Outpost should be better. Unfortunately, director Blaakilde doesn’t have many zombie ideas except ripping off The Evil Dead camerawork.

The short takes place at a remote Soviet outpost; its single soldier (Asbjørn Krogh Nissen, who has nothing to do except look sad) prepares to tear it down as the Soviet Union falls and gets infected with zombie juice. The short runs maybe eleven minutes without the end credits and the opening takes two or three, so it’s Nissen walking around by himself for most of it.

And Blaakilde nicely turns that walking around into a joke. The further joke is the zombie is too dumb to survive–he’s locked in, can’t open the gate, can’t catch the cute little snow mouse.

But the short takes place over twenty years. Shouldn’t the zombie decay?

The production values make it play well… only Blaakilde doesn’t have any original ideas. It’s too bad.

Not Recommended

CREDITS

Directed by Esben Halfdan Blaakilde; written by Blaakilde, Sander Andreas Schwartz and Magnus Balle; director of photography, Balle; produced by Schwartz.

Starring Asbjørn Krogh Nissen (Soldier).

• OTHER 2012 RELEASES