Okay - it's not Saturday and while these two things probably belong on the Zombie Zone, I've already done my Christmas post there, so here they are. The first bit of nonsense is from Failblog and is a Google autocomplete inquiry. That means at least one person searched for that specific question. Why? Why would anyone need to know that? Of course, as a screenwriter doing research, I've searched for some pretty outrageous information, but nothing that comes close to this particular inquiry.
And since I've already brought up eating human flesh, the zombie-lovin' loons over at BoingBoing posted the video below, today. It made me laugh. I hope makes you laugh, too. I really will be taking tomorrow and Saturday night off (and maybe Sunday). I'm on vacation from the day job all week and plan on finally finishing the the first draft of the screenplay I've been working on for the past year or so. Anyway, enjoy this:
I don't know when my zombie fascination started. Probably with George Romero's 1978 masterpiece, Dawn of the Dead. The nightmares didn't start until much later, though.
The first one I remember distinctly was incorporated into my screenplay Army of the Dead, though I had the dream at least 10 years before I even started writing screenplays. Of course, the screenplay I am working on now was almost entirely inspired by a zombie nightmare.
And last night, after watching the season finale of "The Walking Dead," I had a doozy, in which Uncle P's own mother was a cheek-less zombie, though she wasn't fully aware that she was a zombie. She kept asking, "I'm supposed to eat people? No, that can't be right." The dream eventually got silly, involving a castle about to be flooded to destruction, Dear D and a Katy Perry zombie that just couldn't be put down, even after her head had been bashed to bits with a chrome tire-iron...
Of course, much of that can be directly related to "TS-19," but most of it was just completely off the wall, as most of my dreams (nightmares or not) are. Occasionally, a dream or nightmare is so vivid it ends up being a full screenplay, as with Comatose Joe and my current project, though usually only certain elements make their way into my writing, as in Chimera and The Cow Says: Moo! More often than not, my dreams are so bizarre, they defy interpretation. Case in point - I recently dreamt that I was part of a theatrical production which was reproduced by another race of beings in a dimension which vibrated on a different frequency than ours. And that's all I can tell you about it without you thinking I'm completely insane (which no doubt, many of you already think, anyway).
I keep a dream journal on my nightstand, and write down the significant details of dreams I think my have potential commercial value, but save the weirdest ones to share with friends and family (none of whom are surprised those dreams' weirdness). I suggest that you do as well. You have no idea when your subconscious might come up with a brilliant idea or two...
Sadly, this is my last recap of "The Walking Dead" for a while. Lats night's airing of "TS-19" will be the last until next fall, and while I think it's horribly cruel of AMC to leave us all hanging for so long, I understand why they only ordered 6 episodes to start. They took a huge gamble, which paid off in their highest ratings ever (not to mention Entertainment Weekly's endorsement as "The Best New TV Show of the Year"). Oh - SPOILERS BELOW!
When we last left our intrepid band of survivors, they were about to enter the CDC, where Dr. Jenner has been contemplating suicide. The episode started with a flashback to when the military attacked the hospital where Shane was visiting the comatose Rick. Unsure what to do in the face of panicked soldiers and hungry zombies, and convinced his partner is dead, Shane blocks the door to Rick's room with a bed (thus unknowingly saving his life) and makes his escape. Back in the present, Jenner allows the group to enter the CDC with a simple caveat: "Once that door is closed, it doesn't open again." He also insists on testing them all for infection.
During their first real meal in days, the adults get drunk and Shane presses Jenner about what happened and why he is alone. Jenner tells them that those who didn't leave right away, eventually killed themselves, bringing everyone down. Afterward, Rick seeks out Jenner to thank him for saving them and finally admits that he is worried everyone he loves is going to die. A very drunken Shane almost rapes Laurie in the rec room and Andrea becomes increasingly convinced she has nothing to live for, after the death of Amy. At a very hungover breakfast the next morning, Dale presses Jenner about why he stayed and Jenner takes them all to the command center where he screens the file "TS-19" (Test Subject #19) for them, showing them an MRI-like image of the disease attacking the brain of a volunteer who had been bitten.
As the disease (virus, bacteria, parasite?) goes to work, the image is suddenly shattered and they realize that Jenner had shot TS-19 in the head, soon after resurrection. Dale then presses Jenner about the clock that has been counting down since they arrived and Jenner admits that it's counting down to full power loss, at which time "total facility decontamination will occur. Simply put, they're all going to die in a massive fireball. Jenner also tells them that he stayed because of a promise he made to his wife, who we come to realize was Test Subject 19.
After angry threats from Shane and Daryl and another impassioned plea from Rick, who asks Jenner to give them a choice, Jenner relents and sets the group free. Jacqui, tired of running and afraid of becoming a walker, opts to stay, as does Andrea. Just before they leave, Jenner grabs Rick and whispers something obviously important in his ear. Using the grenade Rick saved in episode 1, they make their escape through a window, taking out a few walkers on the way back to their vehicles. Meanwhile, Dale insists that if Andrea is staying, then so is he. Andrea finally relents and the two make their way out just in time to avoid the massive fireball that engulfs the CDC (and takes Jenner and Jacqui to their rewards). Devastated by what they've all been through, low on fuel and without any food, the caravan pulls away from the burning CDC and heads out into the unknown...
