Zombies for Zombies (Review)

REVIEW

Zombies for Zombies:
Advice and Etiquette for the Living Dead

By David P. Murphy
Illustrated by Daniel Heard

Sourcebooks: 2009



RATING: 3.5/ 5 zedheads



So, you've been bitten by a zombie. Bummer.

Remember in the film Beetlejuice how new ghosts received the Handbook for the Recently Deceased to help them adjust to being dead? Well, ghosts aren't the only dead folks who require self-help. Zombie life is rough, you know. There are numerous guidebooks available for consumers eager to learn the best way to kill, maim and decimate zombies, but what exists to help the zombies themselves? Into this void in the publishing market comes a new motivational book to teach zombies how to resist turning into just another mindless member of The Horde. I'm talking of course about David P. Murphy's amusing new book Zombies for Zombies: Advice and Etiquette for The Living Dead.

Zombies for Zombies (Z4Z) reads like an artifact from a weird parallel dimension in which a zombie virus (the Provo virus) has ravaged the world, yet corporations (such as the fictional QualiCorps) have stepped up to restructure society into a series of safe zones. As part of this restructuring, researchers and marketers have discovered and trademarked a slew of pharmaceutical, dietary, and motivational techniques for helping zombies maintain some civilized levels of humanity (i.e. consumerism) that prevents them from devolving into the completely feral zombies of The Horde. These civil zombies are branded with the PC term "Post-Lifers" and shipped off to The Scarlet Shores, a series of secure post-life beach resorts. On the Shores, post-lifers can mingle, moan, drink, eat brains, and enjoy a series of recreational activities specifically designed for people with all the physical durability of a moldy peach.

Equal parts healing and marketing, Z4Z is a motivational guide for newly-bitten individuals beginning their exciting and putrid transformation into post-lifers. Written in a very accessible style that melds quasi-textbook content with off-the-cuff asides and amusing references, Z4Z manages to work as a parody of self-help guides like the ...for Dummies series and as a unique comedy book in its own right. As a guidebook, however, it doesn't make for the most compelling reading. While amusing and charming, its structure doesn't encourage sustained reading. It's a book you can pick up and read in installments and then come back to three weeks later without feeling you've missed anything. More than sometimes, Murphy will stretch a joke too far or make too obscure a reference, but the majority of the time the book's sense of humour nibbles directly on the funny bone.

What the book may lack it makes up for in scope and art. Z4Z is incredibly comprehensive, covering etiquette, diet, religion, fashion, and even zombie sex. Yes, zombie sex. Looks like stiffs can still be stiff in all the right places according to Z4Z's tongue-in-cheek take on the Karma Sutra: the Koma Sutra. Everything you could ever want to know about preparing for the rigors (mortis) of post-life can be found in Z4Z. Each chapter begins with solid-looking art by cartoonist Daniel Heard. Most of the pictures feature a character we see slowly decompose over the course of the book who also looks similar but legally distinct from the guy on the ...for Dummies book covers.

5 Things I learned from Zombies for Zombies

1.) A good recipe for Scrambled Brains N' Eggs includes 1lb of chopped cow or sheep brains. And here I was using rat.

2.) While Romerin®, the heart-shaped pill, may improve brain function, it also gives one a longing for library paste.

3.) Shuffleboard is a competitive sport for not only the nearly dead but also the living dead.

4.) The Virgina Surreal™ is a dance move as confusing as its name.

5.) 21-30 hours into Provo Virus infection, uvulas burst and ear hair grows exponentially.

All in all, Zombies for Zombies is a fun read. I felt at times that it would be more interesting to read a fiction novel set in the world Murphy has created rather than read a fictional guidebook from that world, but the book works. Among the other faux-serious zombie guidebooks that can tend to be a bit dry, Zombies for Zombies is a welcome diversion. Zombies for Zombies is now available in bookstores and online. Check it out.

For more information:

Zombie for Zombies official website
Zombie for Zombies Youtube Channel

Zombies: When the Dead Walk (Toronto Screening)

Zombies: When the Dead Walk is a documentary written and directed by Donna Zuckerbrot that promises to explore where our pop-culture depictions of zombies came from by investigating the case of Hatiti's most famous "zombie": Clairvius Narcisse.

