REVIEW: Buddy Bebop vs. The Living Dead (2009)

I love the 50’s. I love the 50’s culture, the way people acted and the idea of teenage rebellion that’s considered nothing as opposed today. What I love even more is when a movie combines the 50’s culture with the zombie subgenre, which is probably why I love Fido so much. I saw a movie that’s sort of like Fido’s mentally unstable brother who was locked in the attic for the better half of his life, and that movie is called Buddy Bebop vs. The Living Dead. Set in 1958, the movie is about a small town that becomes overrun with zombies after a failed government experiment is unleashed… what’s new? Now it’s up to a Buddy Holly-esque musician, a greaser and his geeky friend to survive while making sure nothing harmful comes to them or their girlfriends. However, the geeky friend’s father is lone survivor of the scientists who first created the experiment and the Vice President has recruited somebody to stop the undead… somebody famous… somebody who’s known as The King.

The movie is nice to look mainly because it employs the same special effect technique we’ve seen in Sin City where most of the movie is black and white but certain objects are in color. Although, in this movie there is no real reason as to why certain things (and times everything except for the people) are in color. I thought it would be doing something similar to Pleasantville (another 50’s style gem) but I guess the director thought it looked cool, which it does at times. Considering this was a period piece of sorts, I have to commend the art direction for trying to make the movie as 50’s as possible. They use an old fashioned diner, the hairstyles, old cars and even a radio announcer that’s very reminiscent of Edward R. Murrow. Despite these efforts, I feel the movie has the same aesthetic problem that Dirty Dancing has. Because of the budget, there are several times where the movie doesn’t even seem like it takes place in the 50’s but rather the present day, which is a result of costuming. This doesn’t really break the movie; it’s something that noticed.

If there was anything that could break the movie it would be a few things, namely… there wasn’t enough Buddy Bebop. I like this character; he’s the spitting image of Buddy Holly and goes as far as to make puns with Holly’s songs. After the zombies invade the town, there seems to be a huge emphasis on the greaser and his friend and hardly any on Bebop. Part of me was hoping that the movie would be sort of like Dance of the Dead where Bebop must save everybody in the roller rink from the zombies outside. Also, there are some scenes and situations that have really no purpose at all. At times I felt like the only reason it was in there was to make the movie more perverted. I’m talking about the pervert who licks girl’s shoes and then forces himself on to a young man, and the fat roller rink owner who decides to have anal sex in the bathroom. None of it needs to be in there. It’s just unnecessary fluff that’s expendable.

There were two parts of the movie that I really enjoyed and one of them is when Buddy Bebop confronts The King (better known as Elvis, or an Elvis-esque character this world has to offer). See, a zombie has bitten Bebop and so has The King, but The King just handed the antibiotic serum to Bebop, now they must fight each other and the zombies around them to see who gets the serum. Not only is there cartoon music playing but also it’s such a great analogy for two kings of rock ‘n roll finally duking it out to see who’s the ultimate. Elvis is known as The King of Rock ‘n Roll but Buddy “Bebop” Holly was known as the forbearers of rock ‘n roll. It felt like a real life version of a Hannah Barbara cartoon and I enjoyed every minute of it. Also, I really liked Elvis’ horrible puns, puns that are a staple in this movie. Example: Shit is like snowflakes, baby, neither two are alike.

The movie is gory, showing broken legs, knocked out teeth, skin peeling and even a zombie eating a dead bloody baby. As for the zombies themselves, they sort of remind me of Romero zombies mixed with traditional Haitian zombies; white pale skin with dark eyes sockets covered in splattered blood with the occasional half-torn faces. It was nice. Aside from Elvis “The King” Presley, look for a particularly amusing cameo by Richard Nixon. Overall, it wasn’t a bad movie, it was quite enjoyable at times but I wish the movie took a different path and omitted some scenes. The aesthetics and the special effects are gorgeous but it doesn’t seem to help the plot.

