Directed by Darren Ripley
Review by David Carter


Released by Cinema Epoch
Running Time: 80 minutes
Rating: Not Rated
Color format: Color
Audio/Subtitles: 2.0 Stereo English
Region Code: 1, NTSC
Aspect Ratio: Widescreen
16:9 Enhanced: No
Special Features: Short film “Park & Die”
Trailer Online: No


Short Version: Zombies attack Wales!!!

We are overrun with zombie movies here at FilmFanaddict headquarters. We receive dozens every year and I’m confident in the knowledge that the amount we receive is merely the tip of the iceberg. There are so many being made at any given time that it is entirely possible that every American citizen will have directed at least one zombie movie by 2015, possibly by a government mandate. Okay, perhaps I’m being a little facetious, but the point is we get everything from no-budget DIY releases to major studio zombie films from every corner of the globe, so the trend shows no sign of slowing down. In 2008, Wales finally capitulated to the trend and made THE GATEKEEPER, a zombie film that pulls in influences from a lot of different sources.

THE GATEKEEPER begins appropriately enough with a man named Harris discovering that “the gatekeeper” has died. The importance of this event is left nebulous for a while as the film shifts focus to three groups of travelers: a hockey team, a couple on a first date, and an American soldier under military arrest. The three groups collide, literally, in the small village of Purgatory, Wales, where Harris joins them and tells them of the grave danger that awaits them. “The gatekeeper” was in charge of keeping a group of one hundred year old Haitian zombies hidden from the world and, with the gatekeeper’s death, they’ve escaped and began doing what comes naturally to zombies: feasting on the flesh of the living. The strangers quickly band together to fend off the zombie horde, but as the casualties on their side begin to mount up, it becomes clear that Harris isn’t being entirely honest with them.

While there are certainly hints of other films in THE GATEKEEPER, its biggest influence appears to be zombie video games. The female lead is coincidentally dressed in an identical fashion to a character in the Resident Evil games and she just so happens to be a crack shot despite being a pub waitress. Additionally, the characters find a large cache of weapons hidden in an unlikely place, another example of video game logic used instead of movie logic or even real world logic. I will give the film credit for going with the Haitian voodoo-made zombies rather than the biological or supernatural kinds. It gives the film a unique quality since it isn’t the path that these films usually take.

Apart from the deviations above, things progress exactly as to be expected for this type of film. The Welsh countryside is a novel choice of setting but since most of the film takes place at night, it doesn’t impact the story significantly. Characters hide from zombies, zombies burst through walls, characters shoot zombies in the head: the standard fare. THE GATEKEEPER moves along a very nice pace, though, and the film thankfully avoids becoming overly burdened by bickering characters as so often is the case with these films. THE GATEKEEPER has not one but two false endings, the second of which isn’t really false and is then repeated unnecessarily.

Cinema Epoch’s DVD looks good but is short on extras. The only one included is a short film by students at Woodbury University entitled “Park & Die.” THE GATEKEEPER has a few nice touches but ultimately does little to separate itself from the ever-growing pack of zombie films on the market. If I had to pick the film’s best qualities it would have to be the dialogue and performances, both of which were especially good considering that most zombie films only require their casts to run and scream. The special effects are atrocious, however. Decide which of those aspects is the most important to you beforehand and you won’t be disappointed.