You can catch a Halloween double-bill screening of Zombies: When the Dead Walk with another documentary (The Houdini Code) at the Royal Cinema (608 College St. West) on Thursday, October 29th @ 7:00 pm.




Official press release after the jump!

ZOMBIE JESUS WINNER

Hallelujah!

 Congratulations to C. Calloway for winning our ZOMBIE JESUS prize pack courtesy of 13 Flames Empire.


New contest starts in October. You won't want to miss it if you're a fan of zombie art. Stay tuned creeple!.

[REC] 2 (Review)

REVIEW

[REC] 2 (2009)
*not yet released*

Directors: Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza

RATING:
2.5 / 5 zedheads




Because I never reviewed the original [REC] (2007) here on The Zed Word zombie blog, many of you probably will not understand why I found [REC] 2's much anticipated screening at the Toronto International Film Festival to be a complete let-down. A tired, noisy, charmless let-down.

The original [REC] worked because the audience had time to bond with some truly likable characters before those characters found themselves quarantined in an apartment building inhabited by violent residents who had turned into infectious crazies. The original film is presented as footage shot POV-style by the camera of a TV crew -- it's a style that the directors utilized expertly to put the viewer right in the heart of the terror. Although we've seen running, red-eyed quasi-zombie crazies before, [REC] felt fresh and truly frightening. [REC] had its fair share of slightly cheap jump scares, but there was always a distinct and complex atmosphere of pulsating dread that pushed the film forward into its shocking and ambiguously religious climax.

[REC] 2 starts about 15 minutes after the first movie ended, but it never manages to capture any of the things that made [REC] great. Once the opening scene concludes, it's clear that [REC] 2 has sacrificed atmosphere for action, realistic and likable characters for bland stereotypes, mystery for exposition, and innovative uses of the POV camera for a predictable pattern of camera moves that quickly loses its appeal.

One interesting innovation that the film does offer is that the narrative is told from multiple cameras instead of one. First, there is the group of Spanish SWAT members who start off the film rushing to the scene of the apartment quarantine. We see most of the action through the main feed from one of the SWAT members' helmet cams. Each member of the small team, however, has the ability to patch-in to the main feed to give the audience multiple points of view at once via picture-in-picture. While novel, this technique wears thin not long after it's introduced. Things are scarier when you can't see everything, not when you can. Later in the film, the narrative is taken up by the footage from a camera carried by three annoying teenagers while the last third of the movie is shot by the same TV crew camera as in the original [REC]. And yes, you see footage from the original [REC] and find out exactly what happens after Ángela (Manuela Velasco) is pulled off into the darkness at the end of the first movie.

Unfortunately, the film's characters are not as interesting as its narrative structure. The SWAT team members are one-dimensional men of action who do a lot of shouting, shooting, and macho posturing but little else. I don't even remember their names. They accompany into the building a medical official with a secret identity, but once his identity is revealed he too loses much of his depth. Later, when the teens are introduced, the audience has the pleasure of watching them whine and snivel and complain and contribute nothing to the overall story. I hated these kids and every minute of the film spent with them. The most delightful character in the film is a returning character from [REC], but this character has changed subtly (although this change is related to the plot and not poor acting / pacing / scripting). In short, I didn't give a damn about any of the characters and didn't care whether they lived or died. For a film that relies on the audience's identification with the characters through their cameras, [REC] 2 never hooked me.

I was also unimpressed by the camera work. Unlike [REC], [REC] 2 feels less like a horror movie and more like an action movie. People do a lot more running and fighting; unfortunately, this means we get a lot more shaky-cam. I don't remember the shaky-cam being so bad in [REC], but here it seems like every time someone is attacked the camera spins wildly and you never see anything clearly. Add to this an incredibly loud soundtrack of screams and yells and the film felt like a total sensory overload. The only time the camera seems to show anything clearly is when one of the "zombies" is about to be killed in some excessively elaborate way. You can almost predict when this is going to happen based on the camera's steadiness. Also tiring is the number of times cameras are dropped to the ground during tense moments so the audience is forced to see only a fraction of what is occurring from the vantage point of the floor. Although dropping one's camera would seem like a natural event when attacked my savage creatures, the way it was used at least once during every one of the three segments of the film felt like a poor contrivance. By the end of the movie, I was just bored of it.

