An odd nonsensical movie. The plot has a lot of holes in it and its recursive nature does not help. The main characters are all Nazis, so you have no sympathy for anyone in this movie. You are just kind of waiting around to figure out how they die, and wow are some the deaths byzantine (plot wise, not actual death wise- this is not like Final Destination). A good example of how truly bizarre this plot is: one of the characters is openly half Native American but still a Nazi. And no one else seems to care that he is half Native American except for one guy. Nor is it ever explained how a half German-half Native American manages/wants to be a Nazi and not have been killed by the Nazis. All the Nazis have English accents (not even attempting a bad German accent) but the few Russians extras have Russian accents and speak a little Russian. [spoiler] Sort of spoiler: there is a bunch of time travel and a weird sub dimension/world that people get sucked into. Sometimes they die in the other dimension before appearing back in the normal world and sometimes they get moved back in time to be killed. Also, I cannot figure out why the most irritating character isn't killed by the forest (or whatever) early on. Nor do the rest of the men decide to get rid of him in a "friendly fire" incident even though it would make the most sense for their survival. He doesn't forward the plot at a certain point and it makes far more sense that everyone left alive would have killed him. There are some mysterious beings that are supposedly controlling the forest and alternate dimension but they are never seen, or communicated with, so the watcher can't really tell what is going on. I can't give a good synopsis since most of the events are really ridiculous even without addressing the tank falling from the sky out of nowhere. [/spoilers] Overall a mess of plot with no sympathetic characters. In the end a movie that is only good if you want to do some sort of drinking game.

The Second World War was one of the most horrifying and unimaginable events that happened in history; so much so, you could almost say it was what real-life horror films are made of. So, why are there not enough horror films that use soldiers and army atrocities to create a unique yet realistic dread in us? Director Mark Nuttall and writer Nigel Horne clearly picked up on this unexploited horror and along with higher beings, the paranormal and a little bit of time warping created the unique Soldiers of the Damned.

It’s 1944 and a group of German soldiers are sent on an obscure, dangerous and completely undisclosed assignment. Commander of the troops, Major Kurt Fleischer, and his men are to escort Professor Anna Kappel into the ominous forests of Russia to retrieve a precious and ancient relic. When the troops begin to vanish into thin air it becomes apparent that their mission is something far more sinister and the woods are home to worse than the brutal enemy.

There’s something very compelling about war stories and that becomes even more so when you add a slow burning atmosphere that explodes with a creative idea and lots of blood. Soldiers of the Damned progresses slowly at first but takes the time to build the characters and their relationships up, which is important when there’s the mystery of what the mission really is, who is on what side, who knows what and most vitally what is causing men to disappear and return mutilated.

Gil Darnell (Major Kurt Fleischer) plays the commander exceptionally well, bringing to life his worn down personality from the war and his distrust towards most. Not only this but Darnell looks like George Clooney and sounds exactly like Ross Kemp – awesome! Alongside is Miriam Cooke (Professor Anna Kapell) who brought to life the perfect balance between being sweet to deceive the troops and then turning into an absolute insane bitch.

Soldiers of the Damned was bound to have a high number of deaths due to it being the war and all, but there was just the right combination of harsh but typical shooting kills with an unrestrained amount of gruesome and inventive ones by whatever lurks. The effects were done incredibly well, although my only qualm would be that I thought the tank scene could have been a little subtler. Regardless of that, I loved watching the Germans painfully combust and have bullets unconventionally put in their brains.

Nothing will be revealed about the twist of this film because I genuinely want you to see it for yourself. The plot turned unexpectedly catching me off guard with what really dwelled in the forest – it’s fresh and something I’ve never seen used before. This British indie film is perfect if you’re looking for something a little different and love both the horror and war genres. Soldiers of the Damned is truly a clever, distinctive, bloody and enthralling film, which I highly recommend.

Reviewed by Zoë Rose Smith