Official website

Available on Amazon

REVIEW: Zombiemania (2008)

There have been several documentaries that have taken upon themselves to dive deep into the culture of the zombie subgenre and to understand what makes zombies so appealing and how they have gotten so popular. This craving to theorize, write, watch, act and plan for zombie outbreaks is known as Zombiemania and happens to be the name of the documentary that I watched. This documentary interviews such zombie legends as George A. Romero, Max Brooks and Tom Savini to ask them why they think the zombie genre has gotten so much praise. Additionally, actors from Romero’s films, film critics, authors and even zombie webpage owners are also interviewed to see if they too can uncover the mystery of zombie mania. It was a fun documentary that tries to be diverse when talking about zombies but ends up being a love letter to the “grandfather of zombies,” George Romero.

The film starts off discussing how zombies came to be in film, dating back to the old black and white films where they weren’t flesh eaters but rather cursed people have been forced into slavery by means of removing their soul. This is what a Haitian/voodoo zombie is. Fast-forward to Night of the Living Dead where Romero, with hardly any money, makes a zombie film that not only comments on the social and racial problems of the world but also ends up revolutionizing the zombie genre. The film talks about how Romero, through all his zombie films, have provided aspiring filmmakers and authors a brand new look on the zombie monster. Zombiemania tackles the all important zombie issue of what’s better, fast zombies or slow moving zombies? It seems like the filmmakers are bias and it’s unanimous that slow moving zombies are better since it’s more realistic… or at least as real as a zombie invasion gets.

Diving further into the culture, the film looks at Fido, Shaun of the Dead and Return of the Living Dead and how they managed to take a serious horror film and turn it into a satirical comedy where zombies are capable of having independent thought and even the ability to talk. Additionally, the film dives into how makeup artists create real looking zombies by either studying the decayed bodies such as mummies or by requesting morgues to allow them to photograph bodies. Specifically, I like how they describe that as your body rots away, your lips begin to curl back exposing your teeth. Teeth are the zombie’s primary weapon and they seem more threatening when their teeth are exposed in a hideous and gruesome way.

Books such as the Zombie Survival Guide, Pride Prejudice & Zombies and The Serpent and the Rainbow are also discussed on how they became New York Times bestsellers. The film discusses how many people take the zombie apocalypse seriously but also how many people fantasize a world where zombies have run amok. Games like Land of the Dead and Resident Evil are also talking about and how they made “practicing” for the zombie invasion a little easier. Though the film doesn’t really get to the heart and soul of the zombie subculture, it definitely gave me a new insight on the culture that is Zombiemania. It shows zombie walks, people who have made a living drawing zombie portraits and how special effects gurus have formed businesses around zombie productions. It’s a great film that really puts everything in a nutshell while still paying tribute to George A. Romero. I agree that if it wasn’t for George, the zombie subgenre wouldn’t have taken off but I would like to see some respect to the forbearers before Romero.

REVIEW: Shock Waves

Ah Shock Waves. No other type of zombie is more famous than the Nazi zombie and although modern zombie hounds might think that Dead Snow is the premier example of this, they are in fact wrong. One of the earliest forms (possibly the first form) of Nazi zombies stems from a 1977 film called Shock Waves. It has since become somewhat of a cult classic and I was somewhat fortunate to watch it. Essentially, it’s about a group of people who go out onto the ocean to enjoy a peaceful time of relaxation and I guess none of these people know each other because it’s sort of like a tour boat or something. Well, the boat runs aground and they end up being stranded on a deserted island with an old abandoned hotel. They soon discover that an exiled Nazi scientist who created a battalion of undead super soldiers that were buried beneath the ocean occupies the hotel. Terror ensues when the battalion rises from the murky depths to kill everybody on the island. Really, the only thing this film had going for it was the zombie Nazis and nothing else; everything else seemed pretty bland.

Brooke Adams plays our heroine who some people may recognize from Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Dead Zone but to be honest, she isn’t interesting in this film at all and it’s sort of funny. It seems like the main cast is completely overshadowed by the supporting cast, specifically two people, who don’t have nearly enough screen time. Veteran actors Peter Cushing and John Carradine lend themselves to make the movie interesting. Carradine’s over the top crotchy portrayal as the ship’s captain makes for a good laugh now and then, especially when he brings up the ghost ship. Peter Cushing is calm, reserved and charismatic as always and I think he has a great character. I could just see this man’s story: famed and decorated SS Commander/scientist who was once very prestigious and courteous, now washed up, dirty, old, forgotten and living in secluded exile. It’s tragic but deserving. The rest of the cast isn’t bad but I gather that this was an indie movie so the occasional bad acting is fine and even adds to that cheesy 70’s charm.

