Behind the Couch

2010 Dirs. Howard J Ford and John Ford When the last evacuation flight out of war-ravaged West Africa crashes off the coast, the sole survivor – an American military engineer – teams up with a Ghanaian soldier searching for his son. The pair try to reach the last remaining military airport in an attempt to escape a zombie plague sweeping across the sun-burnished continent – dodging attacks from the hordes of living dead as they go. Eschewing the usual zombie movie title ('something' of the 'something' dead), the simply titled  The Dead adopts a more thoughtful approach to the lumbering zombie sub-genre, and aligns itself more with the likes of Romero than Resident Evil . Despite the ultra-low budget it is filmed in the most breath-taking manner. Opening with a scene that suggests this could be the Laurence of Arabia of zombie films (man emerging slowly from stifling wilderness), the film instantly establishes its quiet, reflective mood. Beautifully photographe...