Zombie Movie Appreciation Thread

Re: Zombie Movie Appreciation Thread

Night of the Comet - Revisited this cult eighties fav that I hadn't seen for years. A comet swipes the Earth leaving naught but disintegrated bodies, hungry zombies and two valley girls who see the disaster as an opportunity to go shopping. Holds up pretty well though I guess it wasn't that great to begin with. Some gore and boobs would have helped.

**1/2 out of ****

Splatometer rating: * out of ****



I Walked With a Zombie - Revisited Val Lewton's moody chiller. A nurse travels to a Caribbean island to care for the sickly wife of a plantation owner only to get mixed up with voodoo and zombies. Great stuff even though no one gets eaten.

*** out of ****

Splatometer rating: zero out of ****


K7B Mutation - German undead flick starts off promisingly with a "documentary" on K7B, a legendary super soldier serum developed by the Nazis in WWII. Cut to present day as a fanatic bent on world domination is tracking down a supply of the stuff. Here the story becomes incomprehensible and over stylized to the point of distraction. Here Steve gets bored and wonders where the hell are the zombies? Finally they show up. Or maybe they were just people who got confused reading the screenplay?

*1/2 out of ****

Splatometer rating: *** out of ****

Re: Zombie Movie Appreciation Thread

From the Australian outback to the forests of the Czech Republic to a Louisiana plantation, the dead are poppin' up all over the place!


Zombie Brigade - The residents of an Australian outback town find themselves beseiged by zombie soldiers after a nearby war memorial is destroyed to make way for an amusement park. With the undead and unamused troops killing everyone in their path, can the townsfolk put aside old prejudices and place their faith in an aborigine shaman who may hold the key to stopping the bloodbath? Earnest film offers some likeable heroes and dutifully jabs at ruthless buisness practices as well the disrepectful attitude once held towards Vietnam vets.

*** out of ****

Splatometer rating: **1/2 out of ****


Choking Hazard - Attendees at a self-help retreat deep in the Czech forest come under attack by zombie woodsmen out for a ritual hunt. Metaphysics and gore collide with mixed results; the gleeful attitude helps.

**1/2 out of ****

Splatometer rating: *** out of ****


Blood of the Zombie - Newlyweds travel to a Louisiana plantation the husband has inherited and run afoul of his nasty cousin who isn't above using a little voodoo to keep the place under her control. Hammerish outing offers a zombie who looks not a little like a jaundiced Keith Richards!

*** out of ****

Splatometer rating: zero out of ****


The mysteries of the past and future are revealed!


Unsettled - What really happened to a group of pilgrims who vanished in 1585 North Carolina? I'll give you a hint: this short film could have been titled A Zombie Thanksgiving. Not much of substance here but it does deliver the gory goods.

**1/2 out of ****

Splatometer rating: ***1/2 out of ****


Zombie Planet II: Adam's Revenge - Sequel to Zombie Planet is, if not more polished than the original, certainly more exciting, despite the almost complete lack of zombies! The evil Adam conspires against the warrior Kane, whose dreadful past is revealed much to his horror. Cheesey but surprisingly entertaining.

*** out of ****

Splatometer rating: **1/2 out of ****

Re: Zombie Movie Appreciation Thread

I've never seen it, but Unsettled sounds wild. I'd love to see a full length film based on material like that. Kind of like Ravenous but with Zombies. That would be trippy if done right.

Re: Zombie Movie Appreciation Thread

Yeah, Unsettled definitely could have been longer! I got my copy off ebay and I'm sure there are other copies up for sale too - good luck!

Re: Zombie Movie Appreciation Thread

Using Ravenous as a guide I think it's got potential.

I found THIS additional review and this LINK to the myspace page for the film. I'm at work so myspace pages are no good. But I'm looking forward to checking that out later. I'd love to see this thing. Thanks for reviewing it here.

Re: Zombie Movie Appreciation Thread

Yet another zombiethon!


28 Days Later - Revisited Danny Boyle's apocalyptic thriller that has England devastated by a virus that turns its victims into raging zombies. Is there any hope for the few survivors? Yeah I know the ghouls here aren't technically dead, so file this under quasi-zombie movie.

