This is the review for the 1990 remake of the zombie movie classic Night of the Living Dead. Staring Tony Todd and Patricia Tallman. Finally a zombie movie remake that rivals the classic cult thriller.
As zombie movies go this one has all the right ingredients. From the ominous slow moving but always coming zombie hoards to the trapped situation; Night of the Living Dead delivers good zombie fun.
Stuck together in a farmhouse miles away from help, our zombie outbreak survivors are pressed for a way out. With the highly annoying ‘Cooper’ stuck between wanting to retreat to the cellar with his wife and soon to be zombie daughter, our survivors must choose between staying put or finding the keys to a fuel pump to speed their getaway truck. But of course bad luck finds those too eager to flee!
The zombies are of the slow moving and dumb variety but the Night of the Living Dead does a good job of covering all the zombies one might encounter from drug addicts to my favourite – the naked zombie ladies. The fx makeup is not bad, though the actual deaths could have been bloodier for this horror fan.
The characters are well done mostly because of the decent acting found in this zombie movie. Our heroin does find herself away from the farm and into the hands of a bunch of greasy rednecks out for zombie killing fun. And who can blame them? But who would have thought that a survivor camp would much like a like monster truck rally meets an NRA meeting?
THE MEAT OF IT
Acting – 3.5/5 – Above average acting means good character development.
Story – 3.5/5 – It’s a well-done remake of the classic – what else is there to say?
Gore – 2/5 –Weak on the gore factor and too many exploding brains are never seen.
Scare Factor – 2/5 – Not scary per say, but certainly entertaining enough.
Zombie Factor – 3/5 – decent zombies, well-coached so they seem more real. FX makeup above average.
Would I Watch It Again? – Actually I just did! Second watch through and still find it worth seeing.
Severed: Forest of the Dead is a zombie movie by Carl Bessai and it stars Paul Campbell and Sarah Lind. Set in the forest as you can tell by the name, it pits zombies vs hippy tree huggers. And who doesn’t want to see hippy tree huggers get eaten alive?
A forestry crew is diligently working away when one of them is injured cutting a tree. This same tree was leaking out a mysterious red goo which causes our hapless tree cutter to get infected and start off a zombie outbreak.
The zombies are mix of awkward moving, slow moving and medium paced zombies which look much like the infected from 28 Days Later. The zombie hoard makes its way into the forest camp of our resident tree huggers and the rest is your typical zombie movie fare. Former enemies in the tree cutters and tree huggers work together to solve their joint problem.
As B-Grade movie acting goes this one isn’t that bad. They at least seem interested in the outcome and the writing keeps it from getting too silly.
THE MEAT OF IT
Acting – 3/5 – above average B-Grade fair
Story – 2.5/5 – the writing while not terrible doesn’t set it apart
Gore – 2/5 – too many non-shots when the blood starts flying. Some flying blood but zombie deaths forgettable
Scare Factor – 1.5/5 – safe for kittens
Zombie Factor – 2/5 – weak effects make-up
Would I Watch It Again? – 2/5 – only if I forgot I watched it the first time. Too much Blair Witch seizure inducing camera work as well.
I had the great pleasure yesterday to partake in my first aptly named zombie walk. The 2010 Vancouver zombie walk had about 5000 participants, with most of them done up as the undead. The zombies present were of all shapes, sizes and shades of blood red. There were even zombie children with their parents at this yearly event.
Each year the event draws more and more people to the Vancouver Art Gallery for the start of the annual zombie walk. Participants walk down Vancouver’s posh Robson Street much to the delight of the onlookers on the sidewalks, in the shops and in their cars. Many onlookers come ready with cameras in hand to take photos of this great event.
This year the event was headlined by the upcoming feature film Bong of the Dead by writer, producer and director Thomas Newman. Along with his award-winning crew that includes make up guru and industry leader Mike Fields, some of the cast of the film and of course zombies, headed the procession through the streets of Vancouver. Under a BongoftheDead.com banner, the cast and crew of the film handed out t-shirts and flyers to the upcoming movie. No other group of zombies attracted nearly as much attention as this bunch did.
The 2010 Vancouver zombie walk had about 5000 total participants and they jammed the streets with the undead. There was very little police presence as the zombie hoard was well-behaved – except the odd transit bus was surrounded and covered in fake blood by the zombies. Most passengers could be seen to making mock scared faces and gestures of panic, but it was clear everyone dead and undead had a great time with the spectacle.
Well it’s the interview you all have been waiting for! We had the great pleasure to sit down with the writer, producer and director of the upcoming feature length zombie movie, Bong of the Dead, Thomas Newman and the following are his answers.
For those that don’t already know, Bong of the Dead is a creation of the warped mind of Thomas Newman. The blood and gore was put to full effect with the FX guru Mike Fields who is a veteran of every major gore and horror movie of note as of late.
Bong Of The Dead is a comical road adventure about two close friends who find a way to make the best of a mass zombie outbreak caused by meteorites from outer space. Tommy and Edwin are a pair of major stoners who one day discover a way of using zombie brains as a means of growing potent pot. Now that the world is abandoned and there are flesh eating monsters at every turn what more can one do except find a way to benefit from it. The boys manage to deplete their supply of weed and decide to take a road trip in search of more zombies in order to kill them and use their brains for fertilizer. Along the way they find themselves hostages to a psychotic zombie who has an evil plot to take over the world.
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The following is an interview with Simone Bailly who plays Leah Kroker in the zombie movie by Thomas Newman, Bong of the Dead. According to the writer, producer and director of the movie, Simone Bailly was cast in the film Bong Of The Dead not only because of her raw talent and professionalism as an actor, but also because of her stunning on screen presence.
Simone is no rookie to movies and television. She has a large and ever-growing resume that includes some of Hollywood’s and television’s biggest shows and movies. Just a few days ago while watching a re-run of Battlestar Galactica I noticed her looking as good as ever!
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