What is Zombiewood Confidential about?
For fans of Warm Bodies, Zombieland, and Shaun of the Dead!
Cosmetology school drop-out Scarlet Patterson needs a job—any job. So when her best friend and award winning monster makeup artist Derek Keyes scores her a gig on Romeo George’s new zombie flick “Isle of the Living Dead†she’s on the next boat to the remote desert island set, makeup brushes in hand.
The good news? The movie stars her longtime childhood crush—action star Mason Marks (of “Sparkly Vampires from Hell†fame). The bad? It also stars his current made-for-tabloids girlfriend—the trashy Cissy Max—who seems determined to make Scarlet’s life a living hell.
But that’s not the worst thing. Not by far. Because all those zombie extras stuck on the desert island alongside her? Turns out they don’t need any makeup to look the part. And they’re always hungry. Really, really hungry.
As the horror movie set is transformed into a nightmarish reality show—where everyone wants to be kicked off the island—it becomes up to Scarlett and Mason to star as real life action heroes and figure out a way to save the world. And maybe even the paparazzi.
Filled with action, humor, romance and, of course, plenty of braaaains.
Our Zombiewood Confidential Review
In Zombiewood Confidential Mari Mancusi has given us another great way to see how people can deal with the zombie apocalypse. We start by following Scarlet Patterson, a special effects artist in training, who landed a job helping do makeup on a B movie to help pay off her next set of bills for school. Things start off going from annoying by having to deal with the lead actress, stuck up Cissy Max who can’t stand having her in the same room. The plus side? She also is doing the makeup for Cissy’s boyfriend and her crush when she was a teen, action star Mason Marks.
How is this is a zombie book? Well to start with the film being done is a B Zombie movie. We’ll be quick to learn though that it’s not just being based in the world of a cheesy movie though. Things change as overnight many of the extras are getting sick and leaving and soon after Scarlet’s friend, the lead makeup artist who got her the job, is also missing.
This is kind of a spoiler but not so much as to ruin it for you (read on at your own risk!) What we don’t find out until the end is that almost all of the unnamed supporting cast were actually zombies. There is a voodoo priest who is selling zombies off as cheap manual labor and the director of the film has decided it’s the only way to make ends meet and be able to truly have a zombie horde that will keep costs down.
How did they come from manual labor ready zombies into the flesh eating monsters that have come about? Well it looks as if they come into contact with real blood it infuses them with a hunger for flesh. The special effects guru on set? He’s using real blood in his ‘fake’ blood to give the pretend zombies that extra special look he’s known for.
With an ever growing friendship blooming between Scarlet and Mason can it become more? Can it grow into actual love in the face of the island they are shooting on being overrun by zombies? More importantly can it survive the ever watching eyes of the paparazzi or through Cissy’s contemptuous loathing for Scarlet and what she feels for Mason?
With the interesting mixture of an original take on zombies and Hollywood drama Zombiewood Confidential is a quick and fun read worth picking up.
