Dead Sands Film Difficulty Ranking: 2
In the wake of a viral outbreak throughout Bahrain, a group of middle class strangers try to team up to survive. Only problem is they don’t share much in common so working together doesn’t come naturally.
If you’re looking for a B-Movie zombie movie from the Arabian peninsula that focuses more on bickering vs. actual zombie smashing, this is the movie you’re looking for.
From: Bahrain, Asia Watch: YouTube, IMDb Next: Night of the Living Dead, Attack the Block, Rattle the Cage
Dead Sands – The Breakdown
Dead Sands‘ hits a bunch of the zombie movie notes in the opening to establish itself as a horror movie. It starts with a Doctor’s warning to the population on a radio broadcast which is largely ignored by the radio host (the prophecy of impending doom). This is followed by an everyday scene which turns into a zombie attack. A woman and man argue, the man disappears with his dog, the dog squeals (sign no.1), the woman calls out to her friend but receives no answer (sign no.2), before the friend (and later the man who she was arguing with) come back to zombify her. This is classic zombie horror movie 101 and sets the movie up for viewers already familiar with the genre in order to make fun of it.
However, whilst Dead Sands positions itself as a satirical comedy of the genre, it doesn’t fully deliver on its promise. There’s little which satirizes the genre apart from a character flip – the long haired, Rambo-looking hard man is a gentle hairdresser. Instead the film almost forgets that it is a zombie movie as the narrative centers on the arguing between the characters. There’s a lot of character development and very few zombies. The only benefit is that the bickering is where the humor comes from. It’s funny to see a group of people unable to get along for trivial reasons, even in such desperate circumstances.
Maybe the focus on their bickering is a metaphor for their zombie-like reality. They’re all youthful members of a Bahraini middle class stuck in a country that’s too small for them. Half of them spoiled kids that you’d imagine come from the international school systems (speaking English) expecting more to life, and the other half are striving to be on the same social level. They come together as they all attend one of the few social centers available to them. They’re not overly surprised or terrified by the zombies as their social lives are already dead. There aren’t many options in their home country (Bahrain is only larger than Singapore and the Maldives in Asia) and therefore the zombies aren’t much of a change.
It’s entertaining to hear the relentless arguing in a horror movie but if you’re looking for a typical zombie movie set in Bahrain you might be a bit disappointed by the lack of action. Make sure you go into this movie knowing it’s a B-Movie focused on the bickering instead of the action.
What to Watch Next
If you want to go to the root of all today’s zombie movies, watch George A Romero’s Night of the Living Dead. Or if you want to watch more contemporary zombie horror movies featuring ordinary conversations try Attack the Block and Shaun of the Dead.
Or, if you’re just looking for more genre movies from the Arabian peninsula check out Rattle the Cage from the UAE.
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