Category: Zombies

“Day of the Dead” (1985) / Z-View

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Day of the Dead  (1985)

Director: George A. Romero

Writers:  George A. Romero

Starring: Lori Cardille, Terry Alexander, Joseph Pilato, Sherman Howard and Gary Howard Klar.

Tagline: First there was “Night of the Living Dead” then “Dawn of the Dead” and now the darkest day of horror the world has ever known.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

The zombie apocalypse is well under way.  A small group of soldiers, scientists and civilians have found safety in an underground military bunker.  Isolation and increasing hordes of zombies are wearing on the groups’ nerves/sanity.  When the group learns that one of their scientists has been using soldiers in experiments, the breaking point is reached. The living become as dangerous as the dead.  Will anyone survive?

Day of the Dead was George Romero’s favorite of his “…of the Dead” movies.  I wish I could say the same.  I prefer my zombies as unthinking killing machines.  In Day of the Dead, not only are the zombies learning but one uses a gun!  I also didn’t care for any of the living characters.  Still, it is a Romero zombie film and even if I don’t prefer his vision, I respect it.

Day of the Dead gets 2 of 5 stars.

Zack Snyder’s “Army of the Dead” Wins 1st Ever Oscar as Fan Favorite!

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With all the talk about The Slap at last night’s Academy Awards, the fact that Army of the Dead won a Oscar in the (first ever) Fan Favorite category may have slipped by.  From Variety…

This year, a best popular film category was added to recognize a film chosen by fans, based on Twitter votes. That award went to Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead.

Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead won a freaking Oscar and I couldn’t be happier about it.

The HOPELESS are Coming to Get You, Barbara!

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Hopeless is a new horror graphic novel that sounds/looks good.  The ‘Hopeless‘ Team consists of Mike Raicht (co-creator, writer), Zach Howard (co-creator, art director), Danny Earls (artist), Clara Meath (Kickstarter manager), Thompson Knox (letterer) and Ed Lavalee (logo design).  The Hopeless Kickstarter runs until 7:34am on April 24th.  I’m in!

Check out the synopsis and a few preview pages (click on the art to see ’em biggie-sized) to see if you want in as well.

‘Hopeless’ is a 100-page graphic novel that begins on Chrisler Street, a dead end street in the fictional town of Hope, New York, enduring the turmoil of the late 60s. Set during the Vietnam war, Hope, like thousands of small towns across America, has been gutted by the draft, the horrors of Vietnam, and the ongoing battle for civil rights.

Now, that landscape will be invaded by one final, horrific twist- the Tagged.

Who are the Tagged? Those unfortunate souls infected by vicious parasites during their time deep in the jungles of Vietnam. These parasite-infected soldiers are about to unknowingly unleash a new type of hell on their hometowns. Slowly driven mad, their minds ravaged by mind-destroying parasites, these Tagged soldiers will viciously tear their communities apart.

“Wyrmwood: Apocalypse” – The Trailer is Here!

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I haven’t seen Wyrmwood, but a movie that sounds like Mad Max with zombies?  Yeah, I need to find that!  But today we’re talking about the sequel, Wyrmwood: Apocalypse.  Check out the trailer below and see what you think.  I’d give it a go.

WYRMWOOD: APOCALYPSE Trailer (2022) Zombie Action Sequel

PLOT: Rhys is a soldier and a hunter who lives in the zombie infested wasteland. His job is to capture civilians & deliver them to what’s left of the military & the brutal Surgeon General. When Rhys captures a half-zombie-half-human named Grace, he comes to believe she is the key to ending the apocalypse. Working with her sister, Maxi, he works to free Grace before she is subjected to horrible experiments.

CAST: Luke McKenzie, Goran D. Kleut, Shantae Barnes-Cowan, Nicholas Boshier, Bianca Bradey, Jay Gallagher

DIRECTOR: Kiah Roache-Turner

“Virus:32” – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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Virus:32.  Zombies?  Trailer that looks good?  Deal me in.

