As you may have guessed by now, zombies are my life. I live for the undead; kind of ironic really. So when I heard that there was only one (feature length) zombie film being shown at FrightFest this year I was, to be honest, disappointed. Wheres all the flesh-eaters?! But thankfully this one film was one of the greatest zombie films I've seen in a good while. And that film goes by the, rather appropriate, name of The Dead.
What The Hell Is It About?
According to the FrightFest booklet;
Known in the UK as the new Ridley and Tony Scott because of their similar commercial backgrounds, the Ford Brothers now burst on the high-class scare scene as a fresh force in the horror fantasy arena. In the very near future most of the world has succumbed to a living dead virus. After crashing off the coast of Africa in a plane, Lt. Brian Murphy battles for survival across inhospitable parched terrain in search of a way to get back to his beloved family in America. Saved by local military man Sgt. Daniel Dembele, who is also searching for his son, both men join forces to fight the ever present flesh-eating threat stalking the bush. Starring West African superstar Prince David Osei and Rob Freeman from Saving Private Ryan, The Dead features stunningly shot burnished landscapes, brilliant special make-up and visual effects and terrific dust devil zombies.
Was It Any Good?
Was it good?! What type of stupid question is that? To call this film anything short of a beautiful masterpiece would be an understatement. The entire film takes place in Africawhich instantly brings to mind one thing to all zombie fans. No, not Resident Evil 5, but a return to the roots of the zombie mythos; the Haitian zombies. In fact, I would argue that the whole of this film is a step into the past of the zombie genre. Clearly influenced by the films of Lucio Fulci, particularly prevalent with the extremely slow shamble of the somnambulists. The Ford brothers themselves announced to the FrightFest audience that they are huge fans of his work along with the indisputable king of the undead, Mr. George A. Romero. The very fact that these zombies are slow is quite a breath of fresh air when compared to the zombie trend of the past few years; fast, hectic living dead. As further elaborated upon by the Ford brothers, this again was a conscious effort to build tension and suspense rather than a frantic action zombie ride. This couldn't be more truthful. Whilst it would be completely wrong to suggest that the speedy dead lack the power to scare ([Rec] being an obvious example to demonstrate this), the undead in The Dead possess a terrifyingly bleak and empty feel not seen since Zombie Flesh Eaters.
I've always wanted to see a zombie puppet film. Sure there's been animated zombie films such as Dead Space, the CGI Resident Evil film and the made-by-one-man City Of Rott, but there's been nothing (to my knowledge) of a gory and funny zombie film with Henson-esque puppets, similar to Meet The Feebles. Until now! It Came From The West, released a few months ago,is just that (short) film, crammed with blood, guts, and stuffing and about as tongue in cheek as it is hand up back. Now you can check the full film out online! Just head over to this link to watch it all. Here's hoping the director, Tor Fruergaard, makes a feature length version of this!
But that's not all! I've recently come across this little fake zombie trailer done in the style of a Grindhouse/Exploitation trailer. It's great fun!
Here's a pretty interesting zombie-related story. Can zombies actually help society? Well maybe, if MTV's new plan is successful. MTV's long running show The Real World (now in the 24th series!) have teamed up with the undead to warn viewers about the dangers of...smoking. Yeah, smoking. MTV will be screening several short anti-smoking, flesh-eating commercials during programmes. Sounds pretty lame, but just watch the below videos. Here are two of the anti-smoking adverts along with a trailer. Enjoy!
Fancy getting your hands on a [REC] 2 poster? Or perhaps a [REC]2 mug? How about a mousemat or better still a DVD/BluRay or this film? Then head over to the REC Movies UK Facebook page and enter the weekly comps!