*** out of ****

Splatometer rating: **1/2 out of ****


Winter of the Dead - Finland enters the zombie arena with this short about three survivors of WWIII who find their isolated retreat under attack by an ever-increasing horde of zombies.

(Winter of the Dead can be downloaded here for free. Check it out!)

*** out of ****

Splatometer rating: **1/2 out of ****


Resident Evil: Apocalypse - Bigger in scope sequel to Resident Evil is basically more of the same as Alice and another band of survivors try to make their way out of a zombie-beseiged Raccon City. Not bad, but bombastic and overly silly at times.

** out of ****

Splatometer rating: ** out of ****


Return of the Living Dead: Necropolis - Fourth in the series only obliquely alludes to the events in the first three films. Here a group of teens try to rescue an injured friend from the clutches of Hybra-Tech, an evil corporation (no way!) experimenting with the zombiefying Trioxin gas. Not as bad as I'd feared; actually it's fun enough to overcome its shortcomings and features lots of undead action (though the zombies here are a lot easier to kill).

*** out of ****

Splatometer rating: *** out of ****



Erotic Nights of the Living Dead - Joe D'Amato's infamous porn/zombie hybrid. An architect and his girlfriend hire the skpper of a yacht to take them to a desert island where they plan to build a resort. Unfortunately the dead islanders (conveniently wiped out by a plague) aren't so keen on the idea! Typical Italian zombie shenanigans ensue. Except for the plentiful sex scenes that is! Yep, this is the real deal (though only one lengthy scene could be considered hardcore, the other sequences fall more into the softcore category). The zombie storyline and the sex scenes are, taken on their own, decent enough but never quite gel and really just get in each other's way. Worth a look for the curious.

** out of ****

Splatometer rating: *** out of ****

Pornometer rating: *** out of ****

Re: Zombie Movie Appreciation Thread

Neat! I'm going to download Winter of the Dead today. Thanks for the link.

I started watching the extended version of Dawn of the Dead from the Ultimate collection yesterday, but gave up on it and watched the DiviMax version instead. It was like seeing it again for the first time. Awesome transfer.

Re: Zombie Movie Appreciation Thread

Steve, did you ever see D'Amato's ANTROPOPHAGUS (1980)??? He filmed it along with PORNO HOLOCAUST and EROTIC NIGHTS OF THE LIVING DEAD at the same time as his "trilogy" of zombie films.

As for EROTIC NIGHTS, I enjoyed all the zombie stuff but felt the hardcore scenes could have been left on the editing room floor (especially Mark "wart nuts" Shannon). However, it's still miles better than PORNO HOLOCAUST. I might order the softcore version of EROTIC NIGHTS one of these days to see how much better it plays without the porn.

Re: Zombie Movie Appreciation Thread

I've heard of Anthropophagus and Porno Holocaust and will get around to them eventually. I never thought I'd say this, but I'll have to agree with you that the movie would have been better had the porn been left out ('cept maybe for the girl on girl beach scene).

Re: Zombie Movie Appreciation Thread

In case you don't know the plot of PORNO HOLOCAUST, a zombie with a very large penis strangles women with it. Good ol' D'Amato.

When you do check out ANTHRO be sure you get the uncut version. This is a love it or hate it film with the majority of people hating it but the gore is the most notorious thing about it. The Shriek Show DVD is uncut but there's a budget release that is the R-rated American cut, which is missing ALL the gore.

Re: Zombie Movie Appreciation Thread

I recently saw the film Undead and while it wasn't that bad (pretty impressive zombie make-ups too) they waste more gun ammo than in any zombie film i've ever seen lol! The characters take forever getting the idea that these things won't be stopped by body hits, and by the time they finally clue in to that fact they've already wasted enough bullits to start a 3rd world war lol.

Re: Zombie Movie Appreciation Thread

Just watched the trailer and I am downloading to watch later the movie. Looks good. I am impressed that they were able to get Michael Rosenbaum (Lex Luthor from Smallville) to be in it.

I still wish Showtime or HBO would option the rights for the comic "Walking Dead" for a tv series.

