| The Vanguard | 
 enlarge | Director: Matthew Hope
Actors: Shiv Grewal, Emma Choy, Farhan Khan, Ray Bullock Jr., Matthew Hope
Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.97
Buy Used: $7.83
You Save: $12.14 (61%)
New (40) Used (18) from $7.83
Avg. Customer Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 73166
Format: Color, Dvd-video, Widescreen, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: Unrated
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 89
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.4 x 0.7
MPN: 16043
UPC: 013131604399
EAN: 0013131604399
ASIN: B001AYWY7W
Theatrical Release Date: 2008
Release Date: September 30, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Studio: Starz/sphe Release Date: 09/23/2008
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| Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
 wow... just bad November 20, 2008
The movie was bad....
I love zombie movies... and especially movies that make you think.
The back of the box reads nice. If only its content lived up.
It was dull... long... ultimately boring. Horrible effects, and im not saying that like unless it had a big studio behind it its not up to par... but i would have settled for cheesy old Romero make-up. The acting is bad... apparently all roaming mercenaries with chips in the backs of their necks have mohawks.... and the main character.. its been a while i cant remember if he was deaf or mute, but wow bad acting... like cheesy mexican soap opera bad... *insert Pablo Francisco joke (MARIA!!)*
 A review from Zombiefans! October 30, 2008
Impressive...
1) ACTING: The acting was really good for a low/no budget indie. I was really impressed. Especially with the lead. If he had not been as good as he was, this movie would've failed, because his character would not have been so convincing.
2) PRODUCTION: Wow! A low/no budget zombie movie with a musical score. Who'da thought? In regards to other aspects of the movie, sadly, the lack of a major budget held it back. It is very difficult to show the after effects of an apocalyptic world, when there is no money in the budget to do so. That said, the director did everything he could with his minimal budget, and must have stretched it to the limits.
3) THE ZOMBIES: The zombies in The Vanguard are very animal-like. They seem to travel in packs, all hunched over like Gorillas, and when one of their own falls, they don't stop to assist, they continue on. A few times I got the impression that the packs of zombies at times just wanted to be left alone, such as some of the herds of wild animals in Africa. They'll acknowledge you, but if you leave them alone, it appears that they will leave you alone. This seemed to happen most near the end of the movie. The zombie make up, on the other hand, was pretty bottom of the barrel. From a distance, it looked okay, with the creepy eye contacts and dark veins on their faces, along with the ever present "raccoon eyes." But, up close, it is painfully clear that this was just black make up around the eyes and the veins seemed to be almost like tribal markings than grotesque rotted veins on their faces.
4) THE CAUSE: Man-made serum to control population.
5) NUDITY: None.
FINAL: Overall, I really enjoyed this movie. I usually am apprehensive when viewing a new entry in the low/no budget indie zombie movie section. But this one was a nice surprise. There was enough interest generated where I wanted to stay in the movie and didn't step away to check the clock or run to the frig for some snacks. I would like to see the director get some serious money and remake this with what it really needs; a budget. I think then that this would be like a smart man's zombie movie. Pick this one up today!
RATING: 4 out of 5
"...food and water is scarce..." October 29, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
The above is seen in the opening text scene of the film, explaining the situation in which the characters find themselves. One such technical error might be forgivable, but this is only one of several. Examples: the two little hatchets the protagonist uses to waste zombies always make a ringing sound when striking flesh (or when being removed from same); the film's makers can't decide if the zombies are the way they are due to a drug or an infection; we have the worst zombie slaughter sequence ever put to film; and perhaps the worst human slaughter sequence ever put to film. We also have one too many Christ figures. The worst of all though is early in the film there is a sequence where a rifle, the muzzle conveniently out of the frame, is fired. The only problem is the recoil doesn't coincide with the sound of the weapon discharging. It's off by a quarter of a second or so. The effect was very noticeable. There are additional problems with the film that are not technical in nature, but I already cannot recommend the movie so I'll dispense with a discussion of these.
There are a handful of things in the movie that can be looked upon positively. While the dialog is bad, the acting is passable for the most part. The cinematography is competent, and the score is suitably creepy from time to time. The zombie make-up effects are slightly above average. A rather incoherent effort is made to reference man's inhumanity to man and all that (actually more of an evil elite ruining everybody else sort of angle), which made the plot at least a bit more interesting. However, these cannot save the project.
I'm impressed whenever anyone manages to make a feature film. However, this one should have been screened and shelved. This cast and crew have potential, but need a far more disciplined approach to deliver a good film.
I suppose one could make an argument that this movie should receive two stars, but more than that? Sorry, but no. Recommended? Afraid not.
 restores my faith in UK indie horror October 17, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I was very pleasantly surprised by this movie.After some recent bitterly disappointing entries into the genre ( Zombie Diaries, Small Town Folk etc) I felt that the Vanguard had a much clearer vision of the film It wanted to be.
The other great thing about this movie is that the performances are uniformly excellent.
The film isn't perfect, the paces flags somewhat in the middle, but its a cut above most entries in the zombie genre
one of the most original zombie flicks in years October 10, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
finally a different take on the zombie genre that isn't dumbed down this one has a decent plot to it and the zombies look pretty creepy almost like the deadites in Evil Dead the gore is quite impressive
i never even heard of this movie until i stumbled across it in a horror section at Walmart of all places i must say i am pleasantly surprised at how good this movie is i'm sure there will be tons of horror critics trashing this movie because they only watch Romero zombie flicks but in the horror genre EVERYTHING has been re-hashed and re-done all that matters is if it's done right
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