A TV arrives on the doorstep of Mr. Jordan, an unemployed layabout who has no recollection of buying such a device, given his scepticism regarding technology. In the middle of the night, the unplugged TV somehow switches itself on, becoming a portal for a series of zombies which had featured in a film Mr. Jordan had criticised earlier. A few years later, the house is occupied by a new family. Teen siblings Jeff and Zoë hold the fort while their parents are away, only to be delivered a TV that they didn’t order either! With the insatiable curiosity necessary to drive these sorts of narratives ahead, Jeff decides to play about with the TV in the attic, unleashing a barrage of zombies into the quiet neighbourhood.
As one might assume, there’s not much remarkable about this one, asides from the comical special effects and porn star acting. The zombies which emerge from the TV are far too human to present any significant threat – some of them are just a couple of eyeliner strokes from being New Romantics. In trying to create an original twist to the zombie genre, the film forgets pacing and plot, but more than makes up for it with some creative deaths – one unfortunate individual is stabbed (yes, stabbed) with an iron. Essentially, The Video Dead is no different from any other horror-comedy hybrid, but it does make an amusing (and surprisingly accurate) prediction about the future of televisual culture. A recommended watch when drunk or stoned.
Many critics have noted a movement to point-of-view horror as a new means of transferring fear to the audience by making the experience as interactive as possible. The Blair Witch Project kicked off the trend, and subsequent films such as Cloverfield and Paranormal Activity have capitalised on it. But it was Spanish horror [•REC] which really breathed life into the concept by bringing a camera crew into an apartment block plagued by a dangerous virus. On the success of the first installment, directors Paco Plaza and Jaume Balagueró threw themselves into this action-packed sequel, determined to turn the scares up a notch. The film starts where the last one left off, only this time we witness events through the lens of the SWAT team, who head straight for the notorious penthouse where the body of a possessed girl had been found before. The team, accompanied by a cautious doctor, systematically ransack each apartment, but no amount of testosterone can prepare them for the surprises that lie in wait.
The film generates a different atmosphere to its predecessor, which contrasted the animalistic behaviour of the infected with the genuine terror of those still in good health. This time round the only ‘humans’ are the SWAT team, turning the affair into something approaching a video game. The emotions are less sincere and the scares more ridiculous, but the experience is still unnerving thanks to some opportune video interference and top-notch sound editing. If [•REC] is Alien, then [•REC] ² is definitely Aliens.
Coy student Columbus is off on a road trip. Of course, this is no ordinary journey – America has fallen victim to a particularly dangerous strain of mad cow disease which has turned most of the population into hysterical zombies. After a road accident, Columbus bumps into tenacious buccaneer Tallahassee, and the two continue the journey together in his truck. On the hunt for Twinkies, they cross paths, and later team up with panhandling sisters Wichita and Little Rock. Taking refuge at Bill Murray’s house (of all places), the quartet begins to feel safe, and Columbus comes to realise his feelings for Wichita. The revelation is too intense for Wichita, as the next morning she flees the scene with her sister, hoping to reach Pacific Playland, an apparently zombie-free fairground. Determined not to give up, Columbus enlists Tallahassee’s help in tracking them down, but soon enough, the group is back to fighting for survival as the zombies return en masse.
The film is clearly played for fun, and there’s no refuting that it delivers this in abundance. Woody Harrelson as Tallahassee is the B-movie hero every zombie fan could’ve wished for. But there’s a lot about this aspiring cult comedy that doesn’t quite sit right. Columbus, played by gawky actor du jour Jesse Eisenberg, should by all rights have died ten minutes into the film. The ridiculous story about going to the fairground seems contrived purely to justify some reasonably cool effects. And perhaps most importantly, the script is annoyingly lopsided.
