So I’ve got the writing bug. I want to write. I enjoy to write. I just don’t know what I want to write about. But then I got it! Writing makes me feel alive and what better way to feel alive than talking about the undead, those creepy, stinking, feet-shuffling, growling, rotting, decomposing pale white, blue/green/gray corpses? What better way to celebrate tomorrow’s arrival of spring than to discuss decaying flesh eaters? Readers beware, you’re in for a scare !!
Night of the Living Dead, 1968, Continental Motion Pictures Corporation
Director: George A. Romero
We might as well start with the grandaddy of’em all, the original 1968 classic that inspired a million really bad low-budget zombie movies. NOTLD wasn’t the first zombie movie. Movies such as Plague of the Zombies, White Zombie, and The Walking Dead played with the idea of the undead beforehand. You can even count the numerous vampire movies amongst the ‘undead’ subgenre. But we’re talking the nitty gritty stereotypical zombies here that most people think of, which George A. Romero’s Night was the first to feature. This actually wasn’t even the first zombie movie I ever saw. I believe that distinction goes to the 1990 remake. This indie B&W film was truly frightening for its time (some even credit it with jumpstarting American horror genre again after a decade plus domination by European horror) and was a big hit at the box office, but truth be told, I actually feel its inferior to many other zombie movies that have come since. Certainly, it is still a classic and without it, there’s a good chance we wouldn’t have the zombie movies we have now though. The premise is a (not yet) traditional one for zombie tales, a few survivors hole up somewhere (a farm house, in this case) and try to make the best of things. In-fighting and zombie fighting ensues.
HALF-EATEN BRAINS OUT OF 5
Dawn of the Dead, 1978, United Film Distribution Company
Director: George A. Romero
George is at it again, 10 years later with a sequel to Night of the Living Dead. Which I’ve always wondered about. Since NOTLD was such a hit, why did it take so long for him to make this one? I LOVE this movie. It’s the first zombie movie I ever owned and one the first DVDs I ever owned as well when I bought the U.S. Theatrical Cut version. I have since gotten my hands on the awesome Ultimate Edition box set, which includes the U.S. cut, Extended edition, and European cut, plus it’s full of documentaries. While NOTLD started the zombie craze, this is the movie that really solidified their status in the world of horror. It’s regarded as the best of the best, and it’s hard to argue. I’m sure you know the story by now, four refugees end up in a mall and live out their materialistic fantasies while hacking & slashing the few zombies in the mall and outside around the building. Then a motorcycle gang shows up wanting the mall for themselves and all heck breaks loose. The only thing that really bothered me was the campy zombie make up. Special effects/make-up wiz Tom Savini was purposely going for a “comic book” look for the film, and he succeeded with the bright blue-greens of zombie skin, but it felt a little over the top for me. But I am talking about a movie where people live in a mall while fighting zombies. Featured one of the coolest tag lines for a movie EVER: “When there’s no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth.” This movie does raises something interesting to ponder… If you had a mall all to yourself, what would you do? I’d go down to Hickory Farms and eat all their beer jerky.
HALF-EATEN BRAINS OUT OF 5
Dawn of the Dead, 1985, United Film Distribution Company
Directory: George A. Romero
I know, I know. It’s the weakest of the bunch, supposedly. But I actually enjoy it quite a bit. I snatched this DVD up not too long after watching the original Dawn. Again, being the zombie lover I am, I purchased the Special Edition that came out a few years ago, as my original DVD copy was bare bones. This time, the survivors are in a military bunker somewhere in Florida. There’s a helicopter pilot, a communications guy, a few scientists, and a handful of soldiers. Apparently the plan is to try to understand what is causing the zombies and see if there is a cure. Except everyday, the base is attracting more and more zombies and everyone is slowly (and not so slowly) cracking up as they are losing people to these zombie attacks and all communications are down. There’s a few complaints many Living Dead fans have with this one…
1 – There are no sympathetic characters.
