Thanks for the memories!

Highly Overrated But Still Good

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

I've put down 'may contain spoilers' but you'd be hard pushed to find a spoiler for this film since almost everything in it was borrowed from one zombie apocalypse film or another.Take a pinch Resident Evil's Umbrella Corps, add a small portion of Resident Evil's Alice and garnish with a pinch of Omega Man for Cole, add a heaped teaspoonful of generic British actors / film locations and a healthy dollop of 28 days later for the infected/zombies. Place in a medium cooking plot, and allow to simmer for 92 minutes. Finally garnish with a sprig of Jaime Murray typecast as yet another manipulative woman, and you have the perfect zombie stew.Having said all that, it did have some interesting bits in it, e.g. Fairbrass' Cole totally stole the show, leaving Danny Dyer's character as little more than a minor zombie-fodder character with an above average number of lines, and in so doing made the film oddly watchable. Also the idea of adding in a couple of conniving 'outsiders' added to the film's complexity (it needed it). Both of these bits could have taken the film to a whole new level if it weren't for face-palm-inducing plot holes, e.g. Cole just happening to stumble across the one person he was looking for in the middle of the zombie-infested green belt, and the way the two 'evil' characters somehow persuaded the heroine they were more trustworthy than her best friend?!So overall, some interesting ingredients lost in a bland mix of stock zombie-movie moments. It'll fill up a hole if you're hungry for a zombie movie and don't want to challenge your tastebuds too much...

Stop me if you've heard this before.A superdrug is tested inadvertently causes the patients to turn into mindless, rage filled… ummm… aaaaahhhh… zombies I guess. Coming into contact with fluids or being bitten by the infected allows the virus/condition/disease to be spread, leading to a massive contagion in the entire nation of Great Britain.Sound familiar? Well what about this? Only one patient seems immune to the negative symptoms – you know the flesh eating and general insanity – she is on the run, with various parties in pursuit to see if she holds the key to a cure.OK so Devil's Playground hardly breaks into new territory, but it has a couple of moments, not the least of which is the count the clichés bingo that can be played while watching.The reporter on the street being interrupted and killed on screen.The guy who repeats "Mum. Mum. MUM!" as his destiny shuffles ever closer, covered in blood and ready to teach the poor dumb guy a lesson in common sense.The guy who's infected and needs a cure immediately, only he lasts half the film without one while others who share a glass turn in 45 seconds flat.The whole 'but she's pregnant' bit.After the Zompocalypse © starts the infected immediately turn into parkour-ing Reapers from Blade 2, all leaping, snarling, unnecessary wall climbing menaces. They spill lots of blood and cause lots of gore all over the UK, usually with backdrops of carefully constructed carnage reminiscent of the Left 4 Dead video games.Devil's Playground is uninspired and formulaic and doesn't do much to separate it from a million other similarly bland zombie flicks. As much as I love zombies I can't help but think for the time being they are a little overdone, this isn't the film that will revitalize the genre, but I give a couple bonus points for at least trying to make the film look bigger and flasher than a lot of other low budget efforts.Final Rating – 4.5 / 10. So you say zombies are threatening the very social fabric of a nation again and it's up to a few individuals to save humanity? Wake me when it's finished will ya?

If Danny Dyer was hoping this film would improve his star-rating then he's surely mistaken. This film is dyer(dire) sorry couldn't resist.I love a good zombie-flick, but this isn't it. Bad direction, bad storyline, bad acting even worse script. There are no redeeming features to this boring, slow, limited action movie. Best avoid it if you can, be warned Danny Dyer's cockney scowl doesn't an actor make. When are film makers going to realize this guy is useless, and doesn't warrant the attention given to him.Walk away, don't waste your time - painting your garden fence and watching it dry would be more entertaining than this drivel.

After reading the reviews I expected this movie to be low budget trash, but I was pleasantly surprised. It had several original concepts not seen before in Zombie/Outbreak movies and plenty of action. For those comparing it to 28 Days, if anything this would be a prequel to that movie, as you see the 'virus' take hold in the city and the factors the lead up to the plague. In 28 Days the patient wakes up and the city is already devastated, here you get to see the chain of events that lead up to the destruction. Yes, there are cheesy bits, like zombies waiting patiently off camera before swarming in to chase the lead actors once they start running, but overall it's a well made Zombie flick and worth watching.