In the near future, biological warfare unleashes a virus that zombifies three-quarters of the global population, sparking waves of terrorist attacks and other nastiness. It takes less than several decades for civilization to fall apart after that. Desperate, the government has resorted to putting a price on the zombies’ heads -- or rather, on their pinky fingers. Now, in this harsh setting of dead towns and infested wilderness, most survivors have adapted to a new profession: zombie bounty killing. When they fetch a price, the undead are a valuable commodity -- and a dangerous one. But not as dangerous as the people who hunt them for a living.

In rides Ryn Baskin, a laconic bounty killer dressed in black. Traveling by motorcycle and equipped with guns in a guitar case, an endless supply of cigars, and -- most importantly -- his nerves and experience, he is the ultimate survivor in a world where life is worth less than a fistful of zombie pinkies.

But after Ryn is nearly destroyed by the ruthless members of his own former gang, the hunter shifts his sights from the dead to the living, on a mission for something more precious than either survival or bounties: revenge.

The Quick and the Undead, which I think is the only true Postapocalyptic Zombie Western at the time of this review, is not perfect; but it has much more going for it than just a cool idea, including some real style. Zombie fans will find little in the way of social critique, but a satisfying supply of skullbusting and gutmunching. Highlights include a cranium-crushing face-off, a zombie (writer/director Gerald Nott, in one of his cameos) eating his own intestines, and another zombie who tries to eat some guts and fails because he lacks the intellect to remove the gas mask he was wearing when he died.

The film brings together the shambler and hyper camps by establishing that the speed of zombies is inversely proportional to the degree of decomposition; the recent dead are much faster, and therefore are the ones that a clever gunslinger shoots first (explained in what may be a reference to The Outlaw Josey Wales). Some new zombie-fighting advice is given, and the hero is refreshing in that his successful zombie hunts are fueled more by strategy and planning than by sheer toughness and skill (although he’s got those, too). Don’t miss the Se7enesque opening credits; they’ll make sense of some later developments.

More than a just zombie flick, The Quick and the Undead is a studied tribute to the great modern Westerns, especially those of Sergio Leone. This involves more than just zombie hunters going around wearing cowboy hats (which they do). The film achieves a palpable Western atmosphere: gritty, stark, and paced like a desert trek. Most of the action is “quick,” with dramatic buildups. The ultra-widescreen camera shots are full of tight close-ups amidst broad outdoor settings. This is a world of death, populated by cynical and desperate characters who can rely on little but their own wits and steady gun hands.

Title aside, the movie is packed with direct visual, verbal, and action references to such classics as all three of Leone’s Dollars trilogy, the Mariachi in Rodriguez’s Mexico trilogy, and High Plains Drifter (possibly), in addition to horror classics such as Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead, and The Fly. (That last one hardly counts; the famous quote is way overused in horror.) Even the first and third Indiana Jones movies receive their homages.

For some Western aficionados, I’d expect the abundant references might be overkill; much as The Dead Hate the Living! did with zombie and cannibal movies, The Quick and the Undead at times smacks of fanboyism. For the most part I found the references entertaining, but when the homages go beyond visual and verbal references to include major plot points lifted directly from The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, it’s a bit too much even for me. However, the plotline as a whole contains more surprises than clichés or borrowed bits; plus, the atmosphere and general concept go a long way in keeping the film fresh (or should I say “rotting”?).

The performances are better than the frequently weak dialogue. Producer Clint Glenn, in the lead role, gives a Clint Eastwood impersonation throughout the film that’s often dead-on, sometimes campy; usually the film is just serious enough for the characterization to avoid devolving into farce. (Ryn looks more like a cowboyed-up Snake Plissken [Escape from New York], but Snake’s another Eastwood impersonation anyway.) Mention must be made of Nicola Giacobbe as Hans, the greedy seller of human chum; in the scene that includes a nod to the “Death of a Soldier” sequence in The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, Giacobbe gives a powerful and deeply emotional performance that makes the segment stand out as one of the truly moving scenes in contemporary horror and Westerns.

Although the general lack of a thriving human population was probably a good thing for the movie's atmosphere and main plot (not to mention budget), I felt that the world being depicted would have gained some additional authenticity with a larger cast of minor living characters. This would be for economic and practical reasons; goods and bounties need to come from somewhere.

The blood and gore effects are quite good; the zombie makeup is sometimes great, sometimes spotty. The photography is excellent, as is the original score by Peter Schlosser and Brian Beardsley. On occasion the movie dips into cheeze, and the plot has its share of gaps and areas clearly sewn with white thread. However, the concept and the care put into the whole production overcome the weak points. The film’s pacing and atmosphere are deliberate, intelligent, and effective, at times achieving an arid sublimity that would make Leone proud.

Overall, the film is light on social and political subtext when compared to several other postapocalyptic zondies (zombie indies) of recent years, but it is one of the more unusual and better-made ones. More importantly, The Quick and the Undead is a milestone in the still nascent Zombie Western sub-subgenre, and that fact already makes it worthwhile viewing for zombie enthusiasts and fans of cross-genre efforts.

Review Rating:
7 out of 10 large, strangely harmless air bubbles in a hypodermic