Posts Tagged ‘Zombies’
Posted by Movies Unlimited in DVD & Blu-Ray, Featured Columns, Latest News, Movies Unlimited on August 9th, 2010
By Fred Burdsall
Being a zombie movie fan, I’ve sat through some great ones (Fulci’s Zombie) and some real junk like Children of the Living Dead, but no matter what I go into all of them with an open mind and hoping for the best. Is this the one that finally tops Fulci’s or another one that causes my mind to wander and ponder life’s great mysteries—like Freddie Prinze, Jr. having an acting career.
One thing I never look forward to is the zombie comedy. They never turn out scary or funny because the filmmaker tries too hard to make them so. 
Obviously, there are exceptions like Shaun of the Dead and the relatively unknown Dance of the Dead. Granted, the whole concept of the dead coming back to life to eat the living is ridiculous enough (although when they die, I’m posting a guard at Rush Limbaugh and Kevin Smith’s burial spots because death will NOT stop them from eating), but as an older guy, I want my zombies decaying, shambling and dangerous….not comical. If I want to laugh I’ll watch the “fair and balanced” people at Fox News. Fortunately, the following film turned out to be a pleasant surprise. Usually, I’ll tell you about a film that has stayed with me over the years, but for a change, I decided to watch and review something that I’ve never seen before and hope for the best and that’s pretty much what I got:
Morgan, Ash and Johnny are three slackers who aren’t going to let the zombie apocalypse ruin the good life they’ve been leading—lounging in their underwear, drinking beer and calling girls they used to know to see if they’re still alive and looking for a man. To them, the zombies are just an inconvenience in the daily routine of beer and chip runs and not even zombified ex-girlfriends will stand in their way.
Once the old place starts to get boring, they decide to find new digs and encounter Stef and her dad. Stef is trying to obtain some infected blood that she can take to Stuart Island, where they can process a cure for the virus. After her father’s death during a zombie attack, they openly mock her and her story…all except Morgan, who’s looking to score.
Since she happens to be the only living girl they know the decision to help her get the blood sample is an easy one and it’s off to the lab she was working at. While she works on the sample, Ash explains how they all met, Morgan continues to hit on her, and Johnny shows her his berserker moves which earned him two knockouts in his boxing career—unfortunately, he only had two fights and he was the one who got knocked out.
A power outage sends Ash and Morgan to the basement where they proceed to lock themselves in, leaving Stef and Johnny to fight their way out of the lab as Ash and Morgan wiggle out of the basement through a pipe. They make a run for the car, with Johnny playing decoy, using his berserker moves ’til he’s overwhelmed by the zombies. They head for the airport.
Stopping for gas proves hazardous for Stef, who gets bit by the attendant after killing his son, but she still has time to reach the island before she turns. Ash helps her ready the plane while Morgan distracts the arriving dead and together they take off for the island. Morgan and Ash get some needed sleep and when they awake Stef is now a zombie and they strap her to the parachute, put the antidote in her pocket and toss her out of the plane. Too bad, they didn’t think to look for any more parachutes.
Miraculously, Ash manages to land the plane on the runway but they soon find the island has been compromised and the only people left are quite dead. Who will be the Last of the Living?
Starring Morgan Williams, Robert Faith and Ashleigh Southam as Morgan, Johnny and Ash, plus Emily Paddon-Brown as Stef this is not the movie for you if you are looking for buckets of blood. The blood is fairly secondary to the characters, who are very likable and the kind of guys you could see yourself hanging out with. We all know guys like this. A fun little flick from our friends in New Zealand. So, watch and enjoy, and I’ll be back next month with one of my favorite Roger Corman films, and if you behave…I’ll tell you about my absolute favorite Corman film in September.
Fred Burdsall is an amusement park junkie living with his better half, Allison, and their 4 cats. You can find him in the Center City Borders looking for Doctor Who and zombie books.
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Posted by Movies Unlimited in DVD & Blu-Ray, Featured Columns, Latest News, Movies Unlimited on April 25th, 2010
By Fred Burdsall
Since his debut in the Bela Lugosi film White Zombie, our friend Zed has always been the idiot bastard son of the horror movie genre. He never receives any credit for being a loyal, quiet servant to the practitioners of voodoo. Willingly performing any task given to him, no job too is menial and no respect is afforded.
George Romero came along and gave the zombie a little more “bite” by making him a flesh-eating ghoul, but zombie films were still few and far between. (The fact that Night of the Living Dead is shown virtually uncut on TV after being banned in more countries than we even knew existed still cracks me up.)