And so we are left hanging, not knowing where Rick; Shane; Laurie and company are headed. Not knowing what became of Merle or what Jenner whispered to Rick. Not knowing a whole lot more than we did at the beginning (except maybe the French are still looking for a cure). Like every good season finale, "TS-19" supplied both a satisfying ending (just why are giant explosions so satisfying?) and a cliffhanger or two. Now we just have to wait 10 months for it to come back and it sucks.
If it help ease the pain, here's a terrific interview with The Walking Dead creator, Robert Kirkman, thanks to my good buddy Sean at Just a Jeep Guy. I also wanted to address the rumor that Frank Darabont has fired the entire writing staff, which producer Gale Ann Hurd has categorically denied, calling the idea "absurd." With writing this good, why would any director be so foolish?
I've said it before and I'll say it again: "The Walking Dead" is the new "Lost;" episodic TV with characters about whom you really care, facing outrageous obstacles and situations which are totally beyond their control. Showing us the Human Condition at both its best and worst; "The Walking Dead" may well be the most human drama on the air. Brilliant stuff.
Too late to post a proper Zombie Zone post, I thought I'd do dual duty and follow up on a post from a few days ago.
With only one episode of left (boo!) in its first season, AMC's runaway hit "The Walking Dead" offered up a rather reflective episode in "Wildfire." Devastated by the walkers' attack at the end of the last episode, the survivors are left to deal withe aftermath. As Daryl drives a pickax through the heads of every dead body in the camp, Adrea refuses to leave her sister Amy's body and it's discovered that Jim was bitten in the attack.
Rick decides that in order to help Jim, they must head to the CDC for help, reasoning it's probably closer and safer than the military base 100 miles in the opposite direction. Meanwhile, the only person left at the CDC is Jenner, who just lost his last hopeof finding a cure and is plotting his own suicide when our band of weary survivors shows up.
Back at the camp, Andrea places the mermaid necklace she looted around Amy's neck and when her hungry sister resurrects, Andrea apologizes for not protecting her, before blowing her zombified brains out. Glenn has it out with Daryl over which bodies get buried and which get burned. And let's not forget Shane, his leadership and relationship usurped by Rick's return, Shane contemplates killing Rick, but is stopped when Dale (Jeffrey DeMunn of The Mist and The Green Mile) intrudes. Shane ultimately acquiesces and the group is soon headed out to the CDC, sans the Morales family, who head off in search of other surviving family members. Jim begs them leave him to die at the side of road, and after a short debate, they agree to abide by his wishes.
Our band arrives at the CDC, only to find it closed up. Rick, sure it must have been done so from the inside, insists there is help inside, while the others think it must be abandoned and want to leave. When Rick sees a security camera move, he makes an impassioned plea which goes ignored until just as they are about to leave.
I can't wait to see what happens in episode 6, though I must admit to being mightily ticked to have to wait until next fall for the next season.
And speaking of waiting, the writers at Fox's "Fringe" have finally sent the Olivias to their respective homes.
In this week's brilliant episode "Entrada," Peter gets a phone call that tips him off to what's been going on; Olivia convinces Alt-Broyles to help her get home (at the ultimate cost to him) and Walter wisely requests that he not be given a gun.
Personally, I was hoping for a show-down between Olivia and Faux-livia (which we may still get), but was glad to finally have the 'real' Olivia freed from the nightmare that the altverse had become for her. The episode benefited from some amazing performances from the entire cast, and the expert writing by J.J. Abrams and company. If you aren't watching "Fringe," you are missing out on the best TV Sci-Fi series, ever.
Warning to fans of "The Walking Dead" - Major Spoilers Ahead!
So, the fourth episode of "The Walking Dead" has aired and the inevitable finally happened; the death of humans at the hands of the walkers. But more on that in a moment.
When we last saw Rick, he; Glenn; TDog and Daryl had gone back to Atlanta to rescue Merle and retrieve the bag of guns Rick lost at the end of episode one, only to find that Merle had escaped his handcuffs by sawing his hand off and Shane had beaten the crap out of Ed the wife beater.
"Vatos" opened with sisters Andrea and Amy (Frozen's Emma Bell) fishing in the quarry, reminiscing about their father and the different fishing techniques he had taught them. The scene served to emphasize that despite their age difference, the sisters were still close. It also brought up feelings about loved ones lost to whatever it was that caused the dead to walk, as Amy expressed hope that whatever had happened might not have been as bad in Florida, where their parents presumably lived. In Alanta, Glenn hatches a plan wherein he and Daryl attempt to rescue the guns, only to be foiled when Daryl is set upon by a young punk., who calls out for hlep in Spanish. A car quickly pulls up and a gang of Latinos nab Glenn and take off, but not before Daryl gets to shoot an arrow in one of their asses.
