When I heard they were going to adapt "Remains" into a film, I was totally keen for the idea. I bought the comic many years ago, and thoroughly enjoyed it. It seems as though I am the only reviewer to have done so, and so I represent someone who not only dislikes the film for its own sake, but for the fact that it utterly butchered the story in the comic.
I won't even give this film a long review, as it doesn't deserve it. The film is basically a very short and uninteresting zombie story, two people survive a random nuclear blast that converts the populace, they discover a few more people, nothing ensues.
The comic on the other hand had wonderful little touches that really sold it as a new take. One of the most interesting points to me was the opening, and it was butchered wildly in the adaptation. In the comic, the nuclear blast didn't just randomly occur, there was a petulant, possibly mentally handicapped adolescent taking a tour in a new power station. He snuck into a restricted area, adopting scientific attire, and wound up causing the opening accident. This character then reoccurs later as the "patient 0" of the zombies. Him being the first meant that him and those around him were faster and stronger zombies. This "faster and stronger zombie" element was kept in the most ridiculously sparse way, the rest including that patient 0 zombie? Gone. There was a great moment when the old diner woman zombie actually spoke, also. Was this in the film? Nope. Hell, the zombie that bit the main protagonist's fingers off WAS the old diner woman zombie. The whole thing was just an uninventive take on zombies, given the name of a comic in the hopes it would generate more sales. It generated mine, and angered me in doing so. Avoid this film at all costs. But, do buy the comic, it's pretty good.
I won't even give this film a long review, as it doesn't deserve it. The film is basically a very short and uninteresting zombie story, two people survive a random nuclear blast that converts the populace, they discover a few more people, nothing ensues.
The comic on the other hand had wonderful little touches that really sold it as a new take. One of the most interesting points to me was the opening, and it was butchered wildly in the adaptation. In the comic, the nuclear blast didn't just randomly occur, there was a petulant, possibly mentally handicapped adolescent taking a tour in a new power station. He snuck into a restricted area, adopting scientific attire, and wound up causing the opening accident. This character then reoccurs later as the "patient 0" of the zombies. Him being the first meant that him and those around him were faster and stronger zombies. This "faster and stronger zombie" element was kept in the most ridiculously sparse way, the rest including that patient 0 zombie? Gone. There was a great moment when the old diner woman zombie actually spoke, also. Was this in the film? Nope. Hell, the zombie that bit the main protagonist's fingers off WAS the old diner woman zombie. The whole thing was just an uninventive take on zombies, given the name of a comic in the hopes it would generate more sales. It generated mine, and angered me in doing so. Avoid this film at all costs. But, do buy the comic, it's pretty good.