Ladies and gentleman of all species, here's a bit of zombie history that seems to have been, wrongly, forgotten. As you may or may not know, zombies have taken over the world as we know it and have even showed their rotten faces in musicals! From The Evil Dead Musical (I know they're not zombies - but it's close enough!) to films such as Gory Gory Hallelujah (a film about Elvis impersonators VS. Jesus impersonators...and zombies) and Troma's Poultygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead as well as the music sub-sub genre, Zombiecore, not to mention Jackson's Thriller video. But where did this mix between the undead and the musical merge?
Well, although it may not have been an influence on the aforementioned examples (since it is so obscure), one of the first times the flesh-eating undead rose from their tombs for a good ol' sing song and brains, was in this short comedy. Dawn Of The Night Of The Dead: A Musical is a very funny and innovative little film, that looks like a hell of a lot of fun was had filming it. Clearly influenced by Romero's Dawn of the Dead, this film pays tribute to this classic with an all-singing, all-dancing, all-decomposing zombie choir! I have been unable to find this short on IMDb, but from the comments left on the YouTube page, the film appears to have been made in the early 1980s. Before Day of the Dead, or possibly as a result of the hype being built up around the release of Day?
Here's a great little film for all you zombie fans out there.At just shy of 10 minutes, Inferno Of The Dead is one hell of a fun little film. Clearly inspired by Italian zombie sleaze, most notably The Zombie Dead (Andrea Bianchi, 1981) this short is not only highly innovative and unique but so damn funny! Check it out!
It's not everyday that you hear of a zombie film being refused a certificate, but this exactly what has happened in Austraila. The film in question: Bruce LaBruce's LA Zombie. The reason for why it was banned: strong violence and sex. But this is not your typical heterosexual sex. Oh no, in fact it's quite the opposite. Yep, homosexual sex. Now I obviously haven't had the chance to see LA Zombie, since it hasn't been released yet, BUT I have seen his previous zombie-homo-porno, Otto: Or Up With Dead People and I really did enjoy that film. Sure it got a bit too arty-farty at times but it was different. The gore isn't too strong in that film, however there is plenty of male nudity and the film climaxes in a large homosexual orgy.
And after reading LA Zombie's synopsis, well it's pretty easy to see that LaBruce (who is known for working in gay adult cinema) has attempted to out-do Otto. According to this site, the film centers around "aliens engaging in [homosexual] necrophilia". Pretty far out there then!
I can't help but wonder; if this film contained only heterosexual sex, would this film be banned? It's an interesting thought and one I hope is not true. LaBruce also mentions to The Guardian that this film is a "a reaction against torture porn." Are the Austrailian Film Classification board saying sex is worse than death? It's yet another interesting question raised.
Interestingly this was the first film to be banned at the Melbourne International Film Festival in seven years, which is quite an achievment. Now, this raises an interesting point. Has banning the film strangely helped the film? It's certainly the talk among zombie fans at the moment - a zombie film, that's been banned, I have GOT to see this! Perhaps the banning of this film will, in the long run, give the film more recognition and publicity than if it got through uncut, such as Otto, which is a truly underrated and under-seen film. Just take a look at the Video Nasties - most of which would have fallen into obscurity if it wasn't for them being caught up in the hoohar.
On the other hand, Otto is getting a release here in the UK, completly UNCUT. So check it out, if your looking for something more different.
When you see a teddy, what do you usually think of? Childhood memories, stupid teddy names, sneaking into your room to see if they really are alive (Anyone? Nope. Just me then), fluffy and cuddly? Well think again! These badbears are hungry for flesh and they'll rip the stuffing out of you! I present to you BadTasteBear's upcoming 'Dawn Of The Ted' figures!
The first batch consists of six cotton-eating teds which can all been seen in the picture. My personal favourite has got to be "Rot n Roll" bear, with it's missing leg and guitar-crutches, followed closely by the "Bursting With Joy" figure complete with it's oozing bear intestines.
The first set of the dead teds will be on sale HERE from the 22nd of July, where you'll also have a 50/50 chance of winning a Phantom version of "Life's Such A Drag". From what I've seen they look brilliant, and I'll definetly will be getting a few (when I get some money that is!).
