This stars Steven Seagal. When I started the movie, I wasn't sure what was going on in it. The introduction only establishes the world that it takes place in. None of the characters are introduced, and their motivation is not explained. They go into the building, because it's too dangerous to be out in the open during the night. Their difficulty in getting out doesn't make sense either. Most of the routes out through lower levels have been blocked off. So why don't they leave the way they came in? This is mentioned, but it isn't addressed.
(I found an explanation for why the characters are in this hospital. One of the groups is looking for penicillin to treat pneumonia, the other group is hiding there because one of them is familiar with the building. Not much of a reason. Also, their incentive for getting out soon is that the power is failing in the building, and if the emergency power runs out, the main exit will be permanently locked. We'll ignore that it doesn't make sense.)
The movie does create a ticking clock scenario, by making it so that the military will be bombing the building at dawn. The reason that the building has to be bombed at that point in time is unclear. Wouldn't they have all day to do that?
Even though most of the population seems to be vampire/zombies, there's still a functioning government? They refer to one of the characters as being from the State department.
The direction is borderline. There are slow motion shots that are sloppily done, and don't seem to even focus on something of interest. The editing is awkward, and makes the action hard to follow. The action isn't exciting, either. I don't think I expected much from this, but the action seemed dull, and usually nonsensical. Sometimes, a single bullet would be enough to kill of the infected. Other times, a dozen hits were needed.
The movie was brave in one regard - there are two instances of infected children being killed. These are both done off-screen, but it's nice to see them being willing to go that route. Plus, there's a scene where one of the heroes gets bit, and Seagal expresses some sadness and regret, but quickly kills that person off, and moves on. This is a stereotypical scene in any of these types of movies, and it was nice to see it handled in the most matter-of-fact way possible.
None of that is to say that this is a good movie.
You know, The Room had a budget of around 6M. This had a budget of around 9M. And this one used plenty of footage appropriated from other sources. Despite the technical problems of The Room, I'd say that they made a better use of their money. This movie was hard to watch, only because it wasn't engaging at all. None of the characters are worth remembering. The tension in the movie feels forced. The script is scattershot, with scenes and dialogue having no particular connection to everything else that happens.
There are plenty of recycled sets in this movie. We see the same hallway many times, but at least they were willing to change the decoration.
It isn't clear how long the infection has been going around. When they raid the cafeteria, they make mention of the food being a couple months old. I'll assume they were talking about the prepared food. None of it was moldy.
Despite the infection only being about "a couple months old" they make several references to the infected "evolving." They aren't reproducing. There has only been one generation of the infected.
I'm sure I'm nitpicking that one. For an action movie to feel this dull...
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