Back at camp, Dale becomes worried when he finds Jim (Andrew Rothenberg) furiously digging holes in the 100 degree heat. Shane eventually overpowers Jim, who admits he may have suffered heatstroke, but is digging the holes because of a half-remembered dream. Andrea and Amy return with loads of fish and the group plans an old-fashioned fish-fry for dinner. In the city, Rick and company have forced the punk to take them to the gang's headquarters, where they soon discover the gang is simply a group of people caring for folks who were left trapped in a nursing home, afraid that Rick and his band were there to take food and medicine away from them. Rick leaves them weapons and ammo, and as the four return to camp, they discover that Merle has stolen their van.
At dinner, Andrea is concerned because she can't find wrapping paper for the necklace she took from the department store for Amy's birthday, while a bruised and pained Ed refuses to join in for dinner, choosing instead to wallow in his own misery in his tent. As dinner is ending, Amy gets up to pee. Ed finds himself annoyed that someone is still bothering him, only to discover that the figure lurking outside his tent is one of about two dozen walkers who have made their way to the camp. The walker attacks, taking Ed down without time for him to scream in warning. As Amy exits the camper, complaining about the lack of toilet paper, she is grabbed and bitten, much to Andrea's horror. Rick and the others arrive on foot, just in time to take out the walkers, rescuing everyone who hasn't already been bitten (which, by my count was three).
As Amy dies in her sobbing sister's arms, we slowly come to realize that Amy will soon rise, and we are left to wonder how the group will deal with her and the other victims, just as Jim remembers why he was digging the holes.
"Vatos" was the series' most intense episode since the pilot, and served as a stark reminder of just what is at stake in a world where the dead eat the living. The tragedy of Amy's death and the sad nursing home survivors only made it more excruciating for the the survivors (though I can't say I was exactly sad to see Ed go). As gang leader Guillermo (Neil Brown, Jr.) says, nothing has really changed... "The weak get taken."
So what is next for the survivors? They know now that they are no longer safe in the mountains as the food supply in the city dwindles and the walkers set out in search of sustenance. Do they go back into town to the relative safety of the fortified nursing home, or head out in search of even more isolated areas where they are less likely to encounter the walkers? Uncle P, for one, is frustrated that only 2 episodes remain and I will chomping at the bit by the time the new season rolls around next fall. AMC has done what every other network has been looking to do - they've found the next "Lost," damn them!
Oh, and the lovely young lady pictured at the top of this post? She's a walker found wandering the department store upon whose roof Merle had been chained. I laughed, because she isn't really all that dangerous, considering she has no lower jaw... but I still would have taken her out. I'm guessing you would have, as well.
After 2 episodes of "The Walking Dead," Rick was finally reunited with his wife and son, both of whom had assumed he was dead.
When we last left our intrepid band of survivors, Rick and a group of scavengers from the camp outside of town had barely managed to escape Atlanta, leaving racist hothead Merle handcuffed atop the roof of the department store where they'd nearly met their demise. As episode 3, "Tell It To the Frogs" opens, Merle, severely sunburned and on the verge of insanity, vainly struggles to escape as the walkers (or 'geeks') try to force their way onto the roof and have their way with his delicious flesh.
Rick and company finally arrive at the camp, to the astonished joy of his wife Lori and son Carl (Chandler Riggs). Torn by Rick's return, his former partner Shane now finds himself bereft of the comfort he found in Lori's arms when they all assumed Rick was dead. Lori takes no time in ending things with Shane and when he takes Carl frog-hunting in the quarry, she tells him in no-uncertain terms to stay away from her family. We do find out that it was Shane who told Lori that Rick was dead in the first place, which leads me to believe there was nothing going on between them before the zombie uprising and that Shane simply took advantage of a woman whose marriage was shaky to begin with. Shane immediately lost points in my eyes, despite his taking down of wife-abusing Ed (Adam Minarovich) with a well-deserved if a bit over-zealous beating. Shane was obviously taking out a bit of his own frustrations on the neanderthal Ed. Poor Rick, of course, has no idea of what's gone on while he made his perilous way back to his wife and son.
Meanwhile, the appearance of a 'walker' devouring a deer close to camp means that the food supply in the city is dwindling and the zombies have begun to make their way into the woods in search of sustenance. It also means the deer that Merle's brother Daryl (Norman Reedus of The Boondock Saints) was stalking is no longer of any value as food. Of course, Daryl is none-too-pleased to learn that his racist cracker brother has been left behind and insists they attempt a rescue. Rick, Glenn, TDog and Daryl return to Atlanta, despite the others' protests, only to find that Merle has found a rather grisly solution to his captivity. Of course, Rick has an additional impetus to return to the city: the bag of weapons and ammo he was forced to leave behind when surrounded by zombies at the end of Episode 1.
