Category: Horror

The All-Time Best Zombie Movies!

Audrey Fox at /Film created her list of The 20 Best Zombie Movies Of All Time.  Using just her list here are my top five (in alpha order):

28 days later: Purists will argue that this isn’t a true zombie movie.  Instead of arguing, I’d just watch it again!

Dawn of the Dead (2004): Has one of the best opening scenes of any zombie movie (except for World War Z) and I love that Fox acknowledges that in her article!

Night of the Living Dead: The original by George Romero that kickstarted the zombie renaissance.

Overlord: Zombies and WW2 mash-up.  Another that some will argue isn’t a true zombie movie.  Again, I say, “Rewatch  instead of arguing.”

Train to Busan:  A modern classic.  More people should see this film!

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Some films on her list that didn’t make mine but are good: Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland and The Dead Don’t Die.  They’re funny and worth a view, but when the dead start to rise, I prefer scary to funny. (I still want to see Little Monsters!)

I haven’t seen Blood Quantum but want to.

“Monsters Inside: The 24 Faces of Billy Milligan” – The Trailer is Here!

I’ll say it again, Netflix comes up with interesting documentaries.  I hope that Monsters Inside: The 24 Faces of Billy Milligan is as good as the trailer below.  Deal me in.

Have you ever seen someone change personalities right in front of your eyes? Monsters Inside: The 24 Faces of Billy Milligan is only on Netflix September 22.

RIP: Marilyn Eastman

Marilyn Eastman, best known for her role in George Romero’s classic Night of the Living Dead, died yesterday at the age of 87.  No cause of death was given.

Ms. Eastman not only co-starred in Night of the Living Dead, she was also one producing partners of Image Ten – the company formed to finance the movie.  It’s interesting to note that Marilyn Eastman played Helen Cooper, the wife of Harry Cooper played by Karl Hardman, who was her real-life business and life partner.  In addition, Ms. Eastman also worked on make-up, props and assisted with the editing for Night of the Living Dead.

After filming of Night of the Living Dead, Marilyn Eastman returned to work at Hardman/Eastman, Inc., the production company she and Karl Hardman had created prior to the making of the horror classic.  Ms. Eastman would continue to make and/or appear in commercials and industrial films for the rest of her career.   In addition, Marilyn Eastman had roles in an episode of Perry Mason in 1960 and the movies Houseguest (1995) and Santa Claws (1996).

The only film/tv show I ever saw Marilyn Eastman act in was Night of the Living Dead.  I cannot tell you how many times I’ve see it, but I do know I’ve spent more time watching Ms. Eastman on screen than many, movie/tv stars with dozens more credits.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Marilyn Eastman’s family, friends and fans.

“Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster” – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

I like the poster (dig that shadow) and trailer for Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster.  Deal me in!

Beginning just before his debut as Frankenstein’s creation, BORIS KARLOFF: THE MAN BEHIND THE MONSTER compellingly explores the life and legacy of a cinema legend, presenting a perceptive history of the genre he personified. His films were long derided as hokum and attacked by censors. But his phenomenal popularity and pervasive influence endures, inspiring some of our greatest actors and directors into the 21st Century – among them Guillermo Del Toro, Ron Perlman, Roger Corman & John Landis all of whom and many more contribute their personal insights and anecdotes.

Want to Know the Best Cities in 2021 to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse?

Lawn Love (of all places!) dug through a boatload of data to come up with 2021’s Best Cities for Surviving a Zombie Apocalypse.  As you can see from the infographic above they have listed the 10 best as well as the 10 worst cities for living through a zombie end-of-the-world scenario.

In order to get their rankings they looked at:

  • highest/lowest share of the population in good health
  • highest/lowest share of homes with basements
  • most/fewest stores with hunting gear
  • best/worst trail access
  • most/fewest military bases

Since Florida soil isn’t conducive to basements, I’m surprised that we had two cities that placed in the top 10 for safest.  I was also surprised to see that my current city (Daytona Beach, Fl.) and my birth city (Terre Haute, In.) didn’t even make the top 200 of safest cities.

If there was a zombie apocalypse I would want to be in an area that wasn’t over-populated and had a nice year round climate.  The Florida coast would probably be a good choice since you could fish year round making food one less worry.