Personally, I think it’s the zombies that really add the flavor to this film mainly because their presence gives the scene an ominous, menacing mood that is otherwise not there at all. Unlike Dead Snow, these zombies aren’t fully decorated in SS uniforms nor do they have the appearance of a rotting corpse. Here, they are dressed in very casually while still maintaining that Nazi look but their faces are just pale and wrinkled. It may be cheap but it accomplishes so much. They walk slowly, they practically appear out of nowhere, they stare at you from afar, they grab you and kill you underneath the water and they don’t eat you. If you walked into this movie not knowing anything about it or an explanation from the film, you’d think that they are just an army of killers. They are so cold and emotionless that they are almost human in a sense and not an undead monster.

I think that Shock Waves trucks along at relatively slow pace and naturally I feel more happier when I get to see people stalked by Nazis and that doesn’t really happen until the last 20 minutes of the movie. Otherwise, I was somewhat bored by this film. I’m sure that if I saw this at a young age I would be creeped out by it but right now I think the mood is really bland unless you throw the Nazis into it. I’m find with questionable acting and very little action but there should be a tradeoff like a tense or menacing mood throughout the entire thing. It’s not bad, especially for an indie movie (or so I think) but it’s just boring at times. I’m sure they are bound to remake it but then it would nothing but blood, guts and nudity but since this movie should be heavily based on atmosphere, that’s the direction a remake should go in as well. I’m sure that I’ll come by this movie again and maybe then I’ll be more lenient on it.

Available on Amazon.

REVIEW: Redneck Zombies

Every once in a while there is a movie that comes along and really touches your heart. These movies are often sweet, memorable and evoke emotions of sadness, happiness and warmth. They’re often movies of childhood’s end, the pains of becoming an adult and the broken promises of love. Redneck Zombies is NOT that kind of movie. It makes you want to take a shower after your done watching it and when you think you’re all nice and clean… it spits blood at you and sends you on a colorful, LSD trip to an unknown place in space and time. The movie is about a group of rednecks that find a lost barrel of toxic waste and thinking that it’s raw alcohol. So, they distill it and sell it to everybody in their town but the problem is that the side effect to drinking the still is total zombificatoin. Now, as the town slowly turns into mindless flesh-eaters, a group of pot-smoking nature freaks must find a way to survive before they end up getting eaten or worse… turned into a redneck zombie.

Where to begin? Well, I can’t really say much about the acting because it’s supposed to be bad. It’s supposed to be dreadful and over the top because that’s what this movie was trying to go for. I can, however, say that the acting was probably one of the three highlights of the movie since they really exaggerated the hillbilly tonality or even Southern tonality in general. Speaking of characters, none of them are likable and they only serve on purpose: to be eaten, killed and turned into zombies and the movie accomplishes this quite nicely. I guess you can say that they’re likable in the sense of you want them to turn into zombies. Half of the characters are idiot rednecks who think toxic waste is an alcohol, the other half of the characters are pot-smoking nature freaks that share cryptic stories to each other. However, I did find that the only barely likable character had a bag over his head and was only in 2 scenes.

What I can comment about are the ridiculous actions and video effects that the “video” has. Redneck Zombies was apparently one of the first movies to ever be fully shot and edited on video and you can obviously tell just by the way the picture looks. It reminds me of an old Monty Python skit. The movie uses a wide selection of what appears to be programmed filters that probably came with the camera or the VTR that they edited on. They range from solarization, negative, image within an image and much, much more. It’s so gratuitous that it ends up making the movie seem even more schlock that it already is, but then again… what other way could you show that a character is having an acid trip? On top of that, you have characters that wash their babies in laundry machines, a close-up of a woman’s greasy breasts, rednecks that kidnap and butcher young women and somebody that gets so scared that his hair actually stands up on end. Did I also mention that there is a scene where you are literally thrown into a trans-dimensional portal of spinning, vibrating colors? That’s there too.