As of yet, there have been no human fatalities in the series, though I am betting as we get closer to the series' first season finale, that will change. And that will also be a game changer. This comparatively less gory episode delved more into the personalities of the survivors; a rag-tag group of relative strangers who have been thrust together by circumstances in an effort to survive the unthinkable. The women reminisce ("I miss my Maytag;" "I miss my coffeemaker;" "I miss my vibrator.") and the men grow increasingly unhappy and resentful. Personally, I think it will be a living person who makes the first kill, rather than a zombie. And then all hell will truly break loose among these stressed-out and desperate survivors.
In other Zombie news that won't wait until Saturday's edition of The Zombie Zone, Deadline is reporting that writer/director and Zombieland restroom victim Mike White has officially signed to direct to the film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (via). The Chuck and Buck writer has just the right kind of twisted sensibility to make a perfect adaptation of the mashup novel, wherein Jane Austin's heroines must cope with both the ideals of Victorian romance and the Living Dead. Yum!
My friend and fellow blogger Sean at Just a Jeep Guy recently posted his comparison between the British miniseries "Dead Set" and AMC's "The Walking Dead." To be fair, I have not seen "Dead Set," so I can't comment on it objectively. I know its premise - Participants in the BBC version of the so-called 'reality' show "Big Brother" find themselves the only survivors of the Zombie Holocaust. It starred the BBC version's real host and was a massive hit across the pond. It was run on IFC in it's entirety on Halloween, but my provider doesn't carry IFC, so I have to wait for the DVD version.
That having been said, Sean then goes on to list to the things he finds 'wrong' in Frank Darabont's groundbreaking "The Walking Dead." Needless to say, Uncle P had to take his friend to task for being just a bit closed-minded when it comes to the "Rules" of zombie fiction.
Among his objections (in red) and my responses to them:
"Zombies don't eat animals so the horse and rat should still be alive and well." - In George Romero's original Night of the Living Dead, zombies are shown eating insects, which means they are not limited to dining on human flesh. And in my 2004 screenplay Army of the Dead, a character says he saw "a bunch of 'em take down a horse in Central Park."
"Zombies have heightened senses and so are attracted to noise and human smells which cannot be covered up by covering yourself in zombie blood and body parts." - Zombie's senses have never been really explored, except in 1985's Return of the Living Dead, written by Dan O'Bannon (Alien) and original Romero collaborator, John Russo. The only sense they express in that movie is pain, and they say (Romero's zombies had never spoken before) that eating brains eases the pain of being dead. This is also the movie that introduced the idea that zombies are primarily interested in brains. Before that, they were only interested in living flesh.
"Zombies, like these in TWD, do not have the ability to think and therefore would not use rocks to break windows. Also, they shouldn't have the ability to climb ladders or fences." - Romero first introduced the idea of a thinking zombie in 1985's Day of the Dead, in which the zombie Bub expresses rudimentary memory such as shaving, using a phone and saluting. And in Romero's 2005 movie Land of the Dead, the zombies figure out that the lights across lake mean people are present, so there is no reason they shouldn't be able to use tools or climb ladders.
"In the second episode, we are at least 5-6 weeks into the apocalypse - most cars would have dead batteries by now and that scene of Glen flying down the road leaving Atlanta? Not a single broken down/abandoned car, dead body on one side of the road while the other is jam packed?" - Car batteries don't die after a few weeks or a month. My mother uses her car once a month and the battery is just fine. As for the highway being jammed in only one direction? Of course people would be trying to leave a city overrun by ravenous zombies, rather than trying to get into it. See Stephen King's "The Stand," in which cars jam the outbound lanes of the Lincoln Tunnel as people desperately try to escape the 'Captain Trips' virus. This makes total sense to me.
"Who has sex in the woods with zombies lurking about just weeks after her/his husband/best friends dies? Even if they where having an affair before the zombies came? I think the guild (sic) in addition to fear, would kill my sex drive." - Who doesn't get the thrill of dangerous sex in the outdoors? Fear and lust are two very closely related emotions, and if (as I have intimated and suspected) Shane and Laurie had been carrying on an affair before the whole zombie thing went down, they would certainly continue it, especially if they both thought Rick was dead. Of course, Laurie's guilt does prompt her to remove the wedding band she wears on a chain. And their fevered, animalistic rutting is certainly consistent with people who have something they want to hide from others.
The point is, when it comes to fiction -- and especially genre fiction -- there are no hard and fast rules. Writers create their worlds according their own visions and specifications. Is anyone about to tell Anne Rice that vampires can't be religious or Stephanie Meyer that they don't sparkle ?(OK - bad example - vampires do NOT sparkle).
In Uncle P's 'zombie-verse,' zombies don't actually have senses, but are directed by chemical responses emitted by the bio-engineered virus that controls them. In every version of a fictional story, the actions of the characters are dictated by the parameters of the author's own reality, and there simply are no rules.