Well, the zombie is finally enjoying the fruits of his labors because he has NEVER been more popular. It seems like a new zombie film or five is coming out every year, and while most of them are no-budget bloodfests, I see nothing wrong with that.
Even in the literary world, the zombie is where the money is at. From comic books like Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead (soon to be ruined by edit-happy AMC) to full out novels like David Moody’s exceptional Autumn series (the first of which will hopefully be released to theaters sometime this fall), the zombie is everywhere and we owe it all to one man in my eyes….and his name is NOT Romero.
I have no problem giving George his due because he has given us the lumbering flesh-hungry zombie that I love so well and I LOVE Dawn of the Dead as much as anybody, but it bugs me that he set them up as the most dangerous threat to mankind’s existence and then had people spraying seltzer in their face and hitting them in the face with cream pies like Soupy Sales.
No, the man I thank the most for giving me the best Zombie film I’ve ever seen is one Lucio Fulci. Let me tell you a little about Zombie:
A boat drifts aimlessly into New York Harbor, and upon investigation, gruesome discoveries are made below the decks of the derelict. Reporter Peter West (Ian McCulloch) is sent by his boss (Fulci in a cameo) to check out the strange story. He meets Ann (Tisa Farrow), who is the daughter of the boat’s owner. Determined to find out the REAL story, they team up and head for St. Thomas.
Chartering a boat from a couple who reluctantly agrees to take them to Matool despite its cursed reputation, they set off. Meanwhile, Dr. Menard (Richard Johnson) is having a hard time keeping the dead from returning and convincing his wife (the gorgeous Olga Karlatos) of their safety. She finds out the hard way that she was right in one of the most cringe-inducing scenes you will ever see.
Back on the boat, the drive shaft is damaging due to run-in with a shark and they make for the closest island….guess which one. They meet the doctor, who fills them in on the fate of Ann’s father and the island goings-on. He sends them to the house to check on his wife and when they discover her being devoured by several corpses, they clear out. Peter is injured when the jeep hits a tree and they continue on foot back to the hospital, arriving just as the zombies converge on it. The bullets and molotovs fly, but they are forced to flee into the jungle. Reaching the boat, they ride the current away from the island heading for St. Cristobal, but it’s too late. The dead are rising and taking over.
Featuring standout FX from Giovanni Corridori and Gianetto De Rossi, along with one of my favorite film scores by Fabio Frizzi and Giorgio Cascio, I saw this 10 weeks straight on a triple feature with Maniac and a changing third title (it WAS that good). Graphically violent, soaked in blood and featuring several very memorable scenes (including a fight between an underwater zombie and a shark) it remains the BEST zombie movie I have ever seen, and I’ve seen almost all of them.
Watch and enjoy!
Fred Burdsall is an amusement park junkie living with his better half, Allison, and their 4 cats. You can find him in the Center City Borders looking for Doctor Who and zombie books.
As monsterfans may or may not know, Fulci’s living dead masterwork was known in Italy first as Zombi 2, marketed as a non-sequel sequel to Romero’s Dawn, which was retitled Zombi for international release, and…well, monster fans know how crazy these alternate titles can get when it comes to the Euro-horror catalog! Like Fred says, watch and enjoy. GDA
Posted by Jonathan in Events, Latest News on April 20th, 2010
Ever imagined what it’d be like walking around in a horde of brain-eating zombies? Well, if you live in or near Los Angeles you’ll have the chance to find out! The So.Cal ZombieWalk is back and will be happening on April 24th. Check below for additional information from the press release.
Press Release:
The streets of Hollywood, California, have been overrun by the undead! It appears that all of these ghoulish “creatures” are headed in one direction — Hollywood Boulevard! Reports are coming in from terrified tourists and local employees stating that the undead are already plopping themselves down in front of the Mann’s Chinese Theater!
The So.Cal ZombieWalk is back and will be making its next “walk” on April 24th. Zombies in attendance will be donating canned goods in support of local food banks in Southern California (that is, when they are not ravaging stunned onlookers in hopes of securing their next warm meal).
This scary sight will certainly be one to behold as hundreds, if not thousands, of members of the undead will be walking, moaning, groaning, and hungering for lots of brains!
