Trailer Tuesday: The Sky Has Fallen

The Sky Has Fallen Trailer from Doug Roos on Vimeo.

http://www.theskyhasfallen.net

Sick on Sin: 36%-off Sale (one day only -- expires July 27)

Sick On Sin is having a promotion in celebration of the site owner's birthday.

Get 36% off orders over $36 with the code: JEN36 (expires July 27)

If you missed out on the Orneryboy sale last week and/or wanted non-Orneryboy goodies, then today's a great chance to come do some shopping!! Feel free to pass on the code to anyone you think would love Sick On Sin stuff!

You can get some very cool and very cute zombie-centric clothes there, such as the "Flesh is for Zombies" t-shirt and magnet. I'm the proud owner of two zombie shirts from Sick on Sin, including the pictured "Brian the Zombie" tee. Get in on this sale before it's too late.

Sick On Sin

Expanded THE GOON footage from SDCC

MTV has posted the full THE GOON reel from SDCC showing even more of the animation and showcasing Paul Giamatti as the voice of Franky. Check it!

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

Last of the Living (2008)

Last of the Living (2008)

Director: Logan McMillan

RATING:
3.5 / 5 zedheads



You can always count on New Zealand to deliver at least an entertaining zombie film. Last of the Living, written and directed by Logan McMillan, may lag a bit and feel shallow in the character department, but it has an endearing sense of style and production value that put it at the top of the heap when it comes to independent zombie films.


A group of immature young men believe they are the last of humanity after a virus that turns people into flesh-hungry zombies ravages the world. Morgan (Morgan Williams) is a vain and self-centred amateur actor, Ash (Ashleigh Southam) is a reserved worrywart, and Johnny (Robert Faith) is a wannabe rocker / fighter whose idea of a cure for the zombie plague is "KARATE!" They spend their days picking on each other, moving from mansion to mansion, and raiding grocery stores and DVD shops. One day they meet a young scientist named Stef (Emily Paddon-Brown) who enlists their help in finding a lab so she can work on a blood sample that she hopes will cure the infected.

Last of the Living is a comedy, but the laughs are fairly low-key and based in the dialog rather than the situation, and the dialog has a very clear New Zealand flavor. Although the characters are plainly stereotypical, I grew to like them and found their sarcastic banter and male posturing entertaining enough. I've laughed more at other zombie comedies, but Last of the Living thrives on its own enthusiasm. The characters also meet some unexpected fates. At several points, the characters' trajectories swerve suddenly into the bleak. Although the characters may be stereotypical, at least the filmmakers weren't content with the zombie comedy status quo.

In terms of its cinematography and production values, the film really distinguishes itself from the pack of run-of-the-mill zombie movies. An active camera and inventive shots imbue the film with energy that is lacking in the narrative. When the film's story starts to spin its wheels, at least the film looks slick. The film starts to pick up pace at the halfway mark as Morgan, Ash, Johnny, and Stef start their journey, and the audiences follows them at a good pace through various locations: abandoned cities, small townships, rural back roads, and even an air strip. Unfortunately, some of these sequences are marred by distractingly artificial CGI effects, yet the overall feel of the film is one of professionalism and variety.

My only real gripe with this film is the zombies. Thankfully, they are more than just extras stumbling around in grey face paint, yet they still aren't very scary or threatening. Last of the Living often feels more like an action/adventure film. As such, the zombies needed to be a clear and active threat, but they appear on screen in too few numbers to feel dangerous. They also don't look very scary despite the subtle makeup effects and prosthetics. Were the zombies gorier, I may have been more engaged in the scenes where our heroes flee from the undead. Also, I'm usually not a fan of zombies that run, but if any film could benefit from fast zombies then it's Last of the Living. The direction of the film, the budget, and the plot just don't work with only a handful of slow zombies in each scene.

Watching Last of the Living was not a bad way to spend a Sunday afternoon, but it's probably not a film I'd ever feel compelled to rewatch. Simple, enjoyable in the moment, and worth a few chuckles, it's a better independent zombie film than most even though it's not highly memorable.

Chemical 12-D (Awesome zombie short film!)

In a world of zombies, Michael Frank searches for one of the undead on which to test the experimental chemcial 12-D. Writer/director Mac Eldridge.

QUARANTINE 2: Fly the Deadly Skies

Bloody-Disgusting is reporting that principle photography has wrapped on Quarantine 2: Terminal.

Quarantine is a stupidly derivative remake of the Spanish film REC about a strange infection that turns residents of a quarantined apartment building into savage killers. Although there is a REC 2 (review) that takes place in the same apartment, Quarantine 2 is an entirely new different  plot set largely in an airport terminal.

In QUARANTINE, an apartment building in Los Angeles was quarantined by the CDC (Center for Disease Control), trapping the frightened residents inside as a deadly mutant virus turned the residents into rabid killers. QUARANTINE 2: TERMINAL picks up later that night at LAX, as passengers board a flight to Nashville. When a passenger becomes violently ill with a mysterious rabies-like virus, the plane makes an emergency landing at a large metropolitan airport. Jenny (Mercedes Masohn, CBS’s "Three Rivers"), a heroic yet inexperienced flight attendant, takes charge of the safety of her passengers. Relieved when a swarm of heavily equipped emergency vehicles, police units and the CDC arrive, Jenny and the passengers soon discover that they have been quarantined and are now trapped. Desperate to escape, Jenny enlists the help of one of the surviving passengers, a kindergarten teacher, Henry (Josh Cooke, A Fork In The Road, I Love you Man), to devise a plan to survive.