There's no denying that we are living in a zombie boom. Over the past few years zombies have taken over everywhere. From low-budget films to big blockbusters, to books, comics, music, clothes, TV, insurance, cakes, Lego, EVERYTHING! So it's not a real surprise that the flesh-eating undead have also popped up in advertisements. Adverts! The latest one comes straight from Virgin Trains and it is quite simply awesome.
Adverts. Commericals. Whatever you like to call them one thing's for certain, most of them annoy the hell out of people. From their stupid 'Go compare' shouty-man to the cute-but-so-annoying-you-want-to-kick speaking animals. So here are two horror themed adverts. If only there were more of these.
First up we have an advert staring the golemn himself, Frankenstein's monster, Adam.
And next up, yet another annoying Windows advertisement. But this time, with the infamous scene from Lucio Fulci's Zombie Flesh Eaters! It's amazing how this film's reputation has changed over the years...
Here's a rather strange news story for you. It's pretty simple really. A group of five where driving towards a party when they were involved in a horrendous accident that resulted in the car tipping over. Witnesses to the crash described in horror how after what they thought was a fatal crash, several zombies began to claw and crawl their way out of the wreckage causing a lot of panic. It turned out that the 'zombies' were infact the group of five, very much alive, but dressed in zombie costumes for the fancy dress party!
We all, probably, know the history of the cinematic zombie. Starting with voodoo zombies and then progressing to the flesh-eating kind with Romero's masterpiece Night of the Living Dead. But few people know about The Peoria Plague. This was an early 1970s radio broadcast that was very similar to the 1938 broadcast of The War of the Worlds by Orson Welles. It sounds like a normal radio broadcast, but things start to become increasingly scary as chaos begins to destroy the country. The undead have risen and this is what a radio broadcast would probably sound like.
Amazing stuff which should be known about among Zombie Aficiandos. So check it out!
Maybe to make up for the fact that this game has been put back a few months, Capcom revealed today that a new special edition of this will be available to purchase for the PS3 and XBOX 360. The set includes the new game (obviously), a 12" zombie figure complete with accessories such as a Lego mask, and free downloadable content!
Here at Circus of the Freaky, I aim to bring to you not only reviews of freaky horror films, weird news stories, unexplained mysteries and other such paranormal hoohar but also the latest in (awesome) zombie news. So every now and then, I, the Freak, shall post a couple of links to the best and newest zombie material. Enjoy!
To kick start it all off....
Everyone's heard about the Orson Welles radio broadcast of War Of The Worlds which caused wide-spread panic across America. What with the recent popularity of zombies it wasn't long before there was a zombie version of this radio broadcast (not to mention the War Of The Worlds Plus Blood, Guts And Zombiesbook) which was entitled Zombie Influx. This CD presented itself as a real life radio broadcast of a zombie outbreak complete with sound effects and great music. Check out the site here for more information. Now, another one has come along and it goes by the name of The Zombie Cookbook. A CD very similar to Zombie Influx but with a focus more on Metal (music). Click this link to listen to a few tracks.
NEXT:
Everyone who is anyone in the field of zombie fandom has played Left 4 Dead (1 & 2). There's no two ways about it. That's just the way it is. And for those who have the PC version, well another brilliant Mod has been release. A Mod that allows the player/s to fight hordes of flesh-eating, screaming zombies in the world of Indiana Jones. I present to you: Indiana Jones And The Temple Of The Zombies! The link here allows you to download the Mod for free! Oh yeah!
Besides running this blog, I also run the competitions on the Cult Labs forums. For those who haven't visited this site, I cannot recommend it high enough if you're a fan of film, especially cult/horror/exploitation. Full of great, knowledgable and very friendly members this is the one forum you'd ever need to join.
This week's competition prize is...