Details:
What: So.Cal ZombieWalk
Where: Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, California
When: April 24th, 2010 @ 5:30pm
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Posted by Jesse in Games, Latest News, Movies on April 1st, 2010
Screen Gems has posted on MySpace the first round of images from their upcoming Resident Evil: Afterlife, starring Milla Jovovich, Ali Larter, Spencer Locke and Wentworth Miller. Director of the original film, Paul W.S. Anderson (also of Aliens vs. Predator and Death Race), returns for this installment.
In Afterlife, Jovovich’s Alice finds herself in post-zombie-apocalypse Los Angeles, fighting to free a band of human survivors from an undead surrounded prison.
Resident Evil: Afterlife will be released in 3D on September 10.
Posted by Steve in Events, Latest News, The Magic Lantern - Steve Weintz on February 18th, 2010
Like Stanley G. Weinbaum, Henry Kuttner, Stan Winston and Dave Allen, Dan O’Bannon left our planet much too soon, leaving behind a world of saddened friends and fans. The sadness doesn’t linger, though, for Dan was a very funny man, and much beloved by those who knew him.
On February 9th, 2010, the New Beverly Cinema hosted the Grindhouse Film Fest’s tribute to Dan 
O’Bannon, with a double feature screening of “Lifeforce” and “Return of the Living Dead.” To experience Dan’s authentic adaptation of Colin Wilson’s seminal novel “The Space Vampires”, and his loopy, dead-on riff on zombie movies, in a Hollywood revival theater full of rabid fans, is to know what imaginative entertainment is all about.
In addition to such on-screen delights as an unveiled Matilda May, and demented lines such as “Send more cops!”, an informal RotLD cast reunion occurred.
Clu Galagher, James Karen, Don Calfa, Thom Matthews, Beverly Randolph and others shared stories and reminiscences.
Artist William Stout, whose first credit as Production Designer came on RotLD, made a last-minute appearance and explained Dan’s key place in film and comic history.
Kudos to Grindhouse Film Fest and Dan’s many friends for putting on this event! Dan’s memory will also be part of the book launch party for “The Bleeding Edge Anthology” at Mystery & Imagination Bookshop in Glendale, CA, this Saturday, Feb. 20, starting at 3:00pm.
Posted by Jesse in Comics, Latest News, Television & Web Series on January 21st, 2010
AMC has just greenlit a television adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s comic series The Walking Dead, to be written (and in the case of the pilot, at least) and directed by Frank Darabont, and produced by Gale Anne Hurd.
The Image comic, illustrated by Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard, followed Rick Grimes, a small-town cop forced to lead a desperate group of survivors through a zombie apocalypse in order to reunite with his family.
Posted by sean in Books, Latest News on September 15th, 2009
Quirk Books, publishers of unique works like The Batman Handbook, The Brick Testament, and My First Book of Business Ethics, recently made waves with Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, the first book launched under their “Quirk Classics” line. A “mash-up book,” P&P&Z was the product of author Seth Grahame-Smith editing Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, adding and changing text so the novel’s events take place during a zombie apocalypse in 19th century England.
The results are as novel and hilarious as one would expect; Elizabeth Bennet becomes a master of the deadly arts, having studied under the tutelage of a Far East martial arts master with her sisters, and must fight a number of zombies and (oddly enough) ninjas, all while developing her relationship with one Mr. Darcy. Messages don’t always reach their targets, because messengers have a nasty habit of being eaten on the road, and ladies argue about the merits of carrying a musket – it’s indecent and unladylike, but offers better protection from the infected than the more discreet ankle dagger.
As amusing and decidedly different as Grahame-Smith’s adaptation is, Quirk Classics’ next effort promises to be a more ambitious affair. Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters is exactly what it sounds like: another of Ms. Austen’s classic works, this time with the inclusion of man-eating, tentacled aquatic beasts. The new project, which the company decided on after considering options like A Farewell To Arms and Legs and Jurassic Mansfield Park, proved to be a significant task for author Ben H. Winter. (more…)
Posted by Dominic in Movies on July 18th, 2009
Matthew Michael Carnahan (State of Play, Lions for Lambs, The Kingdom-Man, is he politically charged) has taken over writing duties from J. Michael Straczynski (The Changeling) on the upcoming World War Z.
Based on the 2006 Max Brooks novel, World War Z is set ten years after a worldwide zombie epidemic almost wiped out humanity. Brooks writes as an agent for the United Nations Postwar Commission who travels the globe chronicling stories of those who survived the decade-long war.