Re: Zombie Movie Appreciation Thread

Or better yet, Marvel Zombies! Hulk hungry....for flesh!

Re: Zombie Movie Appreciation Thread

I finally watched the full Winter of the Dead movie. Not bad. Although, some crap doesn't make sense....
-That dude looks pretty smart. How tough would it be to either put a wall around his place or at least board up the windows.
-A fully stocked convenience store...And why not just get a bigger way of getting things back and make one trip?

I really dig these type of zombie movies.. Not as much the blood & gore. But, the ones where they show people surviving in a world of zombies. That is why Walking Dead is very cool.

Re: Zombie Movie Appreciation Thread

Zombiez - The streets just got tougher as the dead have returned and are slaughtering everyone in their path. Can a lone woman outrun them and find her missing husband? Low budgeter is competently shot and watchable, but very sketchily plotted.

** out of ****

Splatometer rating: **1/2 out of ****


Hood of the Living Dead - Decent little low budget zombie flick has a black scientist injecting his just-killed brother with a cell regenerating serum. Unfortunately it works about as well as Herbert West's and pretty soon his zombiefied sibling has unleashed an epidemic of the undead!

*** out of ****

Splatometer rating: ** out of ****


Return of the Living Dead: Rave to the Grave - Direct sequel to Return of the Living Dead: Necropolis finds that film's survivors now at college where the deadly Trioxin gas has been turned into a recreational drug! So-so outing ups the humor quotient but it's just not as fun, even with the copious brain-chomping.

** out of ****

Splatometer rating: *** out of ****


Zombie 3 - Follow-up to Lucio Fulci's Zombie 2 finds the army trying to contain an outbreak of zombies by slaughtering everyone in sight. At times it's a typical Italian zombiefest, but then stupid shit like a flying zombie head gets thrown in and ruins the tension. Bah!

*1/2 out of ****

Splatometer rating: *** out of ****

Re: Zombie Movie Appreciation Thread

A trio of shorts:

Texas Fortune - A crooked cowboy kidnaps a pharmacist in the hope that the man can patch up the zombie he's been using in his criminal escapades. Slick, award winning short can be seen here.

*** out of ****

Splatometer rating: ** out of ****


I'll See You in My Dreams - Portugese zombie short about a man who will do anything to survive the undead apocalypse. Available on the Small Gauge Trauma (collected shorts) DVD.

*** out of ****

Splatometer rating: **1/2 out of ****


Deadscapes: Broken Road - The first in a proposed series of undead shorts chronicles the conflict that arises when a tough road warrior picks up a couple of stranded motorists in the zombie-ridden countryside. Average fare at best and underlit to the point of distraction.

*1/2 out of ****

Splatometer rating: ** out of ****

Re: Zombie Movie Appreciation Thread

Pathogen - Homegrown zombie movie has a group of junior high school kids battling the undead after a pathogen in their city's water supply turns everyone else into flesh-eating zombies. Standard low budget affair; this one at least has the novelty value of having been written and directed by a 13-year old girl! (Herself the subject of the upcoming documentary Zombie Girl: The Movie.)

** out of ****

Splatometer rating: ** out of ****


Zombie High - Or The Stepford Children Go to Prep School. A new student at a stuffy prep school discovers the faculty is milking student brains for an immortality serum, a process that turns its victims into mindless drones! Star Virginia Madsen is the sole attraction here, even though she keeps her clothes on (I was so disappointed to discover this on my first viewing many years ago!). Despite the title, no one here is really undead so I'll file it under quasi-zombie movies. (A complete list of movies reviewed in this thread can be found in my initial post.)

** out of ****

Splatometer rating: ** out of ****


Hard Rock Zombies - Goofy flick about a rock band that makes the deadly mistake of scheduling a concert in the uptightest of towns. Harassed by the rock-hating townies, the band is taken in by the local deviant family (led by Adolf Hitler!) and summarily murdered. Naturally they return from the dead and avenge themselves, but the people they kill get up and kill! Oh no! Likeable, but padded with forgettable music performances. Still, if you want to see a dwarf Nazi zombie in action...