As for the zombie makeup and special effects… it’s very well done, especially for a b-movie. The makeup looks like they rubbed plaster or clotted oatmeal all over the people’s faces but it still looks really good and really raw. However, at times it looks like there are hoards of Jokers chasing our heroes around because of the black circles around the eyes and the ruby-red lips. There is lots of gore and I mean lots of it. You see zombies eating people’s guts out, there is blood smearing all over their faces, vivisection, intestines, stomachs, the whole nine yards. It looks really phony but at the same time it feels likes your watching the real thing and I guess it has something to do with the format. Perhaps the fact that it’s videotape makes it seem raw as though it’s a documentary. I’d say it’s one of the goriest zombie movies that I’ve seen.

Ever since Stu sent me the link to the trailer for this movie, I’ve been dying to see and I finally did thanks to the miracle that is Netflix Instant. I should have known better because he would send me a trailer of a movie that would make me want to take a nice cold shower. I haven’t had this much schlock fun since I saw The Video Dead so obviously I’m a fan of this, but I wouldn’t watch it over and over again. Redneck Zombies is a must watch for any type of zombie fan or genre fan but only watch it if your bored or curious. Don’t take it too seriously and most importantly… just have fun with it. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry (from laughter) and you’ll want to wash it down with a nice cold beer.

Available on Amazon

REVIEW: The Dead Can’t Dance

It’s hard to come by good indie zombie films that aren’t 100% comedic. Ironically, when I first saw the cover for The Dead Can’t Dance, I thought it was a comedy. It turns out, that it’s more drama than comedy or horror. The story follows three Native American men who find out that they are immune to a virus that renders most people zombies. After realizing that they may be the only survivors, they seek refuge in an abandoned school where they begin to bond and hopefully understand each other better. It sounds a little tacky when I phrase it that way, but it’s worth a watch. It’s certainly not the worst movie that I saw but I ended up liking it for the most part. I think it’s because I felt more for the characters and having likable characters is the key to making a good zombie movie.

The story is actually pretty unique in the sense that it revolves around Native Americans and that being Native American is actually the only way to survive the epidemic. I’m not going to spoil anything but when you find out what the root cause of the epidemic is, you’ll realize why Native Americans are immune to the bug. Otherwise, the story seems very basic because it’s all about the survivors trying to bond and cope with the outbreak. It’s sort of like Day of the Dead in that regard. The characters are Dax, Ray and Eddie Whitehorse and as I already stated, it’s the characters that really drive this movie. If it wasn’t for them, the movie may have been really boring or it would have just been another zombie comedy.

Dax is the brother of Ray and Ray is the father of Eddie. To watch these two characters bicker back and forth throughout the entire movie was probably the films strongest points. Dax is very serious and tries to act strong in the shadow of despair, whereas his brother seems like a horn-dog and just does what he wants despite having a son. The film’s central theme seems to be the relationship that Ray has with his son Eddie and how he really isn’t the best father he could be. It’s sort of sad because Eddie, through the entire movie, seems to be the innocent bystander that gets roped into everything. You can tell he really loves his father but looks up to his uncle more because he’s the only one who actually cares for him. This character study is what drives the movie and makes it seem like a drama more than a horror.

As far as the zombies go, they are very typical. They remind me of the zombies from the old black and white films of the 40’s so… pre-Romero. The only difference is, they are in color. They are typical slow moving zombies but one zombie in particular, suitably named Stupid, is different from the rest of his flesh-eating hoard. He just wants to listen to music whether it’s from the radio or from a cell phone; his goal is to just wonder around while listing to his tunes. I like this take on zombies because, again, it reminds me of Day of the Dead in the sense that zombies could actually have… brains.

Funnily enough, there is a lot of great humor mainly coming form how Ray acts. One line in particular typifies Ray’s character, “Look at that hoochie! Kinda hot. You know, if she wasn’t the walking dead and all.” These quirks and sporadic humorous lines douses out the main focus of the story, making the zombies seem like they aren’t crucial to the story. Also, another brief aspect of humor comes from the radio host who keeps people updated. The way he has to read redundant lines and his commentary on the subject made me laugh every time he was on screen. A quote of choice, “All Natives should head to the shelters where aid is set up to aid those in need of shelter.” It’s brilliant writing. The only downside to this movie is that the dialogue can get pretty hammy and the performances lacked. I think I would love to see this movie get made into a serious film because it certainly has a lot of potential.

