Knight of the Dead (2013)
Directed by: Mark Atkins
Written by: Jeffrey Giles, Mark Atkins
Starring: Carl Greenwood, Dylan Jones, Lee Bennett, Vivien Vilela
KNIGHT OF THE DEAD (2013)
Directed by Mark Atkins
KNIGHT OF THE DEAD is one of the latest string of zombie films that pops the brain-munching undead in a environment different to what we’re used to seeing them in. The setting for this flesh-eating flick is the medieval period and focuses on a band of armed knights who must travel through the dangerous land of the undead to retrieve the Holy Grail, but the question is, is it truly the holy cup of Christ and if so, what is its mystic power? You can theorise all you want as unfortunately we never get the answers and instead witness 80 minutes of five grown men trying to get from point A to point B without being killed. To spice this story up a little, a mysterious female is introduced and is labelled a witch by the knights who find her stealing their food. Also, as if zombies weren’t bad enough, we’ve a suspicious clan who take a dislike to the knights and their quest, and plan to execute every single one of them, including the priest.
Little is done to create a backstory for any of the characters so it is really hard to take a liking to any of them. The character of the priest is the most strangest of them all, almost comical in fact. A scene in the latter end of the film sees the ‘witch’ fall for the Priest, who’s ever so happy to whip his clothes off and hers for a jolly good rogering. Now, two problems I have with this: one: a man of the cloth is meant to be celibate, and two: the Priest is the wettest lettuce you’ve ever seen. He screams more like a girl than the actually ‘witch’ woman does. How she could be sexually attracted to the meek priest is beyond me. I’m assuming she felt sympathetic that he may die without getting his end away…
Likewise, the clan of assassins seem to have a bee in their bonnet regarding the knights and the priest, especially their leader. He summons his men to stop at nothing until they execute the entire group, but as the film unfolds, it becomes increasingly repetitive and I don’t believe the reasons for their hatred towards the knights are ever revealed.
Abstaining from shakey cam, the cinematography is competent though a lot of the on-screen action appears dark. The film is given a bluey grey hue and with very little engaging action or dialogue, the movie becomes something to endure rather than enjoy. However, one thing that I did enjoy in the film was the decaptitations. The filmmakers went to great lengths to ensure the heads rolled convincingly, enitrely onscreen, and achieved it well.
Unfortunately, with a struggling script, a less than exhilerating screenplay and one dimensional characters, Knight of the Dead fails to ignite the intense action or emotion that is usually displayed in zombie horror films of this type.
Rating: 
Now thats the kind of scathing reviews I want to see before blowing 90min of time watching some “masterpiece” that only the makers understand
Not sure about the critique on this movie as it does not seem they know much about history. Priests do not always abstain- are you seriously thinking all of them are celibate especially in history- silly person for thinking so. Looks interesting enough for me to watch. Obviously hasn’t had much horror movie watching under this belt if he thinks this is bad. Try Psycho Hospital from the 70s.