The soldiers are mean-spirited jerks who hate the scientists. The scientists are conducting weird secret experiments with the zombies and even with the deceased bodies of some of the soldiers. The pilot and comm. guy seem to not give a darn about any of it, and avoid all scientist vs. military conflicts when possible by drinking alone and accepting that it’s the end of the world and no one is coming to save them. I can agree that there’s really no one to like in this movie. The main character, a female scientist, is the *most* likeable, but she spends so much time arguing with the head military guy, it’s still not much to go on.
2- There’s not much zombie action.
The opening scene is great as a helicopter lands in the middle of a street that belongs to a once busy city with newspapers blowing by and palm trees swaying (I like to think it’s Miami). There’s even an alligator wandering the streets! Anyway, there’s this thumping music that gets your blood flowing as one of the scientists gets out of the heli and is calling down the street for someone, anyone to answer them. In time, just as the music reaches its crescendo and the haunting sounds of keyboards are in all their glory, they see a mob of zombies walking their way and they hightail it outta there. So that scene is fine. And while you get to see zombies surrounding the gates of the base, there’s not much more happening until the very end when the zombies are finally able to breakthrough and make their way into the base. THAT’S when you get to see some creative flesh eating (again, done by Tom Savini), but the rest of the movie does seem to drag at times and is an excercise in not losing your own mind when you see how stupid people can be.
Still, I have a soft spot for this one.
1/2
HALF-EATEN BRAINS OUT OF 5
Dawn of the Dead, 2004, Universal Pictures
Director: Zack Snyder
THIS is how you do a remake! Hollywood has gone remake crazy, but this is actually a good movie that is comparable to the original Dawn. Given the advancements in technology in the last 26 years, the effects are a lot better as well. The opening scene is pretty brutal. This isn’t a frame for frame sequel, as they take quite a bit of liberties here. The idea is the same (survivors in a mall), but that’s just about where the similarities end. It’s seems to be the norm of modern zombie movies these days to drift more away from actual horror and into the action/horror hybrid, and that’s exactly what this movie does. And it does it well. I wasn’t expecting much from this, just a low-budget Holywood cash-in attempt, but what I ended up with is one of my personal favorite zombie flicks ever.
1/2
HALF-EATEN BRAINS OUT OF 5
Return of the Living Dead Part II, 1988, Lorimar Film Entertainment
Director: Ken Wiederhorn
Campy classic! This movie is done very tongue-in-cheek and makes no attempt to be a “real” horror film. It’s a goofy, fun horror/comedy. I saw this one before I ever had a chance to watch the original, and much like Dawn to Night, I prefer Part II over the first Return. And no, this has no relation to Romero’s “Living Dead” movies, the title was pretty much done as a tribute to them though. “…of the Living Dead” is extremely overused when it comes to low-budget zombie movies these days, but back then, it was done by this franchise as a nod to the classics, whereas now it’s done to cash-in with familiar sounding title. It was never explained in the Romero Dead films just *what* caused the undead to reanimate. Radiation? Plague? Voodoo? Here (and in the first Return), it was the good ol’ military. Yep, some nasty drum filled with chemicals fell off a military convoy, and rolled into a ditch, where two boys find it, don’t see the warnings on the drum, open it up and one gets a good whiff of the stuff and the story goes from there. And just to prove this movie isn’t even TRYING to take itself seriously, two of the starring roles are filled by Thom Mattews and James Karen as bumbling graverobbers, who also played in the FIRST movie… as differerent characters. The final showdown (zombies and electrocution) is great as a zombie dressed remarkably like Michael Jackson from the Thriller video does a few patented MJ moves and mannerisms while getting juiced.
1/2
HALF-EATEN BRAINS OUT OF 5
Shaun of the Dead, 2004, Rogue Pictures
Director: Edgar Wright
Forget about the first two Return of the Living Dead movies. Forget about My Boyfriend’s Back. THIS is the greatest zombie comedy of all time! There’s just so much here to love. It’s obvious the crew had a ball filming this and have a great love for zombie movies. George Romero was so impressed with this movie that he even gave the stars, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, cameo zombie roles in Romero’s Land of the Dead! The record throwing scene is full of great banter between our heroes, Shaun (Pegg) and Ed (Frost). There’s also a great montage of sorts at the bar while the survivors are fighting zombies to the tune of Queen’s ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’. Yes, zombies are here, but this movie isn’t really gory or horrific. It’s relies much more on comedy and funny dialogue than anything else. I would highly recommend this movie even to someone who’s not a zombie fan. It’s just that funny. I waited a long time to see this. I had heard the buzz for it online, I think it was already released in England (yes, it’s a British movie) by the time it hit the states, but it had a limited release in the US and wasn’t showing in my area. I anxiously awaited the DVD release and when I saw it, I fell in love. One of my favorite movies… PERIOD !
