Bahi Ghubril, Christopher Hatherall, Emma Choy, Jack Bailey, Karen Admiraal ...( see more  see more... ) , Martin Hobb , Ray Bullock Jr , Rob Cooper , Shiv Grewal , Steve Weston , Terry Cole

This gore-laden horror film imagines a terrifying future in which overpopulation and war have left the world a crozzled hull, beset by ragtag bands of human wreckage struggling for survival. If that w...( read more  read more... )eren't bleak enough, there's a cannibalistic twist to this dystopian scenario--zombies. THE VANGUARD follows a solitary man, pursued by both the living and the dead, as he fights to stay alive.

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19% liked it

312 ratings

Unrated

Directed by: Matthew Hope

Release Date: April 26, 2008

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DVD Release Date: September 23, 2008

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Flixster Reviews (82)


  • October 21, 2009
    I am not sure if these Biosyn infected people qualify as zombies, but that broaches the whole "Do infected rage people who break some traditional zombie rules still count as zombies?" And I say yes, because they are addressing the same issues of apocalypse, human vs. altered huma...( read more)n, survival, etc. And let us not forget that the "modern zombie" (the Romero zombie) is quite a departure from the pre-existing Voudon zombie, so it is only fair that the infection zombie make some big departures from the undead cannibal or modern zombie. Still, these things are not strictly zombies and sorry to cut into a brief genre analysis, but that is what the person I was watching this with posed to me so I carry over this awareness into this review.

    In terms of visuals, the cinematography is much better than expected for a low budget; in fact, it has some very beautiful highlights that definitely registers above average. Some little CGI bullets and bullet flash are annoying,but the CGI "throbbing/pulsating infection spots" look incredibly cool.

    The story is cool but not totally innovative (synopsized) for the apocalyptic genre, offering more of a mashing of many elements we have seen and read before. It is executed nicely with rapid plot turns to keep one engaged. The acting is a bit on the poor side, which is the only big problem with this film. The Biosyn-zombie creatures also walk very funny (they run hunch-backed) so it is tough to take them seriously. The rest of the plot focuses on corporation soldiers and "resistance" soldiers and other fringe survivors, which is more interesting and is obviously all about revealing what the whole Biosyn thing is and why it is.
  • February 15, 2009
    Low budget zombie-esque yarn about a man who may be the key to curing the world of the 'infected'.
    Has some interesting concepts but the problem lies in its muddled and somewhat derivative script.
    Oh and a very distracting beard.
    Not a bad effort just kinda boring and confused.
  • December 4, 2008
    Here's an interesting take on the zombie genre that leaves you wondering on the outcome. Quite good. Worth seeing!
  • October 10, 2008
    Well first off flixster needs to fix this cause its not even the right year or anything for this movie now with that being said thiis movie followes the last few survivors of a world gone mad seems some doctors released a virus into people that turns them into rage crazied zombie...( read more) like creatures and now these people must fight off them in order to live and one of them might hold the key to a cure. I gave this movie a shot and it wasnt all bad decent story and characters also of course the usual blood amount you would see in this kinda movie reminded me of 28 days later crossed with the last man on earth just not done as good as either one of them still though worth given it a watch.
  • November 19, 2009
    In the year 2015, the last oil fields were destroyed in a global war. The planet is now over populated and famine is taking over. Corporate scientists started experimenting with human subjects hoping to ensure the continuing existence of the human race but instead the subjects tu...( read more)rned into zombies. It's up to one human survivor known only as Max who lives in the wilderness, for some reason he is immune to the zombie bites and his blood is actually the cure to this infection called Byosin, so now everyone is after this axe wielding, spear throwing, ass kicking loner, the military, the corporations and especially the zombies.
    Interesting take on zombie films, a bit slow half way through the movie but then the action picks up towards the end, good storyline, decent acting and decent looking zombies. This film is worth checking out.
  • July 30, 2009
    The year is 2015 and the oil fields have been destroyed during a global war, the world is running out of resources and people are starving to death so the obvious solution is to kill off the surplus population so the rest can survive. Scientists develop a drug which will pacify...( read more) the unlucky chosen ones before it kills them. Unfortunately, it doesn't completely kill them and they become 'Biosyns', the living dead. However, none of that actually happens in the film, it's all told to us at the start. We're not told why most of the population wasn't killed off as a result of the global war... but maybe I'm looking too much into that...

    The film itself is about Max who is a lone human, struggling to live day to day, while also killing any zombies that cross his path. He then meets up with some rogue soldiers who are meant to have been off hunting biosyns but went their own way instead. It soon comes to light that Max is immune to the bite from the zombies and his blood may actually be an antidote for those already infected. The real soldiers have been sent to find and kill him because they don't want an antidote found and they end up killing someone he has become fond of so Max goes a bit Rambo and takes out the whole troop single-handed. By the end of the film he has realised that his real enemy are the soldiers and the government, not the zombies.

    This is a very low budget, independant film and it's not good at all. In fact, I'd go as far as to say it's boring. The first 30 minutes have no dialogue, other than a voiceover of Max's thoughts because he is meant to be a deaf mute but then we find out he isn't, he just pretends to be, for no apparent reason. The whole thing looks like some mates had an idea while out in the woods one day (although thankfully it doesn't have the dreaded shaky cam) and spent all their budget on the fake blood because it has no other effects. The decaying flesh of the zombies is literally drawn on with make up which wouldn't have been quite so bad if they hadn't insisted on close ups. The zombies themselves are fast and, like those in 28 Days/Weeks Later, they're also not your typical re-animated dead body kind of zombie. For some unknown reason, they also happen to run hunched over and loping like some kind of monkey.

    I bought this film (thankfully very cheaply) because I read the synopsis and thought it sounded quite good but I would have been better off spending my £2 on chocolate because it wasn't even worth that. I'm not a fan of remaking films just for the sake of it but this would benefit from a bigger budget remake. The story itself isn't so bad but whatever entertainment value it might have had is ruined for the want of some decent actors, some props, special effects and a more comprehensible dialogue.

    I wouldn't recommend this unless you are having trouble sleeping because it's not entertaining at all. I almost gave it an extra star purely because they managed to make the story sound like something that would be worth watching, as you will find out to your cost when you see it in a rental store and think 'that sound's quite good, it can't be as bad as all that!' Well, yes, it really can!
  • July 26, 2009
    ca c'est pourri solide
  • July 15, 2009
    I know it will suck as much ass as Neve Campbell, but what the hell?
    I'm bound to have seen worse.
  • July 11, 2009
    Looks good.

    Recommended by MsNightWatch.
  • July 11, 2009
    A low-badget movie with zombies, which has a few good moments but it's mostly;

    WEIRD,

    Slow,

    and Boring

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