"State of Emergency" is not your average zombie movie. The movie starts out with a fairly good and interesting introduction to the main character, Jim (played by Jay Hayden). However, the movie is fairly slow in pace, and sadly never really picks up and gets into gear.

Now, don't get me wrong, because the movie is not all bad or an entire waste of time. What works out well in favor for the movie is the characters and the way that it manages to build up the relations to the four characters of which the movie revolves.

However, if you are looking for a zombie-fest or gore-show, then "State of Emergency" is a wrong bet to put your money on. As with "The Walking Dead", then "State of Emergency" is a character-driven story, although it just never gets anywhere near "The Walking Dead" effects-wise. I will say that all four people hired for the four main characters did good jobs with their given roles.

As much as I enjoy zombie movies, then I have always had a problem with agile and running zombies, which is what they have in this movie. And why do zombies in low-budget movies always have to make growling sounds like predatory big cats? It is just so stupid.

For a low-budget movie, then "State of Emergency" did a good enough job with what was available, and what they did use worked well enough in favor for the movie. However, it doesn't score high on the zombie ladder in regards of entertainment and enjoyment. There are far worse zombie movies available on the market.

"State of Emergency" is good is you have 85 minutes to spare and got nothing better to watch.

Although low-budget zombie movies are ten a penny these days and, it's fair to say, the majority of them are absolute rubbish, STATE OF EMERGENCY offers something a little different. For a start, it looks like a professional, well-made movie despite the low budget; it has great production values and it avoids being cheesy for the most part.

Of course, there's a flip side to this coin, and the main detraction with the film is that it's incredibly slow. There are lots and lots of long, drawn-out sequences where the protagonist just barricades himself inside a building and waits...and waits...and waits. Some viewers might find this off-putting, although I found that the tension levels were high, which kept me watching.

The acting isn't bad, and pretty good for a B-movie, and as mentioned the technical values are decent. The zombies themselves are fast-moving and ultra-aggressive, much like the ones in 28 DAYS LATER, and the scare sequences are well handled. STATE OF EMERGENCY is far from perfect, and one of the disappointments is that the ending just fizzles out instead of bangs, but in a sea of trash watching it is a nice surprise.

The film opens up with a rather lame scene, then gives you a 4 days earlier.

Jim (Jay Hayden) is the center of this film as he manages to survive a zombie outbreak caused by an explosion at the Montgomery County chemical storage facility. He meets up with three other people held up in a warehouse. It takes 19 minutes before the first zombie attack. The zombies are fast moving people with bad makeup and red contacts. Jim attempts to get the attention of the CG helicopters overhead, but cannot. And that is pretty much it.

What this film had going for it was the realism of the situation and how it was handled. On the downside, it was boring due to the realism of the situation and how it was handled. The dialogue was also boring. No quirky characters in pirate outfits, wearing an eye patch, or pretending to be Bill Murray. And they had a chance to do this with Ix (Tori White) and instead they made her moody and quiet. The whole film was on the dull side.

Parental Guide: No sex or nudity. No f-bombs that I recall.