"Rammbock: Berlin Undead" DVD Review - Written by Anthony T

Rammbock: Berlin Undead
Year: 2011
Director: Marvin Kren
Stars: Michael Fuith, Theo Trebs, Anka Graczyk
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Studio: The Collective / Bloody Disgusting Selects
Running Time: 62 Mins

Plot Synopsis

“Rammbock: Berlin Undead” is the first film in a new line of horror films being released by the popular horror website Bloody Disgusting under the Bloody Disgusting Selects label.

The film is about a man, who arrives in Berlin to visit his girlfriend. Soon a virus starts spreading across all of Berlin and starts turning people into homicidal maniacs. He hides in his girlfriend’s apartment, only to find a teenage plumbing apprentice working there. The both of them are forced to barricade themselves from all the chaos and zombies around them. Surround and secluded in the apartment, they must find a way out of there before it’s too late.

Film Review:

Going into “Rammbock: Berlin Undead” I wasn’t expecting a lot, considering that this film only lasts for sixty-two minutes. But still, this is one of those films that gets you caught up to the point that you wished that you had an extra half hour added to the film‘s running time.

Director Marvin Kren does a very good job keeping the film at a dreary and intense pace. He makes that effective, by making the atmosphere feel very dark. You always get a sense things are not going to go well, when the story starts to shape up. I liked, how the film’s tone get very dark. It’s makes you interested in the story and you ‘re wanting to follow it to its conclusion. That’s what makes serious zombie films work as a whole. Kern also does a great job making the action feel contained. You never get a sense that the characters are running all over the place or in circles for no apparent reason. It allows you to become interested with the main characters. By doing that, it makes the action have a purpose and helps generate scares. The action scenes were handled very well. The film has intense action and enough blood that would please zombie fanatics alike.

Kren also does a good job handling the acting aspects. I liked, how he’s able to make the performances fit the film’s dark tone. By doing that, it made the characters interesting on screen. You need that, if a serious zombie film is going to work. Kren does a very good job getting the actors to feel like they’re trapped in this environment. It makes the action come off as intense and it makes this a better film, considering the complaint that I have with the running time.


Benjamin Hessler does a very good job creating a screenplay that has a story within the context of the chaos. One of the things that makes this story good, the action is contained to one place. Normally in horror films, you have action going from place to place. Almost the whole story takes place at the apartment complex. By focusing the action in one place, it allows you to actually care about these characters. I also liked, how Hessler made the zombie different. They were given a weakness, instead of being same kinds that are often used. It makes the story and the film as a whole feel different. If there was one problem that I had with this film, the fact that the ending felt rushed. I would’ve liked another ten or fifteen pages of dialogue to get the other characters in that complex involved, instead of just having them gather up to leave the complex. Even with that grip, this is still a good story.


DVD Extras:

The DVD doesn’t have many extras, but I’ll take quality over quantity every day of the week. First, there is a fifteen minute documentary on the film’s production. This is one of the better behind the scenes featurette that I’ve seen in a while. Even though, it’s not perfect. I liked, how it has some stories from the production side and goes into the process of how the filmmakers came up with the film’s story . It’s nice that it has that information, especially when it’s impossible to do a commentary track for a foreign film like this . The other feature on the DVD is a seven minute award winning short called “Zombiefication”. This is a very funny and entertaining short that mocks the safety films of yesteryear. This is defiantly worth a look, if your renting or purchasing this DVD..

Final Summary

Overall, I had a fun time with this DVD. "Rammbock: Berlin Undead" in an intense zombie film that I fun time watching, even though it should’ve gone a little longer. Still, this is an entertaining zombie film. The DVD package was also good with a good behind the scenes featurette and a must see short film called “Zombiefication”.

Film Rating: 4 Stars

DVD Extras: 3.5 Stars