Category: Horror

The Perfect Drive-In Movie

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It’s been a long time since I’ve made it a point to see a movie on opening day, but “30 Days of Night” was worth the effort. As regular ZONErs know, I’ve been anxious to see “30 Days of Night” for quite a while. I’m happy to report that it didn’t disappoint.Now don’t get me wrong. “30 Days of Night” isn’t a classic. It’s what I’d call a perfect drive-in movie. You know, the type of movie that Tarantino and Rodriguez were shooting for with “Grindhouse.” It’s a fun ride, provides some cool scares and presents the genre with a slightly different twist.

The Good: I loved the set-up. Creepy things happening and no one knows why. The isolation of the city. The stranger who just creeps out everyone… then makes ominous threats as things get worse. Ebin’s reaction to get everyone inside and safe even though he doesn’t know what’s going on. The way the vampires were fast and vicious. “Get in the truck. Just get in the truck, now!” The attack of Ebin and his wife as they were driving. How they were saved. How the fat guy who Sly beats up in the opening of “Get Carter” has matured into a tough as nails wilderness man. The main vampire.

The Bad: No real feeling of 30 days passing. More could have been done with this angle. We should have felt the isolation getting worse… the lack of food, water, etc. as it began to wear down the survivors. Not enough growing sense of the vampires are going to find us… it would have been cool to have the vampires going from house to house and sometimes finding other survivors as they get closer to the current hiding spot of our heroes. A little more set-up could have paid off better by showing that Ebin is truly a scrapper. The manner in which the main vampire is killed.

The Ugly: The chops on the vampires… and the stranger.

“30 Days of Night” will definitely find a home in my movie collection. If you liked the graphic novel or horror movies, you should enjoy the ride.

Why the Hullabaloo?

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Christopher Mills commented on my last post about 30 Days of Night and opened up an interesting discussion.

Chris said:

You know, I don’t really get what’s so great about 30 Days of Night.

I’ve read the first two graphic novels, and, honestly, I was underwhelmed.

The art was pretty, but the visual storytelling was virtually nonexistent, and there was nothing particularly fresh about the plot other than the titular gimmick of an Arctic Circle setting – which I first saw in an indy vampire film a decade ago called “Jugular Wine.”

But then, I haven’t really been impressed with anything I’ve read by Niles. His “I Am Legend” comic was more a transcription than an adaptation, and the few other things of his I’ve read (admittedly, not that much) played out like a regurgitation of B-movie plots.

Now, much the same could be said of my stuff, and I don’t begrudge him his success, I just don’t get all the hullabaloo…

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Craig responds:  Chris, like most projects that have a lot of buzz, I think that it’s a combination of things coming together at the right time. Horror movies are doing well now and people want to see them. Perhaps it’s because of the times in which we live.I was more impressed with the first graphic novel. The concept was new to me and I’d imagine a lot of other people as well. I’ll have to keep an eye out for “Jugular Wine.” You and I both read a lot of graphic novels/comics so Templesmith’s art probably didn’t seem as groundbreaking to us, but to casual readers it probably shocked them. “30 Days of Night” was [at least to a lot of folks] what adults [or at least young adults] want in comics so of course they’d love to see a movie adaptation.

I first discovered Steve Niles through his “I Am Legend” adaptation and I’d agree with your assessment of it. Still, it was cool to see him bring it to comics. I’d forgotten all about Niles until I read his novel Guns, Drugs and Monsters. I loved it. From there I sought out his other novel and of course “30 Days of Night.”  Niles and I exchanged a few e-mails and I met him at a convention. He seemed like an ordinary guy who made good… and he knew how lucky he was. He was humble and appreciative of his fans. When the movie deal was announced, I was happy to see that he’d hit the lottery.

As for the movie itself, it looks great. The publicity machine has been hitting on all cylinders building the anticipation and everything I’ve seen makes me think that I’m going to have a fun couple of hours this weekend when I get out to see it.  Thanks to Christopher Mills for the topic and now you should head over to his blog and check out his post on the new Star Trek movie!

 

Will is Not Alone

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Of course you know I’m looking forward to Will Smith in “I am Legend”. How could I not be, I liked the Matheson novel, the graphic novel adapted by Steve [30 Days of Night] Niles, the movie adaptation starring Vincent Price and even the movie with Charlton Heston as the lead .

Want to see the movie now? Sorry. I can’t help you. Want to see a huge version of the poster? Then you’re in luck. Click HERE and check it out thanks to AICN.

30 Days of Night: "No God"

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30 Days of Night just keeps looking sweeter and sweeter.

It’s rare that a movie is better than the book or graphic novel that spawned it, but 30 Days of Night the movie just might do the trick. I love the look and feel of it. This clip has several quiet moments that are really creepy and the way the vampire says, “No God” creates such a feeling of helpless and hopelessness.

I can’t wait to see this on the big screen!

Living with the Dead

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While we’re on the subject of first issues of new comics as we were HERE and HERE, there’s one more that I thought I’d mention. It’s called “Living with the Dead” by Mike Richardson [writer], Ben Stenbeck [artist] and Richard Corben [covers].

It’s a “hilariously funny” look at the life of two slackers who’ve, at least until now, survived a zombie plague. When they discover a beautiful young girl across the way things get really interesting.

I’m giving it a shot since I enjoyed “Shaun of the Dead.”

XXXombies

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Another first issue that caught my eye while going through Previews was Crawl Space: XXXombies #1 by Rick Remender, Kieron Dwyer and Tony Moore. The idea is it’s 1977 and a low rent movie producer has brought together a cast of adult film stars for a weekend shoot in LA… just as a zombie plague hits.

Mix together Remender, Dwyer, Moore and zombies and I’m there. You can be too if you give your local comic shop owner a “heads-up.”