Gustavo Hernandez’s VIRUS:32, starring Paula Silva and Silver Bear winner Daniel Hendler, depicts Iris (a security guard) and her daughter during a night shift and unaware that a virus outbreak is infecting the whole city. Their only hope of salvation arrives when they discover that, after each attack, the infected seem to have 32-seconds of peace before charging again. VIRUS:32 debuts on Shudder on April 21.

TRAIN 8 – Zombies on a Train is Coming!

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Train 8 is a graphic novel that will be in comic shops on May 4th.  Written by David Stephan, Marysol Levant, and Brian Phillipson with art by Philip Phillipson, Alex Cormack, Lureline Weatherly and David Stephan.  Here’s the synopsis…

Two college girls, traveling the famous Train 8 from Seattle to Chicago, find themselves at the center of an experimental GMO virus outbreak that causes passengers to turn into blood thirsty primordials. The surviving girls and a handful of passengers are faced with the moral dilemma of stopping the train to save themselves – and let the deadly virus infect the world – or keep the train running, buying more time until help comes but only if they can survive the killing horde of the Infected.

Let your local comic shop know if you’re interested.  As for me, I’m on board.

“All of Us Are Dead” Season 1 / Z-View

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All of Us Are Dead: Season 1 (2022)

Creator :  Chun Sung-il,  Lee Jae-kyoo,  Kim Nam-su (based on the webtoon Now at Our School by Joo Dong-geun)

Directors:  Lee Jae-kyoo,  Kim Nam-su

Writers:  Chun Sung-il

Stars:  Park Ji-hu, Yoon Chan-young, Cho Yi-hyun, Lomon, Yoo In-soo, Lee Yoo-mi, Kim Byung-chul, Lee Kyu-hyung and Jeon Bae-soo.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

With All of Us Are Dead we get the zombie apocalypse from the perspective of high school students trapped in their school surrounded by the walking (and running) dead!  There are subplots involving a father trying to get to his daughter, and the political/military aspects of dealing with the crisis, but the main story is how the students work together to survive.

All of Us Are Dead provides plenty of action with a large cast of characters (many who will not live through the season),  This adds to the tension and raises the stakes of the series.  Another interesting aspect is when a zombie variant appears.  Is the virus mutating?

It seems like a real nit to pick when I say a little less high school drama would improve a zombie series set primarily in a high school. I enjoyed All of Us Are Dead and hope we get a season 2.  All of Us Are Dead rates 3 of 5 stars.

“All of Us Are Dead” – The New Poster and Trailer are Here!

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I like the new poster and trailer for All of Us Are Dead.   Deal me in.

“All of us will die. There is no hope.”
The school turned into a bloody battleground and our friends into worst enemies.
Who will make it out alive?

Will you kill
Or let yourself be killed

School’s out for the Apocalypse
All of Us Are Dead | Coming January 28, only on Netflix

The All-Time Best Zombie Movies!

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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!

+++

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.

RIP: Marilyn Eastman

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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.

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

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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!

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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).

“Kingdom: Ashin of the North” – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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Today we have the poster and trailer to Kingdom: Ashin of the North.  Billed as a special episode, but at 92 minutes, I see it more as a spinoff movie.

I’ve enjoyed both seasons of Kingdom and Kingdom: Ashin of the North is written by Kim Eun-Hee. who wrote both seasons as well.  I had no idea this was coming, so call me surprised and deal me in!

This summer, a 92 minute thirst for blood begins.
Kingdom: Ashin of the North

A Kingdom Special Episode:  Kingdom: Ashin of the North
Coming July 23, only on Netflix

“The Walking Dead”: The Final Season, Part 1. – The Teaser Trailer is Here!

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Today we have the teaser for The Walking Dead: The Final Season, Part 1.  I look forward to seeing how this series ends.  The Walking Dead is one of the tv series that I can say I was with from the start (and if all goes well) and saw every episode.  It’s been a fun ride.

The Walking Dead returns for Season 11 on Sunday, August 22.