary breathing room, Dawn of the Dead- High, and 28 Days Later- medium. Zombie Anonymous or Last rites of the Dead had much less to work with. Having said that, this film was both innovative and thought provoking. Two things that money can't buy. the director Marc Fratto used some very interesting tools in his vision of life after death (meaning Zombification) Think Racism or something like it, also, think AA or something like it. Two concepts that have only been captured in a few other Zombie films. The acting is good for the most part, there are a few people who are in the peripheral cast that didn't quite cut it but this is to be expected for such an independent film. I only have two complaints, 1 the portrayal of ZA is nothing like AA or NA but more like group therapy, though, It fits when the movie shows the "darkside" of being a Zombie. 2 the action sequences seemed to draw on a little. The only reason I say that is because the story line and the concepts the director plays with were so interesting, I felt myself wanting more philosophy and well brain food (haha) As previously stated this film was thought provoking, I would like to thank the director Marc Fratto for a new idea in a hurting genre, see diary of the dead, and also congratulate him and his cast on a job well done.I found this movie at blockbuster of all places, Its a must see for anyone who enjoys the Zombie scene.

JoeB131 This movie screams "Student film project", which someone thought was good enough to make a quick buck off of and distribute into DVD.Not that bad of a film, it implies that a "Night of the Living Dead" type virus has hit that resurrects the recently dead, who still retain most of their mental faculties. THey try to go into a satire of modern life and discrimination, but they really don't quite pull it off. It follows the adventures of Angela, a girl killed by her abusive boyfriend, finding herself resurrected as one of the undead, and coming under discrimination in her new incarnation. Meanwhile, her ex-boyfriend has joined an anti-zombie hate group that hunts them down and kills them. Too many images of American flags, as though they want to equate America with intolerance, but hey, that's probably the kind of crap being taught at film schools today.Some of the scenes come off as amateur special effects guys showing their stuff with the undead makeup and the simulated (not very convincing) gore of people being eaten by zombies.Worth a rental? Yeah, if you're bored and want a good laugh.

koosnaff Firstly, I would like to say that I have seen many, many zombie films.A few of them were great, but most are poor, samey and just rip ideas from other films.Last Rites of the Dead was completely different. The story line was like a breath of fresh air, and a completely new take on the genre.There are a few scenes where the budget is obvious, but for the most part the f/x are quite impressive for an indie flick of this nature. (Although I will say look out for the bit of white fluff that is supposed to be something else!) The acting was energetic and passionate, without being over the top or false, and the dialogue was quite realistic. A credit to the script writer, and whoever did the casting.All in all, a good way to spend an hour and a half, and even if you are not a zombie fan, but have the stomach, it's worth watching as the film makes you think about how you treat people that are different to you.An interesting and entertaining way to make important social commentary.