All in all, it’s definitely not a horrible film but rather a pretty decent zombie flick. I’m sure some Native Americans might find it a little racist, especially when they mention Natives being alcoholics. However, I had a fun time with it and I encourage any zombie fan to check it out some time. It’s a great movie to watch to pass the time along and it definitely has its moments.

Official website.

REVIEW: KIDZ

After their parents are killed in the zombie apocalypse, a trio of kids battles for survival.
WINNER
BEST PICTURE
DEAD ON FILM 2010 Zombie Short Film Competition
Rio Theatre, Vancouver, Canada

This is short is exactly what the description promises. After their mom shoots her zombie husband, then shoots herself, the kids in the house take it upon themselves to become the heroes and fend of the hoards of zombies. It’s a very simple but effective plot with a great twist at the end.

What’s so appealing, besides the wonderful talent, is the photography. It starts off so stylized yet beautifully colored to give it that picturesque suburban feel to the story. Then, once things get down and gory it turns to a wonderful array of yellows, oranges and reds. However, the film’s strongest point is that it is told from the perspective of the kids, therefore it’s very fast past and there isn’t really any explanation. When the kids decide to use the gun it’s done so in a “hell yeah we get to use a gun” manner, as if they find joy in using real weapons. Also, once the kids transform into the heroes, it reminded me when I use to dress up and act like the kid version of Indiana Jones. The film effectively captures the creative essence and innocents of youth and it’s just one more reason to give it a watch.

REVIEW: Just A Car Crash Away

This short zombie flick is brought to you buy DeusExMachina Studio. After a terrible car crash leaving one girl dead (she seems to have flown through the windshield), the lone survivor is desperately trying to hide from the hoard of zombies on the other side of the car. Luckily, it’s the car that is protecting her… for now. I liked this short; it has beautiful photography that gave it this otherworldly experimental feel to it. The description says that the makeup took 3 hours to do, and if that’s true… it shows. The zombies felt real; they had flesh peeling off of their cheeks and solid white eyes. But perhaps the greatest feat this movie accomplishes is the performances, not only by the zombies, but buy the one girl who is trying to hide from them. She has no lines (there is no dialogue at all in the movie) so she is tasked with conveying emotion through facial and body language, and she did a wonderful job. If you are in the mood for a quick zombie short, I recommend this.

Shot on the Canon 7D & 5D mkII

Lenses: Canon 50mm f1.8 Canon 135mm f2.8 Sigma 70-300mm f4-5.6 macro

ISO speed: from 100 to 400

Burns and scratches: artbeats

3 hour for makeUp and 5 hour of shooting in a cold winter day…..Bring on the Zombie Apocalypse!!!

REVIEW: Morbid

A man wielding a machine gun is on a persistent hunt to find his love one while searching in an abandoned zombie-infested hospital. Though the story seems like something that we’ve all seen, and we have, the movie accomplishes a great sense of atmosphere, suspense and aesthetics. The picture has that old, brown, gloomy tint to it that makes you understand that something really bad has happened at this hospital. Behind every door lies something different and it was a treat to see what door led to what, had that been the entire movie, I wish it were longer so that we could see more zombie surprises. Now, in terms of aesthetics, I guess what really won me over was when our fearless hero finds the body in the hospital room. Just the way the lamp was tilted, and flickering and how the sheets covered up the mess were just beautifully laid out.

My only beef, and this serves as critique, is that some of the lights (lighting) seemed as though they were studio lights and what I mean by that is this: a couple scenes had big blotches of lights on the walls and doors, making it seem obvious. By putting a mesh or a piece of heat resistant paper, you can douse the light blotch but still make it look bright. Otherwise, technically speaking, it was a fantastic film.