Zombie fans may also be turned off by the continuation of [REC]'s story if they expect the sequel to be a confirmed zombie flick. While I still consider the crazies in [REC] and [REC] 2 to be minor zombies of a sort, it is quickly explained that we are not dealing with a 28 Days Later virus or George A. Romero undead. Those hints at Catholic spirituality at the end of [REC] are completely explained no less than 15 minutes into [REC] 2, and after that there is no doubt about what is causing the "infection." Let's just say this is a movie where you'd be more likely to find Linda Blair than Ken Foree. I actually liked this element of the story because it eventually pays off in a great twist at the end, but I never felt that the twist or the series of events leading up to it were good enough to justify a sequel. For the majority of its running time, [REC] 2 didn't show me anything I hadn't seen before.

My review of [REC] 2 may be a victim of [REC]'s success, but I don't think I had unrealistic expectations for the film. What directors Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza give us is a mildly amusing film full of jump scares and loud scary noises, but it lacks the charm, likable characters, and claustrophobic dread of the original [REC]. I think [REC 2] (like Quarantine) is a film that really didn't need to be made.

Seeing as how Quarantine (2008), the American remake of [REC], failed to capture the essence of the original Spanish film, could irony throw us a curve ball with an American remake of [REC] 2 that actually improves on it?

Survival of the Dead (Review)

REVIEW

Survival of the Dead (2009)

Director: George A. Romero

RATING:
4 / 5 zedheads

NOTE: My review of Survival of the Dead first appeared as an audio segment on episode #86 of MAIL ORDER ZOMBIE. Head on over to www.mailorderzombie.com and subscribe to the show!

For the most part, Survival of the Dead is an incredibly satisfying installment in Romero's recent slate of modern zombie films. Surprisingly fun, although at the expense of some horror elements, Survival is the best film Romero's produced since Day of the Dead (1985). Presented in Survival is a purposely broad allegory for conflict and tribalism told with humorously over-the-top characters and some of the best and most creative zombie attacks seen in a Romeo film in years.

Survival of the Dead is a direct sequel to Diary of the Dead (2007). Alan Van Sprang plays “Sarge" (although this name may be changed in the credits by the time that the film is released). Sarge leads a small group of AWOL soldiers who get by as scavengers and thieves (the same thieves led by Sprang we see in Diary robbing the protagonists of that film). Sprang encounters Patrick O'Flynn (Kenneth Welsh), the manipulative and strong-willed patriarch of the O'Flynn family from the rural community of Plum Island. O'Flynn has been exiled by his rival on the island, Shamus Muldoon (Richard Fitzpatrick), because of a dispute over how to deal with the returning dead. O'Flynn wants to put bullets in their brains and put them back in the ground whereas Muldoon wants to keep the dead “alive” if they show promise of learning to eat something other than people. Muldoon has noticed that certain zombies seem to repeat the actions they did in life -- chopping wood for instance. He sees this hint of memory as a sign that the zombies can be saved. As a result, Muldoon and O'Flynn come to blows and O'Flynn is forced off the island. On the mainland, O'Flynn enlists the aid of Sarge and his men to take the fight back to Muldoon on Plum Island.

I saw Survival of the Dead at its North American premiere on September 12th as part of the Toronto International Film Festival. Aside from the central question of whether the film would be any good, going into the Festival I couldn't help but ponder a much broader question. How do you begin to rate a new George A. Romero zombie movie given his large body of work? Do you compare Survival to the starkly dark tale of horror that is the original Night of the Living Dead (1968)? Do you compare it to the action-adventure zombie siege with hints of satire, slapstick, and comic book sensibilities that is the original Dawn of the Dead (1978)? What about the gory horror drama of ideas that is Day of the Dead (1985)? Given that each Romero film is different, to review Survival, I thought about three central criteria I've come to expect from all Romero zombie films: was it fun, did it make me think, and did it make me fear the dead?