Sean, I know you're reading - and that you have read the mini-version of this I posted in your comments - but please know that I'm not faulting your logic, but rather trying to expand your thinking on what genre fiction should be. In the end, all good fiction (regardless of genre) should comment on the unchanging Human Condition, and I'd say "The Walking Dead" is doing a bang-up job of it, whether you agree with it's particular set of 'rules' or not.
And speaking of genre rules, here's an example of some extremely silly ones that work because the plot adheres to the parameters of the story's own reality. I give you the latest trailer for Tron: Legacy:
The true test of a successful TV series isn't the splashy 90 minute premiere, but the regular 60 minute episodes that follow, and AMC's adaptation of Robert Kirkwood's The Walking Dead followed it's splashy premier with an episode that was just as intense and well-done. (SPOILERS ahead).
Last seen trapped in a tank surrounded by 'walkers,' our hero Rick Grimes is sort-of rescued by Glenn (Steven Yeun) who leads him through an alley to the department store where a group of survivors have been hiding. Of course, the commotion made by Rick's escape simply draws the zombies to the store, where they begin to smash their way through the glass doors. Meanwhile, Rick's wife continues her affair with her husband's former partner Shane in the woods outside Atlanta, where they have been encamped.
Among the Atlanta group is Andrea (Laurie Holden of The Mist and Silent Hill); racist redneck Merle (Slither's Michael Rooker); TDog (IronE Singleton) and Jacqui (The Skeleton Key's Jeryl Prescott). As Rick and Glenn plot their escape from the increasingly dangerous store, it soon becomes clear that the only way to escape the walkers is to become a walker and Rick hatches a plan in which he and Glenn must disguise themselves (at least scent-wise) as walkers. The episode's title becomes eminently clear as they prepare for their (admittedly disgusting) venture among the zombie horde, though a rainstorm brings a disturbingly dangerous end to their plan. Needless to say, the plan works but not without complications, the least of which involves Merle handcuffed on the department store's roof.
Based on the ratings of episode 2, AMC has already ordered a second season for "The Walking Dead," which is no surprise to the millions of zombie fans watching this exceptionally well-plotted and extremely well-acted tale of survival in a world gone mad.
This is how good the series is: Uncle P's mother, who normally eschews Horror as a 'silly' genre, is actually enjoying the show and and actively looking forward to upcoming episodes. As for myself, I cannot recommend this series highly enough. It is the best thing to happen to the sub-genre since George A. Romero's original Dawn of the Dead and quite possibly the best new series on TV this season (though I am already sad that NBC has decided to cancel J.J. Abrams' connubial spy series,"Undercovers" starring the exceptionally sexy Boris Kodjoe).
I dare you to watch "The Walking Dead." And I promise you won't be disappointed by it's its exceptionally human story,
So, last night I was among the estimated 5.3 million viewers who tuned into the premiere of AMC's newest original series "The Walking Dead." If you've been even a casual reader of this blog, you know Uncle P is major zombie fan and there was no way in hell that I was going to miss the premiere of Frank Darabont's adaptation of Robert Kirkman's graphic novel about the people who are trying to survive the Zombie Apocalypse.
Cable channel AMC started out as American Movie Classics, mainly airing films from Hollywood's past. Four years ago, they aired their first original program, "Mad Men," as series about an early 1960's advertising agency which made a star out of John Hamm and which has consistently won the Emmy for Best Drama since. After "Mad Men," they introduced "Breaking Bad," about a high school science teacher (Bryan Cranston) who, after being diagnosed with terminal cancer, turns to making methamphetamine so his family will have money to live on after he dies. Cranston has since won the Emmy for Best Actor in a Drama three years running. It comes as no surprise that their latest series is just as good.
IN the 90 minute premiere episode "Days Gone Bye," we are introduced to rural Georgia Sheriff's Deputy Rick Grimes (British actor Andrew Lincoln), who is apparently in the midst of marital problems. His partner Shane ("Eastwick" hottie Jon Bernthal) is a bit of a neanderthal when it comes to women, though it seems they can confide in one another, if no one else. Rick is critically injured during a shoot-out with a trio of desperadoes and awakes after a month-long coma to find the world as he knew it no longer exists.In a world filled with flesh-eating zombies, Rick is determined to reunite with his wife and son, who may or may not have survived the zombie uprising.
The imagery in Darabont's version of Kirkman's story is nothing short of amazing. The scene where Rick is staggering down the hospital hallway only to find a chained door marked "Do Not Open Dead Inside" is simply and beautifully chilling. As he makes his way home, Rick stumbles upon a half-torsoed zombie who is both horrific and pathetic, wisely setting the tone for this story of survival and despair. Rick soon (though not happily) finds himself in the care of Morgan his son Duane, who lost their wife/mother to the zombie virus. The scene where Rick watches Morgan's wife try to gain entry to the house in which they've holed holed up through a peep-hole was among the creepiest I've eve seen.
