Dead Trigger is one of the worst movies I've seen in a long time, but also will be one of the most memorable. Don't let the low score scare you away. Despite it's horribleness, it's one of those 'so bad it's good' films you'll love to pop in with a group of friends and some beer.
“After a mysterious virus kills billions and creates scores of zombies, the government develops a video game – Dead Trigger – that simulates the outbreak, then recruits the game’s best zombie killers to combat the real-life horde. Led by Captain Kyle Walker (Dolph Lundgren) to Terminal City, the virus’s point of origin, the players’ mission is simple: find the team of scientists working on a cure. But wiping out the city’s undead legions will test every Dead Trigger skill they possess.”
Dead Trigger, a film based on a mobile game, is about as B-Movie as you can get. Acting is horrible, effects are cheesy, and the story makes absolutely no sense. That’s usually a recipe for some good laughs, and for the most part Dead Trigger delivers at just how absolutely bad a film can be.
The film opens almost like Starship Troopers, as a global company bent on exploiting the zombie outbreak to line its pockets begins recruiting an elite team of nobodies who happen to be good at a video game they released, testing their skills of survival. The thing is, for a film that’s supposed to be basically a giant advertisement for the mobile game, there is absolutely no gameplay of any kind in the film. That may be due to the director leaving after two days of shooting and the gaming company, Madfinger Games, distancing themselves from the film almost immediately. It’s almost inconceivable at just how bad things have to be behind the scenes for a mobile game app to withdraw their support for a film version of their biggest hit, but inconceivable is a common theme throughout this mess.
Each one of the new recruits are introduced from all different walks of life who are masters at this game, which consists of putting a VR headset on only. A kid who lost his parents early on in the zombie outbreak and sits outside at night with a VR headset on playing a game in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, not exactly the brightest of the bunch, nevertheless the main character somehow. A down on her luck MMA fighter in trouble with the law, a guy on the run from some thugs after stealing medicine for his sick mother, a geeky kid who stays inside and plays games all day, and a girl who gets no introduction whatsoever, and is just picked up at an underpass. These ‘heroes’ are shown all kinds of different guns but for some reason never use them in training. In reality, they’re given no training whatsoever, nor do they give any kind of indication that the Dead Trigger game has prepared them in any way for what they encounter.
Dolph Lundgren is the most involved character, with about 80% of the speaking lines in the film it seems. Although he just goes through the motions for the role, he does it justice, as it doesn’t take much to shine here. Isaiah Washington, once starring in one of the biggest dramas on television Grey’s Anatomy, serves no real purpose to the film, checking out extremely early on for really no reason. All the characters are written so poorly there’s of course no connection you feel toward any of them. The antagonist, that evil corporation who wants to keep the zombie outbreak going in order to sell guns is such a dumb plot point, that every single person they come across basically works for them.
Things to know in this film: Zombies can appear instantly out of nowhere in great numbers and surprise the characters, even if a character was just looking in that general direction. Grenades are made of dirt. Any time there is an explosion, a mound of earth is thrown from offscreen that I guess is supposed to be an explosion. You become an expert at zombie killing by donning a VR headset with no controls.
So, despite this being one of the worst films in terms of content that I’ve ever seen, I will say that I did have a lot of fun watching it. Sometimes a film can be so bad that it’s not funny, but fortunately this was at the right level and had the right amount of utter absurdity that if you can get your friends together and grab some drinks, you might have a blast watching one of the worst zombie films you’ll ever see.
Video
Dead Trigger is presented in 1080p High Definition Widescreen 2.40:1. The transfer looks fine, nothing exceptional about it. For the brighter scenes, everything is very clear and detailed. The darker night sequences doesn’t look nearly as good. The special effects are pretty basic, with hardly any practical effects used. Blood that’s computer generated looks very bad here, but that’s exactly in line with the film.
Audio
The audio is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Levels sound good, a lot of gunfire and zombie moaning. It’s a basic track, with a lot of generic music accompanying the film.
Special Features
There are no extras except additional trailers from Lionsgate.
If you’re a fan of the Dead Trigger game, I doubt you’ll find any resemblance to the game you know, as the creators don’t even want to acknowledge it. But, if you’re a fan of horrible B-movies that you can laugh hysterically at with your friends, this may be for you.