Was it fun?

Survival of the Dead is perhaps the most fun film Romero has produced since Dawn of the Dead. It lacks the scope and the emotional sincerity of Dawn, but Survival is infused with a similar larger-than-life quality. This larger-than-life quality comes from a combination of the film's majestic Canadian scenery, enjoyable scene-chewing courtesy of Sprang, Welsh, and Fitzpatrick, a Western movie atmosphere, and countless exaggerated and inventive zombie kills. Make no mistake, however: Survival does not offer Dead Snow or Evil Dead levels of over-the-top zombie mayhem, yet the zombie violence is surprisingly gleeful for a Romero movie. Look for the zombie dispatched by a flare gun!

The acting may be nothing groundbreaking although every character who is supposed to be likable is likable, and every character who is supposed to be a caricature is an enjoyable caricature. Also, the trademark Romero-isms are clearly present, but Romero's small attempts at introducing some new new visuals and scenarios into his zombie films really carries this movie from a rating of 3.5/5 to a solid 4/5 zed heads. There's one scene in particular that turns the zombie-bites-man scenario on its ear.

Did it Make Me Think?

Romero is known for infusing his zombie movies with social messages and symbolic metaphors. Sometimes this is delivered in a deft fashion as with his criticism of commercialism in Dawn of the Dead; other times it burdens his movies as in Diary of the Dead. Let's be honest, Romero's ideas are not genius; we've heard before -- the genius is that he found a way to let the image of the zombie act as a fertile vessel for his social criticisms. When he loses focus on letting the narratives and zombies deliver the social messages and instead makes his human characters deliver the messages, his movies usually don't work. Thankfully, Survival of the Dead offers a very general social criticism about tribalism and the escalation of aggression. An interpretation of the conflict on Plum Island between the Muldoon and O'Flynn clans could just as easily be applied to Palestine and Israel or China and Japan. It also works as a general stand-in for issues of "us vs. them" violence be it racial, religious, or class-based.

More interesting than the message of the film is a new twist on zombie behavior that Romero introduces. Perhaps "twist" is not the best word as the foundation of this new revelation has been around since the very first Night of the Living Dead although forgotten by most zombie fans. A minor scene in Night that most have discarded as a mistake can now be viewed as canon and justification for a new take on the nature of zombies and their capabilities. In this way, Survival of the Dead is most interesting for the way it continues to add and explore subtle new dimensions of the Romero zombie depicted in his dead series.

Did it Make me Fear the Dead?

Confession time: Although I love zombies, they rarely scare me in the movies. Don't get me wrong: the idea of zombies is one of the most terrifying concepts I can think of, but the way zombies are depicted rarely makes me feel the same kind of dread I get when I contemplate the concept of zombies. Few books and fewer movies since Night have managed to capture the pure horror of zombies. Yes, Dawn of the Dead is a classic, but the zombies are doofy.

That being said, Romero has known this for a long time. In most of his films, it is not the zombies we should fear but one another. This is best shown in Survival of the Dead where the dead are treated almost as if they are an infestation of pests. Like rats or snakes, the zombies infest every dark area and corner of the world. They don't appear to be actively hunting you as a lion might stalk and chase its prey across the plains. Instead, the zombies go about their business until you wander into their territory or they into yours. Then they will tear your ass apart. This approach to zombies, which continues to break away from the 28 Days Later model of zombie attacks, makes the zombies more of a background danger. Most times, people can avoid and outwit the zombies, but for the majority of the film people encounter the zombies while also trying to escape or hunt down some other person. The zombies just make high-stress conflicts more difficult since zombies lie in wait to turn every bad decision and mistake into a fatal error.

While I can not say I feared the dead in Romero's Survival, they are used to good effect. Several points in the film do manage to execute some effective jump-scares and weave an atmosphere of anxiety because the threat of zombies waiting around the corner is ever-present. In the end, Survival is less scary and atmospheric than Night or Day, but has more of an action-adventure tone like Dawn and Land of the Dead (2005).

