Sniper Corpse Won't Stay Down: A Film Review

*full disclosure: a DVD of the film was provided by the director, for this review.

Director/writer: Keith R. Robinson.

Cast: Howy Bratherton, Tony Eccles and Eleri Jones.

Sniper Corpse is a film from Keith R. Robinson (Silverhide). His latest title, shot in the United Kingdom, took three years to complete. From the initial scriptwriting to the end of production, Robinson wore many hats to finish this micro-budget feature. Shot for a mere $38K, Sniper Corpse is a great sounding film, with the score produced by Matt Chapman. As well, the story is intriguing as a soldier is brought back from the dead, to keep killing in the present. However, the director's fascination with headshots is not enough to distract from the film's flaws. Overall, Sniper Corpse is a very static film, despite this title's dark subject matter.

The first film element that stands out is Chapman's compositions. The music shifts from a very militaristic soundtrack to one of sentimentality - during softer moments. On a decent sound system, this feature continually sounds good. Even the sound effects, mostly involving gunfire, sound great on the speakers. This film element is consistently strong, even with the over-repetition of the music.

The Atmosphere Continually Looks Good.

The story itself involves the resurrection of a soldier's body. This McGuffin is used to draw in a former war bride and new widow, who is looking for the body of her husband. Diane (Eleri Jones) is lured or directed to a military gun range. Here, the undead shoot each other in a simulated war game. Diane eventually finds her husband, but he is in no shape to go home. Now, the film changes as Diane tries to find a way to put her husband to rest, for the rest of eternity.

This viewer liked Robinson's use of nightshoots and space. However, much of the film is very static. There is no lack of action, mostly through gunfire. Yet, many of the scenes just sit as characters interact with each other. As well, one setting - a laboratory - is used over and over again. This setting is not well dressed, so the repetition of using this one interior setting becomes a bit monotonous - over time. Also, other scenes are held for too long or repeated too many times. There is a shot of a forest that is used at least three times, sometimes for at least ten seconds. This does not make the visual sphere very interesting. Finally, Robinson does show a flair for exploding heads and every character, who dies, has their head exploded via gunfire. Robinson is developing his directing techniques here and most of his choices are on-the-mark. But, movement is continually minimized.

Still, Sniper Corpse has a lot of flaws as might be expected on such an indie film. The film's reality dissolves slightly when green screen shooting is interspersed with live action scenes. This inconsistency can be a bit jarring. For instance, Diane visits a graveyard at some point in the film. Her live shot action scene is then fused with a green screen image, of another character. This switching back and forth between a live, exterior shot to an interior, simulated one looks very strange. Also, how does infrared work on the undead, when they likely do not give off any heat? The undead do not have a heartbeat, afterall. Yet, a helicopter searches for the undead by tracking its non-existent heat source; that would not work. Other flaws include the use of voices over walkie-talkies or cell phones, which cannot be heard. There are still other flaws. But overall, Sniper Corpse does offer a coherent story, set in a spooky locale.

Sniper Corpse has just been released this past October, in the United Kingdom and United States. Those in the U.S. can find the film on Amazon Prime. Fans of home entertainment versions (DVD, Blu-ray) can visit the Other Dimension Films' website for a Region-free version. And, this title was truly a labour-of-love for Robinson. He shot much of the film after hours and after work. Shot over seventeen days, Sniper Corpse does show passion and intellect. Yet, Sniper Corpse also shows a few flaws in the composition of scenes. This title could have used a bit more movement. Meanwhile, the sound design is consistently on point. This is a film for fans of the undead or of micro-budget features. And, it is hard not to smile at all of those exploding heads, or when the Dark Soldier stands for the third time, after being shot through its non-beating heart.

Overall: 6 out of 10.

Sniper Corpse at the Other Dimension Films' website: The Other Dimension Films' Homepage


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