“GOOD NASTY FUN WITH GREAT ACTION SEQUENCES, ACTUAL PLOT TWISTS AND SMART, LIGHT-FINGERED CARTOON VIOLENCE.” – BOXOFFICE.COM
From screenwriter Ryuhei Kitamura (director of ‘The Midnight Meat Train’ and writer-director of ‘Versus’) and director Tak Sakaguchi (the star of ‘Versus’ and fight choreographer for ‘Tokyo Gore Police’ and ‘Vampire Girl Vs. Frankenstein Girl’) comes Samurai Zombie, a splatter-filled, genre blending, horror-comedy that delivers precisely what its title promises.
A vacationing family’s drive through the tranquil woods surrounding Eight Spears Village takes an unfortunate turn when their car hits a gun-toting man standing in the middle of the road. Suddenly, a young man and woman emerge from the woods and, after shooting the accident victim, proceed to car-jack the family taking them hostage in the process. The situation immediately goes from bad to worse when the car suffers a blowout and dad is sent off in search of a spare tyre or an alternative means of transport while his wife and two kids remain in the hands to the two apparent psychopaths.
Unfortunately, any sign of deliverance for dad, his family or their captors is a long way off. Before he can find help, a mysterious encounter with a rather large blade leaves the head of the family headless, precipitating a bloody rainfall and the resurrection of a long-dead samurai warrior with a mean streak and a score to settle. Meanwhile, back at the car, a derelict old hag appears before the stranded group with a dire but frighteningly convincing warning: “You’re all going to die!” Confirmation of this stark proclamation soon comes in the form of the undead warrior looking to add to his newly-begun collection of severed heads.
A highly recommended addition to the recent wave of Japanese extreme splatter movies, Samurai Zombie sees director Sakaguchi and writer Kitamura playing for laughs and shocks in equal measure with a joyously demented zombie flick that includes scenes of explosive geyser-spouting decapitations, hilariously graphic dismemberment, wince-inducing oral castration and the introduction of a pair of bumbling cops with an amusing case of serious gun envy. Size, it appears, is everything.
Samurai Zombie (cert. tbc) will be released on DVD (£15.99) by MVM on 19th July 2010.
So head on over to the Cult Labs forums to be in with a chance of winning!
Roll up, roll up for the first ever (non-introductory) post on the Circus of the Freaky blog. And what a way to kick it all off.
Whether or not you're prepared for the inevitable zombie apocalypse (if you're not prepared, well, good luck with that), zombies have ripped and torn it's way into pop culture like never before. With what appears to be a never-ending stream of books, games, films, music, clothes, gadgets, gizmo's, and other such zombie themed mumbo jumbo, it's undeniable proof that the zombies have taken over. Don’t get me wrong, the Freak is the biggest zombie fan you’re likely to meat. In fact, I’m currently building an army of those undead flesh-eaters from Hell, but that’s just our little secret. Got it?
So, below are three, apparently, real videos of zombie animals!
Up first we have the re-animated zombie dog's head, along with some very much alive inner organs. It's reportedly footage of a 1956 Soviet experiment by a certain Russian who goes by the name of Sergei S. Bryukhonenko, one of the most prolific characters in regard to open-heart surgery in Russia. What do you think? Real or fake? Is it really alive?
It’s a dog life. But what about cats? Who would like to see a cat running without a brain? Who wouldn’t want to see a cat running without a brain?! Here’s another macabre experiment involving a ‘dead’ moggy seemingly running on a treadmill after it had it’s brains scooped out of its skull. Pretty freaky stuff indeed. But perhaps the biggest worry is whether this proves that uncle Romero was wrong? Would destroying the brain actually (re)kill a zombie?
And finally, this one isn't of the experimental/evil-scientist-with-a-little-too-much-time-on-his-hands video. It is instead a filleted, skinned, headless zombie fish (straight from the local supermarket) flapping around on the counter. Is this one a fake? A sign of the apocalypse? Or a very odd sex toy?