Speaking on Fangoria Radio Brooks had this to say about the writer switch, “He’s one of Hollywood’s hot A-list writers, so if they went after him and paid him a mountain of gold, it definitely shows their confidence in this project. They say it’s a positive move because they’re very excited, but the truth is, it’s also positive because they just paid him a butt-load of money, and [with] the money they paid him, the money they paid Straczynski and the money they’ve paid me, they’ve really dug themselves a deep hole, so they better make this thing!”
The “they” to whom Brooks is refering is Paramount and Brad Pitts Plan B Production who are developing the picture.
I’m just stoked for yet another zombie movie in the works.
Posted by Dominic in Movies on July 13th, 2009
I love zombies, next to werewolves they are my favorite monster. I don’t think there’s one writer who loves the horror genre that has never written at least one story about some type of zombie or zombie invasion. And though I don’t like all zombie movies, a small spark is ignited within me whenever I hear news of a zombie flick in the works.
Enter executive Stephen Emery and Circle of Confusion, who are set to produce the zombie comedy thriller, Gatekeeper, reports Variety.
Isaac Meisenheimer will direct from his script about a simple mistake that leaves three friends to defend their town from zombies-is there any other zombie story? Probably not, and I’m not complaining.
“We intend to make a film in the vein of Shaun of the Dead for American audiences, ” Emery said. If these guys can come anywhere near the coolness of Shaun of the Dead we’ll have ourselves a pretty damn good zombie picture.
Mathew O’Leary, Lea Thompson, Judge Reinhold, Ron Perlman and Jana Kramer are set to star.
Shooting begins in September.
Posted by dominie in Movies on February 17th, 2009
Just a week ago, we announced that Jane Austen’s classic story, Pride and Prejudice, would undergo the zombie treatment—Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Just as I thought nothing zombie could surprise me anymore in this zombie-oversaturated industry, I stood corrected.
Enter today’s zombie news, now I can add “excitement” (at least for a moment) to my list of unfamiliar zombie sensations. According to Production Weekly, Natalie Portman (V for Vendetta) is in talks to topline in the movie adaptation of the zombified tale. Shock Till You Drop however, received notice from an unnamed source, that this news is “Premature. No offers or handshakes of any kind yet – other people circling.”
Dangit. We’ll be sure to stay on top of this so stay tuned. The parody, written by Seth Grahame-Smith, is really shaping up to be a hot commodity for Hollywood studios!
Posted by dominie in Movies on February 17th, 2009
Bloody Disgusting via Production Weekly reports that, Juno, and most recently Jennifer’s Body producer, Diablo Cody, will tell us what happens with life and love after death in his next film, an adaptation of S. G. Browne’s romantic zombie comedy titled, Breathers: A Zombie’s Lament.
Please stay tuned for details to come! In the meantime, the plot details are provided below.
Meet Andy Warner, a recently deceased everyman and newly minted zombie. Resented by his parents, abandoned by his friends, and reviled by a society that no longer considers him human, Andy is having a bit of trouble adjusting to his new existence. But all that changes when he goes to an Undead Anonymous meeting and finds kindred souls in Rita, an impossibly sexy recent suicide with a taste for the formaldehyde in cosmetic products, and Jerry, a twenty-one-year-old car-crash victim with an exposed brain and a penchant for Renaissance pornography. When the group meets a rogue zombie who teaches them the joys of human flesh, things start to get messy, and Andy embarks on a journey of self-discovery that will take him from his casket to the SPCA to a media-driven class-action lawsuit on behalf of the rights of zombies everywhere.
Posted by dominie in Movies on February 10th, 2009
In an interview with Shock Till You Drop, Race to Witch Mountain director Andy Fickman revealed that Adam Marcus (Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday) will be helming the remake of 1943’s classic I Walked With a Zombie for Twisted Pictures. Fickman will produce the picture along with three other RKO remakes currently in development.
In the original movie, “a young Canadian nurse (Betsy) comes to the West Indies to care for Jessica, the wife of a plantation manager (Paul Holland). Jessica seems to be suffering from a kind of mental paralysis as a result of fever. When she falls in love with Paul, Betsy determines to cure Jessica even if she needs to use a voodoo ceremony, to give Paul what she thinks he wants.”
Filming on the remake will begin in New Orleans this spring.
By Fred Burdsall
A power outage sends Ash and Morgan to the basement where they proceed to lock themselves in, leaving Stef and Johnny to fight their way out of the lab as Ash and Morgan wiggle out of the basement through a pipe. They make a run for the car, with Johnny playing decoy, using his berserker moves ’til he’s overwhelmed by the zombies. They head for the airport.