Darabont and company seem to have managed the perfect the balance between Horror and Humanity as I can remember and while there were plenty of graphic gross-outs, "The Walking Dead" also offered up plenty of scenes of human drama, making character the focus, rather than gore and effects (though there were plenty of both). And I haven't even gotten around to talking about Rick's wife ("Prison Break" doctor Sarah Wayne Callies) and the affair she may or may not have been having with Shane before the outbreak. The performances here are excellent across the board, and the attention to detail, especially when depicting apocalyptic devastation, are exceptional.
Having read only a few issues of the graphic novel on which the series is based, I am very interested in seeing where the story will lead. Kirkman has said that he anticipates about 225 issues, which leaves plenty of material for AMC and Darabont to cover. If the rest of the series is as good as the premiere, I'll be watching for a very long time. **** (Four Out of Four Stars).
With only 3 Shocktober posts left, it's time to break out the big guns and when it comes to modern Horror, one of the biggest belongs to none other than the father of the modern zombie film, George A. Romero.
In 1968, the Carnegie-Melon graduate made a low-budget exploitation film that shocked, thrilled and horrified, while giving rise to an entire subgenre. Of course, that movie was Night of the Living Dead. Shot for about $114,000 (an exceptional budget for an independent film in 1968), Night of the Living Dead has gone on to earn an estimated $12M. That's nearly 120 times the initial cost. Pretty remarkable for a movie shot on location in Pittsburgh with a cast of unknowns. So much has been written about this film (even by yours truly), that anything I might add here would be superfluous. Suffice it to say, when I first saw this movie (probably around 1975), it scared the crap out of me.
Romero followed up with a 1971 drama no one remembers, There's Always Vanilla, about a young man taking up with an older woman and 1972's Hungry Wives (aka Season of the Witch), about a bored housewife who takes up with a coven of witches. Neither movie was very good, truth be told. Then came 1973's The Crazies, about small town whose residents are turned into raving lunatics after an accidental chemical spill caused by the crashing of a secret military mission. Talky, preachy and militantly anti-Vietnam, The Crazies is still one of Romero's better early films.
The Crazies was recently (and decently) remade by director Brett Eisner, who wisely dumps most of the political elements of the original and concentrates more on the Horror.
Romero made a few TV documentaries (including one about O.J. Simpson) before his next genre film, Martin, about a young man (John Amplas) who believes he is an 84 year-old vampire. Creepy and effective, Martin is regarded by many critics as one of Romero's best films. Personally, I find it a bit depressing, but that's just me.
After martin, Romero made what most consider to be his masterpiece, 1978's sequel to Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead. Picking up where Night... left off, Dawn of the Dead is the story of a small group of Philadelphians who hole up in a western PA mall while the zombie apocalypse rages on outside. When a group of bikers (led by SFX man Tom Savini) breaks in, all hell breaks loose and the 'family' must find a way to survive. Released without an MPAA rating, I saw Dawn of the Dead alone, because my friends were all too scared. Taking on mindless consumerism amomg other social topics, Dawn of the Dead is a classic for many reasons, and not least of all Savini's then state-of-the-art physical makeup effects.
Director Zack Snyder (300; Watchmen) eschews the social commentary in his mostly excellent remake, and creates one of the most intense opening sequences ever. Romero followed Dawn with the 1981 motorcycle jousting movie, Knightriders. Starring Savini, Amplas and a very young Ed Harris, Knightriders is one of the first films I can remember in which a gay character is accepted and loved for he is, all while taking a modern spin on Arthurian legends. Knightridersi is actually one of my favorite of Romero's movies, despite its rather silly premise.
Then came 1982's Creepshow, an anthology movie written by Stephen King, loosely based on the Horror comics of the 50's, starring Ted Danson; Leslie Nielson; Hal Holbrook, Adrienne Barbeau; Fritz Weaver; E.G. Marshall; Savini; King and Harris in five short tales of terror. I saw this movie with my then 15 year-old sister and my boyfriend. Guess who ended up screaming like a little girl? Hint: it wasn't me or my sister.
1985 saw the next entry in Romero's Zombie films, Day of the Dead, about a group of scientists and military personnel in an underground Florida bunker, ostensibly searching for a cure. Like Martin, Day of the Dead is rather talky and very anti-military, though it introduces the concept of a zombie who retains at least the most rudimentary memories in the character of "Bub."
1988 saw the ridiculous Monkey Shines, starring Jason Beghe, Stanley Tucci and Janine Turner in a story about a -- wait for it -- homicidal helper monkey. Not a highlight in Uncle George's career.
1990 saw the forgettable Two Evil Eyes with Italian director Dario Argento followed by 1993's The Dark Half, another King adaptation about a writer who symbolically kills his nom de plume, only to find the nom de plume may not be ready to die. King based the novel on his own experience writing under the name Richard Bachman. The movie isn't terrible, but still not up to Romero's best.
In 2007's Diary of the Dead, Romero returns to both his indy and Pittsburgh roots, while jumping on the hand-held camera bandwagon started by The Blair Witch Project. In this story about about of group of University of Pittsburgh film students making a Horror movie when the Zombie Holocaust breaks out, Romero finally remembers how grim and hopeless such an outbreak would be and his cast of unknowns deliver some truly excellent performances. And that's not to mention some of the most inventive zombie kills since Dawn...
