Directed by Lin Oeding [Other horror films: N/A]
I need to preface this review with something personal – I’m writing this on January 20th, 2023. God knows when it’ll be posted, but that’s when this is being written. My mother died December 30th, 2022, and this is the first horror film I’ve seen since her death. I wanted to say that as to frame this review in proper context.
With that depressing sentiment out of the way, I can say that Office Uprising is a movie I had mild hope for – it has a decent score on IMDb (5.7/10 with 17,700 votes), and I thought that was optimistic. Unfortunately, more than anything, I found this a rather generic experience, and I’d be flat-out flabbergasted if I ever get the urge to sit through this again.
Not that Office Uprising is a particularly bad movie. It’s just generic. Think Zombieland, or perhaps even Cooties, with less soul. Zombie comedies aren’t easy to master, and I’m not the biggest zombie fan anyway, so this really isn’t my cup of tea. I can say that I was able to watch this alongside a friend on Discord, so at least that helped a bit.
The movie does look nice. There’s a definite sign of high production value behind this. There was even a scene transition that I found somewhat cool. Sadly, though, if a movie doesn’t feel as though it has soul, these positive aspects don’t lend a whole lot to the overall product. And I’m not saying that those involved didn’t put their hearts into this, of course – I can’t know that. I can just say that the story here felt generic and lifeless, with dashes of ridiculousness (that robot suit groan), and it wasn’t my vibe.
Brenton Thwaites (Ghosts of War, Oculus, along with playing Dick Grayson in Titans) didn’t do much for me. I mean, his character wasn’t bad, but it just felt, again, generic. His love interest, played by Jane Levy (Don’t Breathe, Evil Dead) didn’t really have that much of interest to do, and the pacifist character played by Karan Soni (Creep 2, Corporate Animals) just felt like an overlong gag.
A few others did make an impression, though, such as Zachary Levi (Blood Fest), who had some amusing lines (such as his dialogue about the correct usages of both “i.e.” and “e.g.”), and generally had a decent presence, along with Ian Harding, who appeared only a few times, but was okay. Gregg Henry (Bates Motel, Just Before Dawn) felt somewhat lifeless, Kurt Fuller (The Wolves of Savin Hill) felt pointless, and Sam Daly, despite being the son of a personal favorite (Tim Daly), didn’t add much either.
As far as the special effects go, they were fine, in an overly-stylized and Hollywood way. Honestly, while I didn’t find The Belko Experiment great, if you want a horror film of quality that takes place in an office building, I’d likely point people that way. Still, the effects here were okay, but it’s a zombie comedy – someone crushes a soda can and turns it into a ninja-star type thing, and decapitates someone with it. It’s just too silly for me, and even when it wasn’t, too stylized.
Oh, and another thing I didn’t dig at all – these zombies. Because when I say ‘zombies,’ I don’t mean the walking dead people might expect from 28 Days Later…, Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, or The Plague of the Zombies. Those infected here have increased rage (and strength, of course), but are capable of holding conversations, harboring grudges, and retaining other personality traits that you’d associate with, well, people with personality. These zombies are far too human-like and coordinated for me, which I couldn’t get into whatsoever.
For plenty of reasons, Office Uprising didn’t hold up it’s end of the bargain. A few scenes entertained me, a few pieces of dialogue were amusing, but in general, I was woefully unimpressed with a lot of this, and while Office Uprising might work for some people, as far as a zombie comedy goes, I can think of plenty of other films I’d prefer to spend time with, and while I don’t have a strong view on the Stegosaurus, I have a feeling examining their bones would be of more interest than watching this one again.
5/10
Jiggy's Horror Corner 