In a post apocalyptic world ravaged by disease, embittered survivor Renchard (Mark Dacascos) leads a life of solitude dedicated to the destruction of the mutated plague victims that killed his wife and son.
Having planted high-explosive time-bombs all over the city where the zombie-like creatures now reside, Renchard is forced by two highly trained special forces soldiers, Mike and Vincent (Ryan Lloyd and Geoff Meed), to lead a dangerous mission into zombie central to rescue immune damsel in distress Brianna (Jennifer Lee Wiggins), who might just hold the answer to a cure for the epidemic.
I might be stating the bloody obvious here, but martial arts star Mark Dacascos really doesn't possess the necessary acting chops to convincingly portray a lonely, tortured soul pushed to the edge of his sanity in a world gone wild—which is why Asylum mockbuster 'I Am Omega' works best whenever director Griff Furst abandons character development in favour of showcasing his lead performer's undoubted ability to kick ass.
Between the banal scenes in which Renchard goes crazy, listens to imaginary radio broadcasts, urinates morosely on the Vasquez Rocks (surely US cinema's most overused filming location) and gibbers like a loon, he exterminates any zombies stupid enough to wander onto his patch, which gives Dacascos a chance to show off his moves, splatter heads, and shoot stuff. During these moments we get some genuinely tense action and several effective scares and for a while 'I Am Omega' looks set to fulfil its potential as an enjoyable piece of B-movie trash.
Unfortunately, once Renchard enters the city and the clock ticks inexorably towards the inevitable explosive ending, matters get progressively sillier. It ultimately all falls apart in a mess of plot holes and culminates in an extremely dumb finale that sees our battered and bruised hero not only managing to run and push a car, despite having been shot in the legs, but also perform an impressive combination of martial arts moves to beat the bad guy and save the day.
5.5 out of 10, generously rounded up to 6 for the hilarious 'zombie in the dumpster' scene.
Having planted high-explosive time-bombs all over the city where the zombie-like creatures now reside, Renchard is forced by two highly trained special forces soldiers, Mike and Vincent (Ryan Lloyd and Geoff Meed), to lead a dangerous mission into zombie central to rescue immune damsel in distress Brianna (Jennifer Lee Wiggins), who might just hold the answer to a cure for the epidemic.
I might be stating the bloody obvious here, but martial arts star Mark Dacascos really doesn't possess the necessary acting chops to convincingly portray a lonely, tortured soul pushed to the edge of his sanity in a world gone wild—which is why Asylum mockbuster 'I Am Omega' works best whenever director Griff Furst abandons character development in favour of showcasing his lead performer's undoubted ability to kick ass.
Between the banal scenes in which Renchard goes crazy, listens to imaginary radio broadcasts, urinates morosely on the Vasquez Rocks (surely US cinema's most overused filming location) and gibbers like a loon, he exterminates any zombies stupid enough to wander onto his patch, which gives Dacascos a chance to show off his moves, splatter heads, and shoot stuff. During these moments we get some genuinely tense action and several effective scares and for a while 'I Am Omega' looks set to fulfil its potential as an enjoyable piece of B-movie trash.
Unfortunately, once Renchard enters the city and the clock ticks inexorably towards the inevitable explosive ending, matters get progressively sillier. It ultimately all falls apart in a mess of plot holes and culminates in an extremely dumb finale that sees our battered and bruised hero not only managing to run and push a car, despite having been shot in the legs, but also perform an impressive combination of martial arts moves to beat the bad guy and save the day.
5.5 out of 10, generously rounded up to 6 for the hilarious 'zombie in the dumpster' scene.