The bizarrely disconnected Zombie Flesh Eaters ‘franchise’ continues with this extraordinarily camp instalment. We start the film on a mysterious island midway through an underground voodoo invocation, a hooded priest chanting as a Diana Ross lookalike whirls about in frenzy. The process is interrupted by a team of researchers armed with machine guns, but as soon as one of them shoots the priest, the dead are brought to life as zombies, and the only survivor of the ensuing carnage is young Jenny, who had come to the island with her scientist parents. Many years later, Jenny returns with a band of soldiers in the hopes of finding out what happened to her parents, but fortuitous interference from a group of unrelated hikers leads the island to be repopulated by the undead, and Jenny is left to fight the forces which had taken her family from her before.
This is perhaps the most serious of the Zombie Flesh Eaters films, and thus the least enjoyable. The voodoo theme makes for an interesting set-up, but it’s quickly forgotten once the special effects team get the opportunity to show off their skills. And boy do they show ’em off... within the first fifteen minutes, a character gets his eyeball pulled out, then a series of zombie fingernails scratches off the rest of his face. But the film has little to offer asides from senseless gruesomeness, mind-numbingly poor acting (the cast features a renowned gay porn star) and the tackiest score in recent memory.
I will start this review by saying that I love watching low-budget films, regardless of their quality. Colin, purportedly made for just £45, generated much buzz after it screened at Cannes Film Festival.Shown from the point of view of the titular hero, the film sees Colin being attacked by a friend in the first few minutes, and shortly afterwards we discover that he has become a zombie. Once outside, he picks up the behaviours of the undead, learning to live off human flesh to survive, but is soon found by sister Linda and her boyfriend, who take him back to his mother’s house. From hereon in, we vicariously pick up information about who Colin was, and how he came to be in his current state.
It is tempting to champion a film like this purely for the facts, but the truth is that Colin is rather disposable (I admit, slight sour grapes on my part). This is a film that hangs solely on its concept, one that wasn’t entirely novel to begin with – Andrew Parkman’s I, Zombie apparently beat Price to the punch ten years earlier – and would probably have been made sooner or later by some other horror fan. Camerawork is terrible, in ways not excused by the premise. On a lighter note, a decent job has been done with the sound editing, and the special effects are brilliantly gruesome, so zombie fans will be sufficiently satiated. And it’s impossible not to laugh at a banjo-wielding zombie busker.
Embracing only the zombies-on-an-island theme of its predecessor, Zombie Flesh Eaters 2 takes the dubious film series in a different direction tonally, embracing all that is entertainingly awful about B-movies. When a power plant in South East Asia accidentally lets loose a toxic virus which inadvertently reanimates the dead, a group of American soldiers stationed nearby are the first to experience the effects. Not that they notice yet, they’re too busy chasing tourist skirt. After some brief cavorting and flirting, the zombies make their appearance, chasing the excitable young group to an abandoned hotel into which they barricade themselves, partly for safety, partly for privacy. A couple of ghoulish encounters chase them back out of the building, and soon all hope is lost... or is it?
Provided one knows what to expect from a film with such a title, it really is quite an entertaining jaunt. Despite the messy production details – credited director Lucio Fulci left the project early on, leaving comparative-hack Bruno Mattei to finish it – the story is pretty simple to follow, allowing the gruesome, imaginative effects to take focus (flying zombie head, anyone?). Acting, as expected, isn’t superb, but there are a few likable characters, in particular the suave radio DJ. The zombies themselves seem to have taken lead from Michael Jackson’s Thriller, shifting around the sets with uncharacteristic determination. And suspense-filled tension comes courtesy of a beautifully-dated soundtrack by one Stefano Mainetti, also responsible for scoring such classic titles as Ratman and The Convent of Sinners.
Breakfast is an important meal. It sets you up for the day and gives you the required nutrients, no more, no less - it's a square meal. And this, in a way, is what this film review blog is meant to do. No matter what sort of film it is, every review gets exactly 250 words - just enough to get your RDA of plot, background info and critique.
I try my best to watch and review films from all over the place, in the same way I might have French toast one morning, and Coco Pops the next. Anyway, I'll leave you to get stuck in. Feel free to give me feedback, ask me where to find films, tell me off for unfair comments... I'm all ears. Bon appétit!
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