** out of ****

Splatometer rating: *** out of ****


Porno Holocaust - Joe D'Amato's infamous companion piece to Erotic Nights of the Living Dead feels more like a porn-riddled remake of Anthropophagus. Cheesy horror takes a back seat to sex as three horny female scientists and their studly sailor companions are stalked on an island by (as the ad copy says) a horny, mutant, cannibalistic zombie! Overlong, dull, and a real stretch to qualify as a zombie movie.

*1/2 out of ****

Splatometer rating: *1/2 out of ****

Pornometer rating: *** out of ****

Re: Zombie Movie Appreciation Thread

Just finished the first issue of Marvel Zombies Vs. Army of Darkness, which has the comic book version of Ash (from the Evil Dead flicks) traveling to an alternate Marvel Comics universe right as the heroes there are turned into flesh-eating zombies. Highlight: the zombie heroes debate over who gets to eat Ash's brains - no one wants them!

Re: Zombie Movie Appreciation Thread

You seemed to enjoy this one a little bit more than I. Horrid, horrid movie. D'Amato's erotic stuff has never worked with me and it's a shame he made so many (since I try to watch everything from a director I like). Hopefully his two Emanuelle flicks coming next week will be better.

Re: Zombie Movie Appreciation Thread

Well, *1/2 out of **** ain't exactly high praise.

A few zombie odds and ends to finish out the month:



The Unexplained: Zombies - History Channel documentary on voodoo and zombies.

*** out of ****

Splatometer rating: zero out of ****


The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies - Static "cult classic" has an evil carnival fortuneteller using hypnotism to turn a young man into a murderous zombie. Meh, the title is the best thing about it though the male lead bears a striking resemblance to Nicolas Cage. You notice these things when you're bored.

** out of ****

Splatometer rating: * out of ****


Forlorn - Tense short about a couple stranded in the countryside after the cities have become overrun with zombies. Well done for its type. Go here to see it.

*** out of ****

Splatometer rating: ** out of ****

Re: Zombie Movie Appreciation Thread

Amid the Dead - Existentialist zombie short about a young man raised by the living dead - his mother was killed just as he was being born! Pretentious to be sure, but not uninteresting; undermined somewhat by its amateurish execution. Go here to see it.

**1/2 out of ****

Splatometer rating: ** out of ****


Danger! 50,000 Zombies! - Spoof episode of the Brit series Danger 50,000 Volts! (starring the guys from Shaun of the Dead) follows a zombie killer as he instructs the series' host on how to survive a zombie attack.

*** out of ****

Splatometer rating: ** out of ****


Document of the Dead - Roy Frumkes' revealing documentary on the making of George Romero's Dawn of the Dead. Revisit.

*** out of ****

Splatometer rating: *** out of ****


Bride of Re-Animator - Herbert West has returned and this time he's creating a woman for his old pal Dan out of female body parts. Meanwhile, Herbert's disembodied rival Dr. Hill is back for revenge! Disappointing sequel is flat and mostly uninspired. (Barbara Crampton's bush is sorely missed!) Revisit.

** out of ****

Splatometer rating: *** out of ****


Premutos: Lord of the Living Dead - The fallen angel Premutos once again walks the Earth with his legion of zombies in this goofy German flick that wants to be another Dead Alive. Uneven, but chockful of good old-fashioned splatter. The filmmakers even provide a body count at the end!

**1/2 out of ****

Splatometer rating: **** out of ****


Bowery at Midnight - Monogram chiller stars Bela Lugosi as a criminal mastermind who ruthlessly murders his flunkies, little knowing that they'll come back from the dead for revenge! Little undead action, but not bad - probably one of Lugosi's better post-Dracula efforts.

**1/2 out of ****

Splatometer rating: zero out of ****


Zombie Commando - A group of mercenaries is sent into a forest to retrieve the carrier of a zombie plague only to find themselves outnumbered by the living dead. Solid undead action from Germany, though not particularly memorable.

*** out of ****

Splatometer rating: *** out of ****


Zombie Defense Army - More woodsy action in this Japanese zombiethon. A cheesy-looking UFO crashes in a forest, loosing a strange mist that brings the dead back to hungry life. Imperiled are several yakuza hitmen, a fashion model and an army squad on patrol. Can they make their way to safety before the dead have them for lunch? And what secret does one soldier carry that could save them all? Typical J-zombie blend of gory action and silliness generally works.

