Dir. Michael Su (2022)
A group of soldiers guarding a bridge from a zombie attack discover that the undead are not all that they have to worry about.
CAUTION: MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
Some excellent gore helps highlight a good old fashioned creature feature in Michael Su’s Bridge of the Doomed. A platoon of army men are tasked with guarding a bridge against an oncoming zombie horde, but once they start their watch they realize that there’s a monster living underneath that doesn’t appreciate their involvement. It’s a tightly paced movie with something happening seemingly every couple of minutes, perfect for the action-horror genre in which it finds itself firmly planted. It’s also very much a B-grade monster movie, reminiscent of early Sci-Fi Channel films that are a great way to kill a couple of hours for not-so-serious genre fans. With notes of humor helping to punctuate the action, Bridge of the Doomed is a nice, early 2000’s nostalgic piece that will be fun for creature feature lovers.
The acting is a bit subpar at times, with several of the bit characters doing a pretty poor job in their roles, and the digital effects that seem to only be used when people are shot can be jarring. The “creature that lives beneath the bridge” is also a bit of a letdown, leading the viewer to feel that the focus of the film should’ve been the zombies themselves, who are almost universally well-done and who look as good as Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead. That being said, there are some great action scenes and a lot of fantastic gore. The main actors in the film do a fantastic job, and it’s always important when watching a film like this one to realize what you’re watching going in. It’s supposed to be cheesy, it’s supposed to be poorly acted in a lot of places, and none of those critiques really affect the movie’s purpose. It delivers upon that purpose with gusto, becoming a cheesy and explosive action horror with lots of heart (and guts).
All in all, it’s not a bad flick. It’s as entertaining as it needs to be, and it covers an aspect of a zombie outbreak that most films don’t. It’s interesting to see a story about people trying to stop the advance of the zombies rather than hiding in place and trying to live long enough to think about a plan. Seeing the process from the military side, where victims don’t matter as much as stopping the spread, is a unique take. There’s not a whole lot new that the movie adds to the zombie lore, but it’s an entertaining film nonetheless.
Who this movie is for: B-horror fans, Monster movie lovers, Bridge dwellers
Bottom line: If you were looking for an Oscar-winner, this isn’t the place to find it. If you’re looking for a cheesy monster movie with an intriguing plot, some fantastic gore, and the gorgeous Sarah French, then you’ll love everything about Bridge of the Doomed. The actors struggle at times and the script probably could’ve used one more rewrite, but there’s a lot to love here. If you’re not someone who takes your horror too seriously, this is a really enjoyable effort with some fun scenes of carnage.
