Sabbath

A Review by Steve Miller

Sabbath (2005, direct to-DVD release by Brain Damage Films in Feb. of 2008)
Starring: Ashley Gallo, Bobby Williams, David Crawford, Rob Holmes, and
Cory Wisberger
Director: William Victor Schotten
Revenant Rating: Three of Ten Hungry Zombies

Geller (Gallo), Mack, (Williams), and a trio of oddball misfits (Crawford,
Holmes, and Wisberger) struggle to join forces and stay alive as the dead
rise from their graves. They are, literally, the last five living beings on
Earth, as it is Judgement Day and angelic beings and shadowy demons are
prowling around them, waiting and watching for one final event to occur.

"Sabbath" is a low-budget zombie picture that shows every indication of
being made with dedication and heart. It even shows that there was a fair
degree of talent at work in the cinematography department. It even has a
number of appealing aspects as far as the story goes. Unfortunately, it's
simply not very good. It is one of the dullest zombie movies I have ever
seen, tying with "Revolt of the Zombies" for the dubious honor.

Basically, the film suffers from all the usual flaws that are often found
in horror movies at this level. Establishing shots go on forever. Lots of
scenes of characters running, walking, or standing in forests with nothing
else really going on. Lame fight scenes that might have been less lame if
a) the director had attempted less of them, and b) more rehersal time had
gone into staging them--the climactic battle in the churchyard wold have
been so much better if it had been concentrated into about half or
one-third to the time it takes in the existing film. The actors mostly seem
lethargic, as if they are at a rehersal instead of actually making the
movie. Almost every scene continues well past the point where it should
have ended. There's also the sloppiness and shortcuts taken where just a
little extra effort or investment would have improved things
immensely--like giving the Angel of Death a scythe that looked like it
might actually cut something, and dressing the demons in black tights
instead of black jeans and sneakers.

In fact, "Sabbath" would have been far less boring if the director had
recognized that he was stretching about 45 minutes of movie to nearly twice
that length. It also would have been less boring if the script had seen a
couple more revisions and if it had ended up with a little more sound logic
to underpin the fact that the five main characters in the film aren't the
final five living beings on Earth by accident.

Late in the film (VERY late) we learn that all five characters had some
part to play in the accidental death of Geller's daughter. The Angel of
Death and some other angel (the Angel of Mercy?) are waiting to judge and
admit just one of them as the last soul to be admitted to Heaven. However,
the timing of the little girl's death as given in the film makes no sense,
as she supposedly died two full weeks prior to the events of the film. We
are to believe that on the ENTIRE planet Earth, no other events of that
nature occured for two weeks? These five characters being the last people
on Earth make no sense if a little thought is applied, and the film would
have been far stronger if the death of the little girl had occured the day
before the Judgement Day.

I really wish I could like this movie more, because it has some aspects to
it I really enjoyed.

I liked mystery of the grim reaper, the angel, and the evil spirits (or
demons, whatever they were) creeping about or even assisting the film's
main characters unseen by them; that's something I've never seen in a
zombie picture before. One of the film's best moments happens when the Grim
Reaper smites a zombie just as it was about to attack Bobby Williams, and
he is then left trying to figure out why the zombie just keeled over. I
also liked the way the film overtly got into the the mystical Judgement Day
aspects of mass-zombie attacks instead of presenting it as one character's
superstition and then dismissing it with a scientific explanation. I also
liked the very end of the movie, even if I 'm a bit unsure of what exactly
the director was trying to convey.

The best thing I can say about "Sabbath" is that it kept me watching.
Although I found it to be as boring as "Revolt of the Zombies",
the bit with the angels, demons, and a mystical Judgement Day unfolding
around the characters gave this zombie flick an unusual dimension. In fact,
that whole aspect of the film may make it worth checking out for
experienced watchers of the zombie genre.

Read more reviews by Steve Miller at
http://rottentomatoes.com/vine/j/SteveMiller