Hey boils and ghouls! Yes, I am back at it again with another game of horror movie chance. Last week’s film was a very interesting take on the zombie sub-genre. 2008’s Pontypool was a winner in a big way with me. As of late, my horror movie gambling record hasn’t been what you would call stellar.
As fictional Cleveland Indians manager Lou Brown once said…
So, I’m keeping my spirits high for a WIN! Now you all know what time it is….
SPIN THAT SHIT!
Officer Downe (2016)
Based off a popular graphic novel by Joe Casey and Chris Burnham, Officer Downe takes us down into the violent streets of Los Angeles. We follow Downe (Kim Coates – Silent Hill, Sons of Anarchy), as he hunts down the wicked and dispatches justice the old-fashioned way, lead justice. Only there’s a catch, Downe is basically a zombie. That can be repeatedly resurrected and returned to duty the very next day with advanced technology. With the help of a young rookie, can Downe take down the crime syndicate known as the ‘Fortune 500’?
When I landed on this film, I was curious about its production. To my surprise, the film is directed by M. Shawn Crahan. Heavy Metal fans may know him better as ‘Clown’ or #6, a percussionist for the band Slipknot. As you can probably imagine, the film is riddled with metal music, it also includes an interesting cameo by Slipknot’s lead singer Corey Taylor.
Onto the meat and potatoes. Officer Downe is a genre-hybrid. It is an action-packed, gore fest. There were no real horror elements to the film, other than the copious amounts of violence and gore. The CGI techniques were a little off-putting, but I have seen much worse. This film is a ripe example of how practical effects could have helped the final product. The acting was okay. Even Kim Coates was subdued with lack of dialogue, save for a few cliché one-liners.
Having not read the graphic novel, I wasn’t sure what to expect from Officer Downe. I didn’t know what to think about the over the top villains. They felt cartoonish to me, almost harking back to the cornball characters of the old Batman TV series from the 1960’s. Which I’m sure was the idea, but just made the tone of the film feel slapstick. Downe at times, just felt like a cliché film. With that all being said, this is still a very enjoyable film. At times reminding me of the absurdity of Maniac Cop, only times 100.
These negatives are pretty miniscule. This is just a fun movie. Do not go into this flick expecting a dark tone like Maniac Cop. Because Officer Downe is not your prototypical horror film. But I believe there is enough violence and gore to deliver the goods to any horror hound.
Enough jibber jabber!
So far Coach Lou Brown is right. That’s two in a row!
IMDb: 4.1/10 (too Low)
ZombiSurvivor: 6.0/10
Thanks for reading folks and as always, LIKE and FOLLOW The Horror Syndicate for all your horrific needs!
#bsr
-ZS