1/2
HALF-EATEN BRAINS OUT OF 5
Night of the Living Dead, 1990, Columbia Pictures
Director: Tom Savini
So here is our first Living Dead remake (although it has no connection to the recent Dawn of the Dead remake or the more recent Day of the Dead remake, which also have no connection to each other). Ah yes, I remember it like it was yesterday… I was a stranger in a strange land (Fort Walton Beach, Florida) and I spent my weekend nights having horror movie marathons thanks to the local Blockbuster. I usually took home three at a time, and this is where I truly fell in love with zombie and slasher movies. I think I rented almost their whole horror section at one time or another. Anyway, maybe this movie spoiled me for the original, because I actually prefer this movie over the ‘68 version. Maybe it’s the fact that it’s in color and isn’t *quite* as low-budget. It’s pretty much shot for shot the exact same movie though, just different actors. I think Romero even wrote the screenplay for this version as well.
HALF-EATEN BRAINS OUT OF 5
28 Days Later, 2002, Fox Searchlight Pictures
Directory: Danny Boyle
Just as the original NOTLD made people stand up a take notice of zombie movies, 28 Days Later did it again in the new millennium. Zombies movies were probably most actively released (and poorly made) during the 80s. Not since Romero had anyone made a thoughtful, serious zombie movie. Small time studios and producers just wanted a quick buck and produced gore just for gore’s sake that went direct to video with horrible make-up effects and even worse acting. But 28 Days Later brought it all back and I credit this movie as being the sole film to reignite interest in zombie movies. Although, history repeats and zombies seem to be everywhere again. Movies, novels, comics, video games, and yes, even those ugly D-list-direct-to-video-shot-on-a-camcorder movies are back as well. Anyway, this was another zombie movie I was pumped to see. Imagine, my FIRST zombie movie in an actual theater! All my previous zombie experience was from run down VHS tapes and expensive DVDs. How gratifying this was! This is a really good movie, and although I felt it dragged a bit at times, there was great suspense here and the soundtrack really kept you interested and excited about what was going to happen next. There was a bit of a different take here, as the zombie outbreak was explained by contact being made with some really, really angry monkeys that were carrying a virus. Some say that immediately strikes this film from being a true zombie flick, but I don’t understand why. Voodoo, radiation/chemicals, and plagues are the generally accepted ways to become a zombie. A virus definitely falls under the plague category, as far as I’m concerned.
HALF-EATEN BRAINS OUT OF 5
The Evil Dead, 1981, A-Film Production
Director: Sam Raimi
The Evil Dead. One of the greatest horror/comedies of all time. Although, this FIRST Evil Dead was certainly more horror than comedy. We wouldn’t really get to the wise-crackin’, egotistical Ash we all know and love until the sequel (and half-remake) that was Evil Dead 2. I include this movie on a technicality, because it does indeed involve the undead. But not in the typical infection ways. The story, quite simply, is this: a few friends head to a cabin for the weekend and upon arriving find, and read, the Book of the Dead, left behind by the cabin’s previous inhabitant (an archaeologist), where they also play a recording describing the evils of the book by said archaeologist. Well, all of this releases the evil spirits and the forest pretty much turns against them, and the spirts end up possessing everyone (except Ash of course) turning them into the undead. But these are smart, quick moving, hyena-laughing, silver-tongued members of the undead, not your usual Romero kind. Possession by evil spirits? Certainly not the usual method of zombification, but they *are* pale white and attempted to bite Ash a few dozen times, and it’s universally regarded that these creatures are indeed zombies, so I’ll give it the zombie pass. But don’t get me wrong, this is not zombie movie, per se. It’s, more or less, demonic in theme than anything else.
HALF-EATEN BRAINS OUT OF 5
