Meat Market & Meat Market 2

Don't we all love zombie flicks? Well, we should. For low budget independent filmmakers, the bad walking, flesh rending, complexion challenged undead is an exploitable target, and rightfully so. It gives filmmakers a chance to use their make-up skills, there's built-in action to the story and plenty of opportunities for skewing society and social order.

Frontline Films and Brian Clement's MEAT MARKET & MEAT MARKET 2 are films that are fun and entertaining, prime examples of what can be done creatively on a shoe-string budget, a bunch of friends and a love for the genre.

Both films are unrated, the way I think all zombie films should be, and there is mucho violence, nudity and sex. Be sure to put the kids to bed before viewing this pair…smile.

The story of MEAT MARKET is centered around a medical use for nano technology that has mutated into a zombie creating epidemic, and the fight for survival is well under way from the very beginning of the film. In keeping with the true spirit of low budget films, Brian Clement has sprinkled originality and over-the-top story devices throughout the proceedings along with a wink and nod at society's attitude toward the homeless. Its interesting how when the epidemic is in it's early stages and the majority of the victims are the homeless, the city government is not particularly alarmed. Of course that changes when the violence escalates to the point where the police and army are hopelessly outnumbered, and they are soon taking the pestilence home. And even though there is screen time given to a scientist struggling to find a cure and undo the disaster he helped create, the film really is an exercise in survival. A pair of gun toting anti-heroes are joined in the battle against the zombies by a trio of sexually charged female vampires and a masked Spanish speaking wrestler, making for some very humorous moments as blood and brains are scattered to the four winds. In particular, Claire Westby and Alison Therriault carry the show as, respectively, Argenta, the tough chick searching the overrun city for her sister and Nemesis, the leader of the vampire trio with a serious taste for both flesh and blood. Both are able to survive the bloody fight and flee tribulations of the first film and headline the second, which in many ways parallels a relationship with the first film in ways that DAY OF THE DEAD follows up DAWN OF THE DEAD. Paul Pedrosa also stars as Shahrokh, the steady male presence whose poor eyesight affects his aim regularly in his gun battles against the zombies.

MEAT MARKET 2 is superior in many ways to the first, technically and story-wise, as writer/director Brian Clement begins the sequel shortly after the close of the first, with our survivors on the run, low on ammo and wounded members of their group fighting for their lives. A random rescue/encounter with a woman leads them into a forced existence within a survivalist community whose leader is big on leading from a first name basis. Our heroes are split up, enduring experimentation and torture until managing to reunite to bring down the house in an explosion final reel.

It's clear that Clement knows how to use a camera and has the imagination to make the most of very limited funds and equipment. It will be interesting in the future to see how he progresses as a filmmaker when budgets allow him the ability to more fully express his ideas.

Both films suffer a bit with their dialogue, but that aspect improves from the first film to the second. Justin Hagberg's music lends nice support to the gore, action and sex, and the overall production values are commendable. Special make-up effects by Nick Sheehan in the first film and Paul Semanda, Viviane Kardoush, Jason Ward and Petrina Hildebrand in the sequel are effectively ghoulish---blood, brains, and rotting flesh are well done and, like in all good zombie flicks, plentiful.

In the sequel, a pair of actors distinguish themselves. Rob Nesbitt adds fun as the nerdy yet powerful Bill, the community leader who believes in being people friendly. Playing the gleefully depraved character of the Chef, Dustan Roberts shows he could be a talent to watch for in the future. Cam Pipes also has a brief cameo portraying the masked Mexican wrestler El Diablo Azul, whose appearance is timely, to say the least.

For films made for less than a healthy car down payment, MEAT MARKET AND MEAT MARKET 2 not only excellent examples of ultra low budget genre films, but also a taste of Brian Clement and his crew's talent, passion and ingenuity.

And it would be remiss to not mention this warning to future viewers of the films:

Sex and grenades don't mix.