Rammbock: Berlin Undead Review (2010) Worth Watching?

Just when Michael arrives in Berlin to visit his ex-girlfriend Gabi, a terrible virus starts spreading across the city at a rapid pace, turning people into mindless homicidal maniacs.

Rammbock: Berlin Undead aka Siege of the Dead was directed by Marvin Kren (also known for Blood Glacier) and stars Michael Fuith, Theo Trebs, Anka Graczyk and Emily Cox.

When you think of foreign zombie/infection horror movies the most obvious choices would be South Korea (Train to Busan, #Alive) or the British 28 Days Later franchise. In recent years we got a crazy release from Taiwan called The Sadness but this one might be a bit too gory for some. Anyway, Germany is probably the last place you would think of finding an underrated gem like this.

The story focuses on Michael, an average guy on a mission to “return the keys” to his ex-girlfriend in hope of maybe getting back together. Yes, he could have mailed the key with a note saying they can go for a drink and try to talk things over, but doing it in person always makes the whole situation 10 times more awkward and embarrassing… Some of you might be thinking in person is better, but trust me (speaking from experience) it is not! Around the same time when Michael arrives at the apartment building, people start exhibiting strange behavior.

It is never fully explained how the outbreak started but the infection spreading through the city might be some sort of terrorist attack and the virus works by amplifying emotional states and turning these into complete rage. So, technically those that have unlimited access to Xanax and similar drugs should be safe! A fun option to explore, but by the time this was figured out the city was already overrun by crazed infected that kill anything they hear moving.

Michael and a young man called Harper barricade themselves in one of the apartments and must work together in order to survive. Every scene is realistic and the ideas they come up with feel like something people actually might do in this type of situation. Mentioned in one of my previous reviews, this is the key difference between main characters in Hollywood vs foreign cinema. Compared to Hollywood, the foreign antagonists are much more relatable and more human-like. This causes them to make mistakes (some small, some big ones) but they try to learn from them. Michael is not just your average guy, he is also a furry and is awkward as hell. There is a scene where he dresses up in a giant bunny costume when they try to get some sleep. Not sure if the intended goal was to build a tense and weird atmosphere, show first signs of the infection taking over or pure comedy but it did not damage the film.

Chemistry between actors is good, the plot is solid, and the pace of the movie is satisfying. The real action begins once our protagonists realize they need to figure out a way to barricade themselves and eventually escape to a safer place in order to survive. The ending could be best described as one of those sappy ones (sad + happy).

Worth Watching?

Without wanting to give away any bigger spoilers we’ll just summarize what was mentioned above and give a solid 6.5 out of 10! Definitely a must watch for fans of the infection/zombies horror genre.

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