"Evilution" review

Evilution (2008)

Director: Chris Conlee
Writer: Brian Patrick O'Toole (writer)

Jonathan Breck ... Col Serna
James Duval ... Asia Mark
Guillermo Díaz ... Killah-B
Noel Gugliemi ... Random
Peter Stickles ... Stanfa
Nathan Bexton ... The Manager
Eric Peter-Kaiser ... Darren Hall
Tim Colceri ... Sgt. Gabriel Collins
Bruna Rubio ... Random's girl
Marie Antoinette ... Infected Tenant
Sandra Ramírez ... Madeline 'Maddie' Gilbert
Katie Cazorla ... Nikki

I was sent this DVD screener. The army is experimenting with a deadly toxin which turns people into mindless zombies. An army captain escapes from the Iraq war to bring this important weaponized biological agent back to America. 28 days later he has rented a terrible apartment in order to continue his research into how his evil red liquid is able to turn an ordinary human into a raging cannibal. The local gangbangers stop by to welcome him to the neighborhood. The captain sizes them up as great guinea pigs. Soon the toxin is released and the mutated zombies rampage through the apartment building.

What is it about the zombies of today? They are so much faster and stronger than their previous incarnations. I miss the old zombies who would lumber around as their limbs slowly rotted away. The current crop of the undead is more athletic and powerful than they were even when they were alive. Dying was the best thing to ever happen to them. The zombies in "Evilution" are no exception as they chase down any fresh meat they see with amazing corpse-like agility.

Once the gangbanger gets infected the movie kicks into gear. The apartment building's residents gets turned into mutants fairly quickly. There's plenty of blood and guts as the zombies harvest various organs for dinner. I can't say I was really shocked by any of the horror scenes as it felt like I had seen it all before. Biting arms, biting throats, blood squirts, screams etc. You know the drill. But I was slightly shocked by the (lack of) nudity on the part of the main B-movie babe.

You can always tell whether or not a girl is going to take her top off in a B-movie by how earnestly she's acting. One of the army guy's neighbors invites him to dinner and shows off her amazing cleavage during the main course. As I watched her act her heart out, I knew she was never going to get naked. She was trying too hard. My fears were confirmed when later on there was a half-hearted sex scene in which she kept her dress on. This is a B-movie sin. Never show off a woman's cleavage unless you plan on having a payoff scene where she rips her top off.

On the flip side of that argument, you can always tell when a woman is going to get naked in a B-movie. This one's not too hard to figure out. One scene had a blonde woman come walking into the hallway with just a towel on as the zombies were running riot. I knew that towel wasn't going to last long. Sure enough, the towel was the first thing to go as the zombies leapt for her naked body. It's that kind of attention to the exploitation details I appreciate. Point for "Evilution" for that scene.

Overall, "Evilution" is a decent B-flick with elements of "Demons", "Shivers" and "28 Days Later". It moves along and gives you a healthy helping of gore to go with your movie night. If you need another fast moving zombie flick, it's worth checking out.

SCORE: 2.5 out of 4 zombie demons