If you click over to Lawn Love’s site you’ll see the full zombie apocalypse infographic and how cities rated in each area.  You can even look up your hometown to see how it ranked.  Then you’ll know if you’re likely to survive or become one of the walking dead.

“Night of the Animated Dead” – Retelling Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead” – The Trailer is Here!

George Romero’s original Night of the Living Dead is one of my all-time favorite horror movies.  It spawned several Romero directed sequels as well as reboots and remakes with some being very good and some not.  I’ll leave it to you to decide where Night of the Animated Dead will fall.  I do wish the animation was more realistic.

Revisit George A. Romero’s 1968 horror classic in an altogether unprecedented presentation as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment releases Night of the Animated Dead, a new, star-studded animated recreation of the thriller coming September 21, 2021 to Digital and October 5, 2021 to Blu-ray Combo Pack & DVD.

In Night of the Animated Dead, siblings Barbara and Johnny visit their father’s grave in a remote cemetery in Pennsylvania when they are suddenly set upon by zombies. Barbara flees and takes refuge in an abandoned farmhouse along with stranded motorist Ben and four local survivors found hiding in the cellar. Together, the group must fight to stay alive against the oncoming horde of zombies while also confronting their own fears and prejudices.

Night of the Animated Dead features the voice talents of Josh Duhamel (Jupiter’s Legacy, Transformers) as Harry Cooper, Dulé Hill (The West Wing, Psych) as Ben, Katharine Isabelle (Ginger Snaps) as Barbara, James Roday Rodriguez (A Million Little Things, Psych) as Tom, Katee Sackhoff (The Mandalorian, Battlestar Galactica) as Judy, Will Sasso (MadTV) as Sheriff McClelland, Jimmi Simpson (Westworld) as Johnny and Nancy Travis (Last Man Standing) as Helen Cooper.

Executive Producers are Richard Potter (Diciembres), Thomas DeFeo (The Seventh Day) and Jamie Elliott (Fighting with My Family). Producers are Ralph E. Portillo, p.g.a. (Buddy Games), Robert Feldman, p.g.a. (Dr. Shroud) and Kevin Kasha (I Spit on Your Grave). Animation services were provided by Demente Animation Studio. The original Night of the Living Dead was written by George A. Romero (Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead) and John Russo (The Majorettes, Santa Claws). Night of the Animated Dead was produced by Michael J. Luisi, p.g.a. (The Call, Oculus) and directed by Jason Axinn (To Your Last Death).

“Midnight Mass” – The Trailer is Here!

The trailer for Midnight Mass has me interested in seeing more, but what really sold me was this exchange:

“Who are you?”
“You know who I am.”

But we don’t know!  I want to find out so I’ll tune in to Netflix starting September 24th!

From the producers of The Haunting of Hill House, MIDNIGHT MASS introduces Crockett Island, an isolated island community that experiences miraculous events – and frightening omens – following the arrival of a charismatic, mysterious young priest.

“Alien” by Alex Ogle

I really like everything about this Alien art by Alex Ogle.

First, it tells a story or at least makes you want to know what happened before and after what we see.  Second, Alex’s color choices are awesome.  They highlight the pen and ink work instead of drawing attention away from the foundation of the piece.

This art reminds me of a synthesis of Bernie Wrightson and Kyle Holtz, but is 100% Alex Ogle.  You can see more of Alex’s art at his Instagram page.

The All-Time Scariest Sci-Fi Movies!

Phil Pirrello decided to rank The 25 Scariest Sci-Fi Movies Ever Made.  I decided to play along using just his top five to see how we’d compare.  The results are below…

Pirrello

Zablo

1. The Thing (1982)

1. Alien: Because we had never seen a creature like this and because anyone in the cast could die the scare factor was increased.

2. Alien (1979)

2. The Thing: Watch the blood test scene and tell me that The Thing doesn’t belong in the top two. I dare ya!

3. The Fly (1986)

3. Aliens: If the colonial marines can’t stand up to them, what can? (Congrats to Sigourney Weaver for making the top 3 with two different directors!)

4. Aliens (1986)

4. The Fly: Equal parts scary and gory.

5. The Invisible Man (2020)

5. The Invisible Man: was much better than I thought it would be.

Other films in Pirrello’s list that I would have rated higher: Pitch Black; 10 Cloverfield Lane; Us; Predator; A Quiet Place; and Terminator.