Michael (Michael Fuith) hitches a ride to Berlin to try to win back his girlfriend Gabi under the pretense of returning his keys to her apartment. Instead of Gabi, he finds a plumber and his apprentice Harper (Theo Trebs) in the apartment. Said plumber suddenly goes nuts and tries to attack Michael and Harper. They manage to get him out into the hallway (where Michael drops his phone) and barricade themselves inside. The two men see further attacks happening in the building's courtyard by white-eyed people foaming at the mouth who have suddenly developed a taste for human flesh. They learn from television that a sudden epidemic has spread rapidly across Germany. The radio advises them that people who are bitten or wounded need to be sedated to allow their immune systems the chance to fight the disease. The few other survivors are able to communicate from their apartment windows across the courtyard. One of them offers Michael and Harper food if he can get some sedatives for his wife from the next door apartment of a known addict. Michael and Harper bust through the brick wall into the next apartment (attracting the attention of the zombies who give chase) and are separated. Harper climbs up into the crawlspace above the kitchen while Michael stumbles upon access to the attic where he finds his girlfriend and the neighbor's son who are both wary of the cut on Michael's arm. They give him sedatives and force him onto the roof. Michael sees a small boat beside the river next to the apartment. He makes his way to the apartment of the neighbor with the ailing wife. Meanwhile Harper has figured out that the zombies react badly to bright light and fights them off with the flash from his digital camera and is able to close the gate to the courtyard. The surviving tenants then start figuring out how to get to the boat (which can perhaps get them to one of the passing ships). The feature (although it runs just over an hour) debut of director Marvin Kren, SIEGE OF THE DEAD has moments of humor and quirkiness but is no SHAUN OF THE DEAD. It takes its cues from 28 DAYS LATER but is much more engaging than that work (as well as LA HORDE which is also set in an apartment building overrun by a sudden zombie epidemic). Kren seems to have learned from his short films and paces the film excellently. Nothing drags or feels rushed in the relatively short running time. Michael and Harper aren't well-developed characters but they don't need to be (both engage our sympathies through their reactions rather than backstory). The zombies are well-realized but not very original (they're more like the rabid assailants of [REC]) and one potentially silly bit at the end is played for poignancy rather than laughs. I'm not exactly sure if "Romero would be proud" as stated on the cover but SIEGE OF THE DEAD makes for an entertaining hour.