Netflix has quite a good track record when it comes to Asian zombie films. I had heard a little bit of buzz about the Thailand based Ziam. This action heavy zombie horror coming from Kulp Kalijareuk (who directed and co-wrote the movie) had plenty of very cool looking undead, though the limited setting and basic story didn't do too much to make itself stand out from the horde.
In the near future, the world has fallen into anarchy due to dwindling food supplies. This has resulted in mass riots and a breakdown in law and order. Due mainly to the strong leadership of one man, Thailand has fared surprisingly well with law and order somewhat still upheld by the militarised police, who follow this leader. Singh (Mark Prin Suparat) is a former Muay Thai fighter who now works on protection details for lorries that smuggle food across the border. Meanwhile, his doctor girlfriend Rin (Nuttanicha Dungwattanawanich) works at the local hospital. Contaminated fish smuggled into the country (that happened to be the latest lorry that Singh assisted with) has the unfortunate side effect of infecting people who eat it into flesh hungry ghouls. Not knowing about zombies, the first victim is taken to the hospital where he swiftly dies, and then reanimates. It isn't long before the hospital is in chaos with violent undead taking over the place. Discovering the place is in lockdown, Singh travels there to find Rin. Not wanting the infection to spread, the police have been authorised to blow up the site, though first they have instructions to retrieve the leader and his terminally sick wife who are both situated at the top of the building. During his search for Rin, Singh discovers a young boy, together the two search for Rin, unaware about the explosive countdown occurring in the basement.
The main thing I had heard about Ziam (a play on words with Siam being another name for Thailand) was that the protagonist doesn't fight zombies with guns or other weapons, but instead uses his fists and feet! This sounded like a very risky way to fight the undead, and I can't say it ever felt particularly effective. Singh is able to fight off scores of the rotters at once for sure, but his attacks are mostly defensive, knocking the creatures to the ground rather than actually killing them half the time. It did look great on camera, there is no small number of these insane sprinting horrors. There was also a good mix of human antagonists that led to some lovely looking three way fight scenes between the trigger happy police, Singh, and the zombies. The highlight of this was Singh's fight against the police leader. A typical well choreographed fight sequence along the lines of something you would see in a movie like The Raid, but made so much better by the occasional break in fighting as both combatants have to stop to dispatch approaching undead before continuing the fight!
The zombies look fantastic and increase in number and danger as the ninety five minute movie proceeds. Without going too much into spoilers, something happens in the third act that makes these crazed ghouls even more insane and scary looking. It becomes really thrilling, especially a late scene that sees Singh trapped in a car as zombies from every conceivable angle smash their way in to him. There is lots of blood to go with these ghouls, blood spraying absolutely everywhere throughout the film.
The story was a bit too basic for its own good, extremely simple, and restricted almost entirely to the hospital. You could tell the more indie nature of the budget with outdoor scenes that never failed to feel very artificial looking. Lots of entertaining fight scenes with Prin Suparat, and the child actor was actually quite entertaining with a good amount of sass in him (such as when he giggles at a struggling zombie whose arms and legs are all encased in plaster cast). Rin was also fine, a decent enough character. The cast was pretty small with not many notable standouts.
Despite the occasional obvious budget constraints, there were some great directing choices. One highlight was a slow sweep around the hospital, with the camera passing through walls and floors to give a great overview of the utter chaos going on. There was a slow motion blurred effect given for close ups of the undead which also worked well, due to the great zombie make-up. Some silly moments here, one part saw a character caught in the epicentre of an explosion, only to be shown moments later completely fine while all around him are in various states of destroyed limbs. The ending was also a tad cheesy, and the odd mid-credits scene that seemingly hinted at a sequel came out of nowhere.
Despite the occasional obvious budget constraints, there were some great directing choices. One highlight was a slow sweep around the hospital, with the camera passing through walls and floors to give a great overview of the utter chaos going on. There was a slow motion blurred effect given for close ups of the undead which also worked well, due to the great zombie make-up. Some silly moments here, one part saw a character caught in the epicentre of an explosion, only to be shown moments later completely fine while all around him are in various states of destroyed limbs. The ending was also a tad cheesy, and the odd mid-credits scene that seemingly hinted at a sequel came out of nowhere.
Ziam was a neat zombie film that did something a little different with its reliance on martial arts. Plenty of very freaky looking undead, and some neat stylistic choices was let down really only by a barebones and unoriginal story that sometimes felt a little too by the numbers. Ziam is currently streaming on Netflix.
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