Dredd isn’t the usual type of horror movie we review here. It’s not really a horror movie. That’s not to say that it doesn’t have its fair share of gore. The gore here is absolutely top shelf in fact. I guess everyone reading this would know this movie is based around the long running JUDGE DREDD comic book character. The comic book itself was bleak look at the future and Dredd himself was a suitably grim character. This movie brings the darkness across in true form. There was a another Judge Dredd movie in the 90’s featuring Sylvester Stallone. That was alright, but this is excellent. Starring Karl Urban, who I’ve never heard of otherwise, but he definitely has the jawline and the grim demeanor necessary to play the Judge.
The Plot centres in on Dredd, attending a triple murder in a particularly bad part of town. The building they attend the crime scene is off-limits to cops, due to being controlled by a ruthless crime boss called Mama. She controls the supply and manufacturing of a drug called Slo-mo that is worth a lot of money to her. Dredd arrests one of her men on another issue and Mama is determined not to let him go into custody or talk. She locks down the entire building and orders her sizable gang to find the judge and kill him. Can Dredd survive this? Well, I guess you have to watch the film to find out!
The Verdict
Dredd is a violent, dark, and pessimistic look at where society could well go. The director does a brilliant job in recreating this world within this movie. In many ways, this is scarier than a standard horror flick because this stuff could well happen. The horror effects are CGI of course but they look rather real and are quite hard-hitting for the viewer. The story is great and filled with action the whole way through. I’d fully recommend this to most fans of horror, action and scifi. I really hope they can get the directorial / production team together again for a sequel to this!
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