Despite its minor flaws, Survival of the Dead is an enjoyable zombie movie. Diary of the Dead may have been too disappointing to forgive, but with Romero's new film he shows that his vision of the zombie has a lot of life left in it. Although commentators have poked fun at the the film's title for being nonsensical, the film makes at least one thing very clear: Romero's zombie series has survived Diary of the Dead and is back in good shape.

Long live the Romero Zombie!

FREE ZOMBIELAND SCREENINGS

This just came across the Zed Word news desk today:

Zombieland Free Screenings; Zombie Walks coming to LA, Chicago, Dallas, DC, and Houston

Washington D.C. – Tuesday, Sept. 29th

Los Angeles – Wednesday, Sept. 30th

Chicago – Thursday, Oct. 1st

Dallas – Thursday, Oct 1st

Houston – Thursday, Oct. 1st

Columbia Pictures and Zombieland are pleased to announce a string of FREE advance movie screenings in select markets next week. The local undead of Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, D.C., and Houston will walk their local streets in Zombie fashion leading up to a local participating theater. All locals are encouraged to paint the town dead and join in on the fun! We know that you are dying to see this film, so be sure to take advantage of this exclusive opportunity!

For details on your local Zombie Walk and advance Zombieland screening visit http://www.zombielandzombiewalks.com.

MY SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD review on MAIL ORDER ZOMBIE

LISTEN to my review of Survival of the Dead on this week's episode of MAIL ORDER ZOMBIE.

Bcause I'm not able to write up my review of Survival of the Dead just yet, you can listen to my review of George A. Romero's new film and my report on the Toronto Zombie Walk: Special Director's Cut on EPISODE #86 of the best zombie podcast on the web: Mail Order Zombie.

Subscribe to Mail Order Zombie through iTunes or download the episode directly HERE

PHOTOS of Toronto Zombie Walk: Special Director's Cut 

PHOTOs from outdoor screening of Night of the Living Dead at TIFF

Join Audience for Romero interview on THE HOUR

This afternoon, George Romero is recording before an audience in Toronto for The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos on CBC-TV.

If you have free time this afternoon  @ 12:30pm, book your FREE TICKETS to join the audience
 

The interview will last about 30 minutes and everyone will need to be at the CBC for 11:45am.

You can book tickets through www.cbc.ca/thehour/tickets 

FUN FACT: Stroumboulopoulos makes a cameo appearance in Romero's new film: Survival of the Dead

EAT ME! (Review)

REVIEW

EAT ME! (2009)

Director: Katie Carman

RATING:
3.5 / 5 zedheads




 WARNING: This film contains flesh eating, pot smoking, bicycle thievery, radioactive brain bashing, gratuitous cursing, a new romance, blood drooling, zombie bagging, band practice, warm beer, a few tears, an orange car, the star spangled banner and a heartbreaking testament to the human spirit. Also, some jokes.


Although EAT ME! was not as funny as I had hoped, it is an incredibly charming and enjoyable zombie picture that has a quirky take on the genre and features a number of genuinely amusing scenes. It's an independent movie that dreams big and, for the most part, succeeds with what it has.

EAT ME! (formerly titled The Eaters) is a new horror comedy from Brooklyn director Katie Carman that is making the festival rounds and finalizing distribution deals. Back in July, Carman did an interview with The Zed Word. Since then I've had a screener for EAT ME! here on my desk at Zed Word HQ. Unfortunately, the Festival of Fear came around and took up a lot of my time. Now, thankfully, I can turn my full zombie appetite to EAT ME! and dig right in.

First, Carman and screenwriter/star Elizabeth Lee get immediate points for bringing back the radioactive zombie. I watch enough zombie movies in a month to get simply sick of viruses and plagues and genetic engineering offered up as explanations for zombies. EAT ME! features the glorious return of the crispy, irradiated zombie. In this film, the zombies descend on Brooklyn during a blackout. This blackout traps the members of indie rock band General Malacarne (played by Jun Naito, Ivy Hong, Elizabeth Lee, and Chesley Calloway) in the basement where they practice. They pass the night drinking and getting high in the dark before the morning forces them to escape the basement and face a world of blood-hungry zombies.