I have not seen 2009's Survival of the Dead, the first direct sequel in Romero's Dead series, though I am left to understand from others who have that it lacks the impact of his previous films.
Romero's next announced project is a remake of Dario Argento's giallo classic Deep Red, though he has been quoted as saying there is at least one more Dead story left to tell. While he may be aging (as are we all), I hope that Uncle George has one last great Zombie movie left in him. It would be a shame to see a Horror franchise that started over 50 years ago die with a whimper.
Of course, Uncle P has a Zombie script or two up his own sleeves, in case Uncle George is reading...
I guess you have to find your heart wherever you can, though the Tin Man there seems to have gone a bit overboard, don't you think?
I wish I knew where I found this image, so I could give some proper credit. But like many things in Uncle P's scary mind, it's lost forever...
As another "Schocktober" draws close here at the Revenge, I thought an End of Summer Horror post would be fun. And to start it off, here's a short that's apparently been around for a while, but I just discovered today. Coulrophobes be warned... this won't be pretty. Ladies and Germs, I give you Happy Meal:
I'm lovin' it!
So what other horrors await us at our local multiplexes this fall? Let's see...
I'm willing to give Devil a go, even if M. Knight Sham-Movie-Maker is involved. At least he didn't direct it. We are also supposed to finally see the much-delayed release of the Renee Zelwegger, Bradley Cooper, Jodelle Ferland thriller Case 39:
And October brings us the 7th (really?) entry in the Saw franchise, Saw 3D:
Then there's Hayden Christensen, Thandie Newton and John Leguizamo in Vanishing on 7th Street:
And director Darren Aronofsky has Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis and Barbara Hershey in the ballet-themed thriller, Black Swan:
But Uncle P is most looking forward to AMC's original series, "The Walking Dead:"
It seems like Uncle P will be very busy this fall, even after his show closes...
This post is actually about foreign films. Or, more explicitly, foreign Horror movies. Hence, the "International" which led to the bad pun, which resulted in a picture of a rather skillfully poured skull and jack-o-lantern pancakes, even though this post has has nothing to do with Halloween.
See, that rambling nonsense above is either my own pathetic attempt at Stream-of-Consciousness; an excuse to post a seemingly random picture which has no significance other than as a very bad pun; or proof that I got the keys from the night guard after I slipped a week's worth of my sedatives into his coffee all those years ago... Huh? What? Oh... sorry.
Anyway, I've been coming across more and more clips and trailers for Horror from Europe, Asia and elsewhere that looks as intriguing as (and often more original and interesting than) almost anything Americans are making (Sam Raimi or Michael Dougherty, not withstanding). This post started thanks to a link sent to me by my buddy Sean down in D.C. of a short French horror film (which you can see as the ZombieClipoftheWeek on this week's Zombie Zone). So I'd like to share some trailers you may or may not have seen, for movies of which you may or may not have heard. First up, from France is la Horde, a movie I know I've mentioned at least once. This Tarantino-inspired movie starts out as what looks like a bad-ass caper movie and quickly degenerates into a bad-ass zombie movie. Check it out:
Damn! It's Die Hard or Live Dead!* Dawn of the Living Dead Dozen? Zombie Fiction? Okay, I'll stop. It sort of looks awesome, doesn't it? No word on a U.S. release...
i09 linked to this haunting post-apocalyptic gem from Israeli film student Dan Sachar. When It Will Be Silent is both achingly beautiful and heart-breaking. I can't wait to see what he does with a budget.
Mutants is yet another French zombie flick that hasn't seen U.S. release, which makes me sad because this trailer makes Mutants look awesome, as well. There are no subtitles here, but you really don't need them. You know the drill, by now.
Yikes!
Spanish director Juame Balaguero picks up where his original left off in [Rec]2, as a tactical team enters the building to take on the rabid zombies inside:
The sequel to Quarantine, the serviceable American remake of [Rec], is going in a different direction, taking place at an airport, I believe I read.
Here's a film about which I know nothing, but looks slick as all get out. The trailer for Thai horror film 9 Wat (Secret Sunday) has an almost Lynch-like vibe to it, contrasting and combining the mundane with the surreal most effectively:
Literally translated, "9 Wat" is "9 Temples" in English, so I really don't understand why the American title is Secret Sunday. Did the distributors think Americans are so stupid we would think 9 Temples was a religious picture?
