This week\u2019s minor VOD releases feature zombies in post-apocalyptic Canada and on a New Jersey movie set, plus a loser looking for his dog and a bunch of famous houses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Die Alone<\/em><\/strong> (VOD and select theaters October 18):<\/strong> Carrie-Anne Moss plays a badass warrior who rescues a confused young man and teaches him about their post-apocalyptic world, but Die Alone<\/em> is no The Matrix<\/em>. It\u2019s no Memento<\/em>, either, although Moss\u2019 character may also be messing with the memories of the amnesiac man she claims to be helping. Mae (Moss) offers to take care of Ethan (Douglas Smith), who\u2019s lost and disoriented following a car accident with his girlfriend Emma (Kimberly-Sue Murray) as they were fleeing from an ongoing zombie outbreak. The plant-based zombies are impressive creations, but the excessively somber story is a slog as it meanders toward a fairly obvious twist. Moss does her best as a character whose true motivations have to be held back for the sake of the big reveal, and she\u2019s still great at expressing steely resolve. Smith is much shakier as the perpetually perplexed Ethan, and at a certain point he doesn\u2019t seem worth the effort, either from Mae or from the audience. Grade: C<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Alien Country<\/em><\/strong> (VOD October 22):<\/strong> There\u2019s enough enthusiasm to director and co-writer Boston McConnaughey\u2019s sci-fi comedy to carry it for a little while, but the characters and concepts aren\u2019t nearly as funny as McConnaughey makes them out to be. As demolition derby driver Jimmy (K.C. Clyde) and his singer-songwriter girlfriend Everly (co-writer Renny Grames) get more involved in fending off an alien invasion in their small Utah town, the movie loses much of its charm, and McConnaughey\u2019s manic sense of humor starts to sputter out. There\u2019s still some cool creature design for the alien invaders, particularly on a small budget, and the actors throw themselves into the silliness, although the more the movie explains about the extraterrestrial attackers, the less it holds together. There\u2019s also no reason to get emotionally invested in the status of Jimmy and Everly\u2019s relationship as they navigate an unexpected pregnancy amid the potentially world-ending attack. Alien Country<\/em> ends with a tease for another tongue-in-cheek take on a genre staple, but one dose of McConnaughey\u2019s shtick seems like plenty. Grade: C+<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n All You Need Is Blood<\/em><\/strong> (VOD and select theaters October 25):<\/strong> Writer-director Cooper Roberts credits himself here with the name of his main character, but it\u2019s safe to say that this isn\u2019t a Fabelmans<\/em>-style recreation of his actual childhood filmmaking experience. Teenager Bucky Le Boeuf (Logan Riley Bruner) is an annoyingly pretentious aspiring auteur, who only reluctantly plans to make a \u201czom-dram\u201d so he can fulfill the horror requirements of a local film festival and win a cash prize. Bucky lucks into verisimilitude when a mysterious meteorite changes his dad (Tom O\u2019Keefe) into an actual zombie, and instead of mourning the loss of his father, he excitedly incorporates this new development into his film. Roberts aims for a gore-filled celebration of the joy of filmmaking, but the characters are so insufferable that he instead ends up achieving the opposite result. Some of the low-fi practical effects are endearing, but the shrill comedy (especially Mena Suvari as a demanding diva) is grating, and Roberts drags out the thin, tedious story. At least Bucky only bothers with making short films. Grade: C<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n