The standout performance of the film is without a doubt Chesley Calloway as Sam. Calloway's delivery feels effortlessly funny, and every line he delivers is just pitch-perfect. Calloway seems to exhale humour. For example, there is a scene that involves a debate over whether zombie dentures can infect someone who is bitten by them, and Calloway manages to convey convincing fear yet still keep his comedic tone.

While the rest of the cast are decent and likable actors, something is missing in their comedic delivery. Scenes that should be funny just didn't tickle my funny bone. I don't know if it had to do with the situations, the actors' energy, or the wording of the lines, but I found few laugh-out-loud moments in EAT ME! Although the humour may be a little touch-and-go, EAT ME! is thankfully not a movie that is trying too hard to be funny. Therefore, even when the humour doesn't work, the characters still remain charming. In that sense, I suppose EAT ME! is a little more like real life  -- not every humorous phrase or comeback is or should be met with raucous laughter.

I really grew to like the characters as they make inept plans to escape Brooklyn. Elizabeth Lee in particular as Kara is very watchable. She's cute and honest and although her delivery of the humourous dialogue did not provoke many laughs from me, her character is still someone I was drawn to. I should also mention Adam Morris's supporting role as "Metal Dave," one of the band member's roommates. "Metal Dave" gets so many funny lines and has such an on-screen charisma that he should have been cast as one of the principle characters.

What EAT ME! may lack in some areas it makes up for in a solid use of its independent budget and an imagination and willingness to try new things in the zombie comedy genre. Zombie extras may be scarce, but the zombies are unique as they are hungry not for flesh or brains, per say, but blood. Also, the zombies have different personalities. Some are just stupid and dazed whereas others are aggressive and violent. This adds some interesting variety to the film and allows the characters time to plan their escape and actually use the zombies to their benefit. After watching EAT ME!, you're going to be thinking of zombies the next time your car runs out of gas. Trust me!

Carman and her film-making team also need to be commended given how good this film looks for an independent production. The picture is crisp, the sound is clear, the editing is tight, and the film manages to take place in a lot of outdoor locations yet the narrative stays coherent during transportation scenes. For the last part of the film, the characters are constantly on the move. These factors normally spell doom for independent productions. Director Katie Carman, however, deftly dances around these potential pitfalls and makes them work for her.

For its inventiveness, Calloway's great performance, and the commendable production values, EAT ME! is a zombie comedy movie that I hope finds an audience. It may not satisfy your hunger for a big, gory zombie spectacle, but it has a lot going for it to satisfy your other zombie cravings. With EAT ME! as her first feature, Katie Carman has proven that she could be a very capable director of bigger-budget feature films. I look forward to her work in the future.

For more information about EAT ME!, visit the offifical website: http://eatmefilm.com/

PHOTOS: Romero Appearance at TIFF screening of Night of the Living Dead

At the end of the Toronto Zombie Walk: Special Director's Cut Edition, all zombies gathered at Yonge-Dundas square, which was organized for an outdoor screening of the short Canadian zombie curling film Deadspiel before a showing of the original Night of the Living Dead.

Colin Geddes introduced George A. Romero when he arrived, and Romero accepted an award from the city of Toronto to celebrate his work and permanent residence in Canada.

Please enjoy my photos of Romero's appearance as well as the colourful, unique zombies that came out to participate. Click photos for bigger pictures!

ROMERO ADDRESSES TORONTO ZOMBIES 

 

  

  

 

 

  

  

 

 

 

PHOTOS: Toronto Zombie Walk: Special Director's Cut Edition

Saturday, September 12th was the Toronto Zombie Walk: Special Director's Cut Edition. It was organized to celebrate George A. Romero's status as a permanent resident of Canada on the day of the North American premiere of his new film Survival of the Dead.

My zombie pals and I hit the streets in our zombie best (I'm the bloody zombie surgeon) to tear up Toronto for the love of Romero. The walk started in Alexandra Park and ended at Yonge-Dundas Square where George A . Romero appeared before a crowd of zombies and movie lovers to accept a special reward from the city of Toronto preceding a screening of his original Night of the Living Dead.

Please enjoy my photos of the walk and all the colourful, unique zombies that came out to participate. Click photos for bigger pictures!

THE DEAD WALK