*** out of ****

Splatometer rating: ***1/2 out of ****


Yakuza Zombie - Undead riff on Kinji Fukasaku's The Yakuza Papers about a low level yakuza double-crossed and killed by members of his own family. Unfortunately for them they bury him in the same grave that holds the remains of an infamous and much-hated yakuza, an assassin with a restless spirit who died under similar circumstances. With a fresh body to use, the yakuza assassin rises from the grave looking for revenge! Shot on video, but otherwise does a damn good job of emulating the convoluted narrative structure of The Yakuza Papers!

*** out of ****

Splatometer rating: ** out of ****

Re: Zombie Movie Appreciation Thread

SteveGon,

Sorry Bout "All Souls Day"...But I only did the zombie makeup fx so im only partly to blame for that lame duck!

Check out Night Of The Creeps if you can find it...amazing zombie-age!

Re: Zombie Movie Appreciation Thread

Re: All Souls Day

Bad or not, it'd still be cool to work on a zombie flick! (And that Marisa Ramirez is quite the hottie, no?)

I'll revisit Night of the Creeps one of these days - haven't seen that in ages.

Re: Zombie Movie Appreciation Thread

They show Night of the Creeps on Voom's Monster HD channel all the time. I guess I need to record it and watch it sometime.

So is the Robert Rodriguez part of Grindhouse a zombie movie? From watching the trailers it looks like it is. Guess I'm gonna have to check it out this weekend.

Re: Zombie Movie Appreciation Thread

Speaking of Grindhouse, check out this parody trailer for "Cong of the Dead"!

"We got gooks on one side, spooks on the other!"

Re: Zombie Movie Appreciation Thread

Here's a link to War of the Dead, the website for a new live action online zombie series, sort of a SWAT meets the living dead deal. Just watched the preview and it doesn't look too bad.


War of the Dead: Episode One - When zombies attack, only specially-trained squads of soldiers from Z-E-R-O (Zombie Emergency Response Operations) can take 'em out! In this debut episode of a planned series, four soldiers enter a home where a man and his wife have been hiding their undead children. But what lengths will they go to in order to safeguard their living dead progeny?

*** out of ****

Splatometer rating: *** out of ****

Re: Zombie Movie Appreciation Thread

Not bad for a low budget production. Read the timeline....And they loose me with the Zombie rights stuff.

Re: Zombie Movie Appreciation Thread

When Zombies Attack!! - Humorous zombie short about a puppet show put on for a kindergarten class that demonstrates the dangers of "wakers." See it here.

"If it stinks, don't trust it!"

*** out of ****

Splatometer rating: ** out of ****


Zombie Movie - New Zealand zombie short about three guys in a broken-down car surrounded by the living dead. Not bad, but the ending is silly. See it here.

**1/2 out of ****

Splatometer rating: * out of ****


Neither the Sea Nor the Sand - Dreamy horror film about a woman whose lover dies and then returns from the dead, urging her to join him in death. One of the better entries in the return of the loving dead subgenre, sort of a thinking man's Hammer flick.

***1/2 out of ****

Splatometer rating: * out of ****


Dead and Deader - An army squad is killed in action and infected with zombiefying, parasitic beetles. Their corpses then reanimate, beginning a reign of zombie horror. Fortunately one dead soldier carries a partial immunity and retains his higher functions, allowing him to lead an assault on the undead hordes. Average telefilm is entertaining if forgettable. Potshots at Michael Bay and Susan Ward in her undies are the highlights.

** out of ****

Splatometer rating: *** out of ****


Shivers - Early David Cronenberg effort has a doctor battling the crazed, parasite-infected residents of an elite high rise apartment building. Not really an undead flick, but it does owe a great debt to George Romero (and in regard to certain scenes, perhaps Romero is indebted to Cronenberg). Lynn Lowry, the nubile starlet featured later in Romero's The Crazies, fares little better here. I hate parasites.