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MINI REVIEW: Dawn of the Night of the Dead

Apparently Dawn of the Night of the Dead is quite well known to zombie lovers and many people have seen this 25 years ago. I, for one, just recently heard of it. It’s pretty much the bare basic of Night of the Living Dead: redneck hunters attack flesh-eating zombies. What makes this short film so good isn’t just its cheesy, retro, bad-videotape feel but rather the comedy. The zombies, dressed in poorly done makeup, walk single file and do ground synchronization stunts while chanting, “Dawn of the Night of the Dead.” The hunters, with their redneck appearances, plaid shirts and puffy vests, march single file while chanting, “Beat ‘em or burn ‘em.” I guess the reason why it’s so funny the first time is because it reminds me of Monty Python (ex: one of the zombies rips the guys arms off with no indication of a struggle) with a sort of West Side Story vibe. The only problem is, it’s only funny the first time.

REVIEW: Die-ner (… get it?)

I love movies that take place in one area and if that area happens to be a diner, it’s all the more pleasing. See, to me a diner is just so aesthetically pleasing that a multitude of things could happen in it… that it would still be interesting. Die-ner is one of those movies but there is a major downside to it. Die-ner (get it?) is about a couple, whom have recently become a little miffed by each other, that stumble into a late-night diner. Little do they know that their “waiter,” just moments before, walked into the diner and slaughtered the entire staff and stored them in the freezer. Things get a little uncomfortable when a local cop, who happens to be a regular, walks in and notices that everybody is missing. But wait, there’s more! The dead staff somehow comes back to life! Now, the couple, the serial killer and the cop must battle the undead before they lay chomp into their bodies. Die-ner had a great production, some good effects but the jokes fall flat and the performances were very awkward.

As I stated, the production of the movie was great. In fact, aside from the performances and awkward script, the entire execution of the movie was spot on. I couldn’t help but wonder if Quentin Tarantino was an inspiration for some of the action sequences if not the dialogue. The lighting was eerie, colorful and a little off-putting but that only made the setting feel like they were in some isolated area in the Twilight Zone. It just had that uncomfortable feel of despair, nightmarish scenery and total aloneness. The score for the movie was brilliant. It was slow, haunting but yet very calming at the same time… it was very interesting to see what drove their idea into having such a strange score. If there is one scene that screams QT, it would have to be the opening sequence and I know some might find it boring but I think it was the greatest part of the film. The slow build up, the in depth look at a character, the almost poetic killing of her and the cook and the music. All of it was just brilliantly executing.

With all that said, I feel as though I need to explain why this movie would come out average for me. I think the biggest problem this movie suffers from is the very calm, monotone, awkward performances. Unless there was a reason or theme that I am missing for why this is so, it just felt like the cast felt a little inept around each other. Because of this, the characters seemed to be out of place; shit is hitting the fan, zombies are eating people and coming in by the boatload and yet they talk normally or they act like there isn’t a rush. I would be screaming, panicking or at least hurrying to get things done. The humor, which mostly stems from our serial killer anti-hero, falls flat a lot of times because I’m assuming he’s attempting dry humor. Which, to the film’s defense… is very hard to do. Perhaps the actors are just beginning in their career or perhaps the director needs more practice… either way, this is no knock to the director or the actors. I’m merely stating some constructing criticism.

The zombies seem to be lifted from a lot of other zombie films; The Video Dead comes to mind. Here, once the dead turn into zombies they begin acting like you and me or in other words they try to be ‘normal.’ I feel like there is a lot to be said about zombies trying to be normal, however, midway into the film Die-ner seems to abandon this concept all together. Which was fine because it was only a matter of time before their hunger overthrows their normalcy. I enjoyed the makeup and the gore was pretty fun to see; I keep thinking about the first time a certain somebody gets his neck bitten into. I also like the fact that the film is very grim and doesn’t BS with happy endings. The last 10 or so minutes were pretty shocking to say the least.

Overall, this was an average movie. The production was great, the zombies were great but what brought it down was the acting and some of the dialogue. However, there is a silver lining to all of this. From what I saw on their official website, I have to admire the enthusiasm and the spirit of everybody. Die-ner may hold an average rating in my book but it’s a prime example of how dedicated indie directors are and how they are determined to get things done. To recap, I don’t want to make it sound like the actors or the director are incompetent but rather learn from a few iffy moments in the movie. Live and learn.

Available on Amazon