Yes, I am a sucker for all things zombie, and more than often that fascination leads me to watch some very questionable movies. Questionable even though the DVD cover makes the movie seem a lot more interesting than it actually turned out to be. And "Zombie Massacre 2: Reich of the Dead" was no exception.This movie was a drag to get through, especially because it was unfathomably slow paced. You are more than 30 minutes into the movie before the first zombie rears its ugly head. Ugly head indeed. Especially because all zombies were outfitted with what could best be described as latex masks bought at a local Halloween vendor. But hey, points for trying at least. And hand on heart, then a fake latex mask still is better than just some poor gray make-up on the face.But the movie is slow paced and very little of any interest happens throughout the entire movie, and there is not even enough action throughout the movie to make up for the lack of speed and progress. And a storyline so simple that even an actual dead person can keep up with it is insulting to the audience. There are no surprises, no twists, no turns, no nothing here to be had. I suffered through the movie so you don't have to.The story is about a small group of American soldiers trapped behind enemy lines in Nazi Germany during World War II. Trapped and pinned down by enemy fire, they seek shelter in an abandoned Nazi compound. But some foul and sinister secret broods in the musky old Building.Right. Well, the storyline was straight forward, I will say that much. But way too simple to be entertaining. And the make-up and special effects were just downright bad. Not bad enough to actually be funny and entertaining because they are bad. Just plain bad.The acting in "Zombie Massacre 2: Reich of the Dead" was adequate for a movie such as this. I have seen much worse acting in low budget zombie movies because, so at least the movie had that working in its favor.And the atmosphere of the movie was also working well in favor of the movie, because there was a good sense of the movie actually taking place during World War II. And it is always a plus in my book when Germans actually do speak German in war movies. So a rotten thumb up for that as well. Oh, and also the props and costume department should get some credit, because they added some authenticity to the movie as well with what they managed to put together.However, the overall movie was just a stinker. Pardon the pun. If you enjoy zombie movies, then "Zombie Massacre 2: Reich of the Dead" is not a good choice for a night's worth of entertainment, as there are far better movies available.

Low-budget movies are often met with a stupid viewer attitude that says, constantly, "I'm better than this movie I'm watching." I think it's better to ask what one would want from the film and then to see if it delivers.In this case, like the first ZM film, we have cardboard characters, poor pacing/scripting, and an overuse of CG effects. The good news is that, like the first film, we also get some good make-up work and practical gore (although it's odd that we only see two or three zombie types, the directors having gone to budget-friendly masks and a uniform clothing option that doesn't do the movie any favors).But yet the thing's still watchable, largely due to the fine lead performances by Andrew Mills and Aaron Stielstra (Van Husen's cameo is a bit underwhelming, but I think that has more to do with scripting and a short production schedule than his work). A lot of the reviews here say the acting's bad, but I'm not sure what they're seeing. The acting amongst the squad is certainly a bit over-the- top, but that doesn't mean it's bad. It wouldn't be in place in a film like Under the Skin, but for this genre stuff, stylized acting makes sense and gives the film what little tone and drive it has. although that's maybe not being fair to the direction and production design which are mostly strong and good for a few great shots amidst all the CG splizz-ing of uniform-zombie-heads.

How to start?Acting is bad. Long stares (almost South Park style long) and low dialogue make it pretty unwatchable. I rarely don't finish a movie, but with this one I was tempted so hard just to let it go. But I endured. First zombie appears after 30 minutes of our soldiers wandering around the forest, and when he appears, he cries. Never before heard of a zombie crying, but hey, first time for everything. The logic of characters doesn't exist, they behave like children, not like soldiers.But masks are decent, gore when displayed is well done, and the scenery is well picked. Other than that, just not worth the time.

If you like watching poorly acted soldiers exchanging nonsensical banters about war while occasionally shooting Nazi zombies, you might last the first act. However, if you want actually plot or coherent dialogues, you'll do better watching bloopers from any other war movie. This is as vague as narrative as it can be, even by standard of B-movie.There's basically no structure to the story at all. People would tell war stories for half of the movie, engage in obscure overly dramatic military propaganda and suddenly the shooting starts to happen. Characters pop out of nowhere and disappear altogether from the story, no one knows what happen to that one guy who was there earlier nor do they seem to care.Zombie and Nazi are mixed into the narrative, yet the soldiers' reactions are inconsistent. It's as though someone shuffles random screenplays and just tosses them together. Acting is wooden, not that the material offers anything conclusive. It's marred with vague gibberish and at times dreamy near hallucinogenic scenes. Don't expect any finesse to technical aspect either, cinematography and effect are low budget mediocrity.A lot of pretentious talk about war without war itself, it will painfully bores audience like zombie bites and by now capitalizing on zombie fevers feels like an old gimmick.