*** out of ****

Splatometer rating: *** out of ****


Planet Terror - Robert Rodriguez's half of Grindhouse is a splatastic zombie epic featuring go-go dancers with machine gun legs, gun-handy runts, secret BBQ recipes, jars of testicles and best of all, lots and lots of over the top gore. The movie that Dead and Deader wanted to be.

*** out of ****

Splatometer rating: ***1/2 out of ****

Re: Zombie Movie Appreciation Thread

Zombie 4: After Death - It's mercenaries versus the undead on yet another zombie-infested island in this forgettable bit of Italian schlock. Just goofy enough to make it worth a look for the completist.

* out of ****

Splatometer rating: *** out of ****


Shadow: Death Riot - It's women in prison versus a resurrected serial killer and his undead minions. Lots of boobs and blood, but oddly enough it's just not that memorable.

** out of ****

Splatometer rating: *** out of ****


I Was A Teenage Zombie - A group of teens accidentally kill a drug dealer and toss his body into a river whose waters have been contaminated by radiation. Sure enough, the murdered man returns as a zombie looking for revenge! When he kills one of the group, the others commit their friend's body to the river hoping that he will likewise come back from the dead and aid them in their fight against their zombie nemesis. He does come back but he's not too happy to discover he's one of the walking dead, especially considering he was about to score with the school hottie! Clunky but ingratiating teen zomedy.

**1/2 out of ****

Splatometer rating: **1/2 out of ****


Zomboy: Diary of a Teenage Zombie - So-so short chronicles a day in the life of an undead teen. Cute ending. See it here.

** out of ****

Splatometer rating: * out of ****


Confederate Zombie Massacre - Historical zombie short about an ambitious Yankee soldier who uses an experimental gas on a squad of Confederates. You can guess what happens next. Pretty silly but worth a look for the novel setting.

"Nobody eats my brains and gets away with it!"

** out of ****

Splatometer rating: *** out of ****


Shanks - William Castle oddity stars Marcel Marceau as a deaf mute puppeteer who learns to control the dead with a device invented by his scientist employer. A real curio and worth seeking out.

*** out of ****

Splatometer rating: * out of ****


The Second Death - Bloody short plays like a compact Night of the Living Dead as a group of people trapped in a house surrounded by zombies try to figure out a way to escape.

**1/2 out of ****

Splatometer rating: *** out of ****


The Forever Dead - Feature-length prequel to The Second Death details how the people in the house came to be there. Pretty good of its type, but drags towards the end.

**1/2 out of ****

Splatometer rating: *** out of ****


Mucha Sangre - Splatter comedy from our friends in Spain has two escaped cons battling aliens whose evil plans include impregnating human males and eating rotten female flesh. Lots of John Woo-style gunplay and Peter Jackson-ish gore (ala Bad Taste); fun, but a sense of deja vu hangs over the proceedings. And yes, there are zombies here.

**1/2 out of ****

Splatometer rating: *** out of ****



Today's tally:

Rounds of amunition expended: 7,593,308,742

Blood spilled: 5,604 gallons

Intestines eaten: 4.4 miles worth

Tongues pulled out: 3

Gouged eyes: 4 or 5

Smashed brains: at least half a dozen

Beheadings: 6 or 7

Limbs ripped off: 2

Limbs ripped off and used as nunchaku: 1

B.O.D. (Boobs On Display): quite a few (see Shadow: Dead Riot)

Poignant love scenes: 1

Anal intrusions: 2

Ripped bodices: 1

Tapdancing Yankees: 1

Marauding biker gangs: 1

Little drummer boy zombies: 1

Redneck zombies: 2

Hot zombie chicks: 2

Killer zombie babies: 1

Killer zombie rabbits: 1

Alien penis monsters: 1

Stupid people killed: two dozen or so

Bleary eyes: 2 (mine)

Lesson for the day: forks do not make good anti-zombie weapons

Re: Zombie Movie Appreciation Thread

Just finished issue #2 of Marvel Zombies Vs. Army of Darkness.

Witness the fate of the Punisher!

Watch as Ash gives Dazzler the once-over (for zombie bites, naturally).

See Ash blow off a zombie hero's head with his boomstick!

All that and a cliffhanger finale featuring a zombie Howard the Duck!