Of course, it goes the other way around, and we will soon have the American version of 2008's Best Horror Movie. Let Me In stars Chloe Moretz (Kick-Ass); Richard Jenkins (The Visitor; "Six Feet Under") and the curiously hot Elias Koteas (Shutter Island; The Thin Red Line). Directed by Matt Reeves (Cloverfield), Let Me In has the challenge of translating a very effective Norwegian horror film into very effective American horror film. If Moretz is as good as she was in Kick-Ass, then I have hope. Here's the trailer for the original:
Interestingly, the newly revived British House of Horror, Hammer, is listed as the film's distributor, so it may be just a little less American than we thought... I'm sure there are plenty more, and I'll report the ones that look interesting to me (as if you care what interests me - honestly, the gall of us bloggers to assume you actually care about our opinions). I think I'm overdue for a Forgotten Gems tomorrow night, on a film I came across while researching this post (yes, believe it or not, I do research stuff before talking about it). More, anon. Prospero * I hereby claim that title now and forever, by the way... I can see Bruce Willis taking on a horde of hungry zombie gang-members now...
That's Bradley Cooper as 'Faceman' in the The A-Team movie. Dirk Benedict, star of the original "Battleship Galactica" and the ridiculous 1973 Sci-Fi movieSssssss, played the role on the 80's TV show (which I am quite proud to say I have never seen). The show also starred the late George Peppard, Dwight Schultz and Mr. T. From what I understand, the show was about a group of disgraced soldiers out to prove their innocence while working as mercenaries for ordinary folks in trouble. Or some such nonsense. I didn't see much TV in the '80's. I was either rehearsing, performing or out dancing at City Gardens* (the Trenton Alt Music dance club/dive where I first saw Sinead O'Conner and where John Stewart served me drinks at least once a week for a couple of years). Needless to say, 'The A-Team' had little to offer a New Age Theatre Arts major who was much more interested in Hamlet than Hannibal, Faceman, B.A. and Murdoch. I was certainly aware of the show, which lasted a paltry 3 seasons on CBS, but couldn't have cared less about it.
And honestly, I almost couldn't care less about the movie version (didn't anyone learn anything from The Dukes of Hazard?), except that it stars Cooper and District 9's Sharlto Copely. Oh, and Liam Neesom takes on the George Peppard role. Seriously. Did Natasha's** death effect Neesom's judgment so profoundly that he can no longer tell when he's making a crappy movie? Still... Bradley Cooper. Woof! I seriously doubt I'll be seeing The A-Team either in a theatre; on DVD; On Demand or even on Spike when it undoubtedly premieres there by next February.
Okay - you got me. I'll be watching for some shirtless Bradley. So sue me.
Anyway, from gay fantasy to gay reality, singer/songwriter Jason Mraz (whose music has not been in my personal Top 10) is now officially one of my heroes. Here's his PSA for We Give A Damn, a group of primarily straight celebs who believe in LGBT rights:
A San Francisco Bay Area high school was recently targeted by the disgusting Fred Phelps and his Westboro Baptist Church in their continued attempts to blame all of our country's (if not the world's) ills on gays. Gunn High School students, who were warned in advance of WBC's planned protest, took to the streets in response. Here (via) is their beautiful response:
That makes me almost wish I had gone to Gunn, though I expect the reaction may have been a little different in the late 70's. Still, it's heartwarming to know that there are right-minded youth out there who not only recognize what is right, but are willing to show it.The positive energy expended by the hundreds in attendance surely outweighed any negativity the WBC expended in their hateful and misguided messages.
This coming Sunday is Easter, the Holiest Day on the Christian Calender (even though it's celebrated on a different day every year). Considering all the crap the Catholic Church has been trying to hide, re-blame and deny lately, I think I'll celebrate by seeing Clash of the Titans, in an effort to reaffirm my own Paganism. Visit me tomorrow on The Zombie Zone, where I'm sure to offend someone with a comparison of the Resurrection to Zombieism.
* Remind me to tell you sometime about City Gardens, Q, Devo and the Vampires... its a rather disturbing little tale.
Dan O'Bannon died yesterday at the age of 63. He was the cousin of my college friend Brian, and one of the screenwriters (along with Ronald Shusett) of Ridley's Scott's 1979 masterpiece of space horror, Alien. He directed 1985's zombie comedy Return of the Living Deadand worked on the screenplays for Lifeforce and Total Recall, among other films.
But the movie for which I will most remember him is his and Shusett's follow-up to Alien, 1981's Dead & Buried. Starring James Farentino; Melody Anderson (Flash Gordon); Jack Alberston and Robert (Freddy Kreuger) Englund, Dead & Buried is set in the small Rhode Island town of Potter's Bluff. When a series of strange murders starts to take place, the local sheriff (Farentino) starts to become suspicious of the kindly undertaker/coroner (Albertson). As directed by Gary Sherman, D & B is shot through a dream-like foggy filter, making its strange events seem even more surreal.
I saw Dead and Buried with my sister (who will always be my favorite movie companion, even if it's been years since we actually went to the movies together) at a long-gone movie theater in the Quakerbridge Mall and we were both freaked-out by it's slowly building, quiet sense of doom (not to mention the freaky murders).
Thanks for the movie memories, Dan. I hope the projects you had in development come to fruition.
More on Dan O'Bannon's career on tomorrow's Zombie Zone post.
