Director – Olaf Ittenbach (Dard Divorce, The Burning Moon)
Starring – Michael Carr (Beyond Desire, Dream Stalker), Russell Friedenberg (Wind Walkers, Among Ravens), and Kimberly Liebe (Beyond the Limits, Sensitive Johnson)
Release Date – 2001
Rating – 2.5/5
Blu Release – 3.5/5
Olaf Ittenbach is a director that knows exactly how to bring the gore. I’m not a fan of gore without a plot and Ittenbach does a great job at delivering a story to viewers as a vehicle to get gore to them. I actually enjoy most of his films and always look forward to checking out one that I had never seen before. Several weeks back I was sent Legion of the Dead from Unearthed Films to review. This is one I had always wanted to see and was really looking forward to checking it out. I want to thank Unearthed and MVD for sending this one over.
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows two men who find themselves at the whim of a notorious serial killer. They are able to escape and find themselves in the middle of a small town miles away from anywhere where they meet a beautiful bartender but soon learn that the town is under control of a mysterious man and his legion of the dead who wants the bartender. **Spoiler Alert**
I went into this one really excited and found myself really loving the practical effects. Just like his previous films, Ittenbach delivered on the gore with this one. The film was visually stunning with some great performances but the story itself was a bit underwhelming especially if you grew up watching From Dusk Till Dawn like I did. I’ll explain that more in a moment.
The acting in this one was really fun. The film is fairly consistent from the entire cast, however, it’s Christopher Kriesa as the Kern River Killer that made the film as fun as it was to me. I wish we had an entire film centered around this character.
The story for this one does absolutely nothing to hide the fact that it was inspired by From Dusk Till Dawn. It does add some to it so the film has some layers but the basic premise for the last half of the film is that same story found in FDTD. The first part of the film follows the Kern River Killer with his two hostages and two men who is building a legion for the Blond Man. These two stories come together to the finish the film out with people trapped in a bar fighting off demons. Honestly, the story isn’t that bad but it doesn’t work out as well as I would have liked. We have a lot of scenes that lead nowhere or does absolutely nothing to further the story along.
Finally, the film is an absolute clinic in practical effects. We have so many amazing on screen kills and fantastic practical effects. They look so good and almost make the film enjoyable. Overall, Legion of the Dead has a great cast and some seriously impressive practical effects but I was very disappointed in the film’s pacing and story. I wanted to like this one but it just didn’t work for me. Fans of gore will enjoy it and this is a must own for collectors but those wanting something new to watch may want to skip it.
Special Features:
DISC ONE: FEATURE & EXTRAS
Unrated Festival Producer’s Cut Version
Audio Commentary With Director Olaf Ittenbach And Composer
Making Of Legion Of The Dead
Deleted Scenes
Outtakes
Festival Premieres
Photo Gallery
Trailers
DISC TWO: DIRECTOR’S CUT
Director’s Cut Version