I didn't care for Quarantine, but I was also dissatisfied with REC 2. I noted in my review of REC 2 that I thought it would be ironic to see a Quarantine sequel that turned out to be better. Perhaps we're on the right road?

Another curious question: Will this film also be filmed in the POV style? Nothing in the plot synopsis indicates anything about camera footage. Interesting.

Brad Pitt starts World War Z

It seems that overwhelmingly positive buzz about The Walking Dead at Comic-Con isn't the only big zombie story.

Max Brooks told MTV that Brad Pitt is officially signed on to star in World War Z, the Paramount Studios adaptation of Brooks's novel, which is shooting for a Summer 2012 release.

I wonder if the buzz around AMC's Walking Dead has put some fire under the feet of Paramount to get this project rolling.

WALKING DEAD: Leaked SDCC Trailer

Someone smuggled out a cam-recorded copy of the trailer for AMC's The Walking Dead from its showing at this year's San Diego Comic-Con. And here it is:

Australia to Bruce LaBruce: "No way, mate."

Canadian director Bruce LaBruce recently had his new gay zombie film banned from the Melbourne Film Festival.

The concept of L. A. Zombie, which is about a homeless schizophrenic who believes he's an alien zombie that can use homosexual sex to resurrect the dead, proved too much for the Australian Film Classification Board. After viewing a cut of the film that Bruce LaBruce claims was toned down for the festival circuit, the Australian Film Classification Board still wrote to Richard Moore (Melbourne festival director) to say that L. A. Zombie cannot be screened because it would be refused classification.

In Australia, film classification is mandatory, but films that are refused classification are banned from any form of exhibition or sale. Infractions carry heavy fines and even jail time.




"Although apparently the Australian Classification Board has no problem passing all manner of mainstream torture porn movies which feature, amongst other things, the rape and dismemberment of women, it's interesting that they have no stomach for a movie that reaffirms life," LaBruce said in a statement.

This is not Bruce LaBruce's first foray into the gay zombie genre. His previous film was Otto: or Up With Dead People (2008)

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/arts/film/story/2010/07/21/zombie-film-bruce-labruce.html#ixzz0uTj3nHXC

KNIFE TO THE EYE! First footage of THE GOON

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

OMG, you guys. You have no idea how excited I am about the prospect of this movie. The Goon is a horror/comedy comic by Eric Powell about a criminal thug known only as The Goon and his sadistic pal Franky. They protect their town from zombies and all sorts of other evil at the command of the dreaded Zombie Priest.

The Goon is published through Darkhouse, and I've been following it for a long time. This teaser has me wetting my pants with excitement. 

Trailer Tuesday: Zombrex Dead Rising Sun

There's a Zombie on your Xbox: Plants vs. Zombies Officially Announced

Prepare to have even more zombies on your lawn when Plants vs. Zombies hits the Xbox LIVE Market Place in September.

The Xbox LIVE Arcade version will include

• seven game modes
• two brand new multiplayer modes (co-op and versus modes)
• twenty-one mini-games
• 200 Gamerscore worth of achievements

PopCap will release to stores a boxed edition of the game later this year

[source: SCRAWLfx]

Dead Rising 2: Zombrex Edition

While gamers/zombie fans in the UK get a crack at the special "Outbreak" edition of Dead Rising 2 (which comes with an zombie toy), Capcom has its own prescription for North Americans' zombie fever.

DEAD RISING 2: ZOMBREX EDITION

(CLICK FOR EXPANDED VIEW)

• Exclusive Two-Disc Steelbook case
• Dead Rising 2 game disc
• High-Definition game disc with 83 Minute Zombrex Dead Rising Sun motion picture and 24 minute "Making of" featurette
• Steelbook case
• Zombrex "Syringe" pen
• Zombrex "Prescription" notepad (25 pages)
• Zombrex "Safety" card
• Zombrex "Prospectus" Sales Brochure (16 pages).
• Dead Rising 2 Hardback Artbook (48 pages)

Although I was bummed out about not getting a crack at the zombie toy that comes with the UK "Outbreak Edition," I may just have to drop some serious coin for the ZOMBREX edition to get all the goodies and the included Japanese zombie film.

The game will be available for $79.99 (USD) alongside the regular version on September 28, 2010.

Fido (Review)

REVIEW

Fido (2006)

Director: Andrew Currie

RATING:
4.5 / 5 zedheads




"A Better Life Through Containment"

Start with Timmy and Lassie. Then replace Timmy's faithful collie with a zombie that not only can play fetch but also serve up a roast and mow the lawn. Next, drop them both into the idyllic, white suburban American world of Leave it to Beaver in the wake of a zombie war. With that, you get a sense of the setting and style of Fido but not its heart. At its heart, Fido is a delicate synthesis of the twisted with the endearing and the satirical in one of the most original zombie comedies to come along in years. Fido became an instant classic for me and occupies a proud space in my collection next to other hits such as Shaun of the Dead and Dance of the Dead.

 Keep your zombies leashed, spayed, and neutered

NEWSFLASH! The Zombie Wars are over. After a devastating battle with a plague of flesh-hungry corpses, America has settled into a comfortable world of self-contained gated communities and overbearing security ("Now, I know you're not supposed to have a hand gun until you're twelve... but it can come in real handy.") Thanks to the work of ZomCon, the zombies have become domesticated and put to to work as menial laborers, controlled by patented collars that suppress the undead's cravings for hot flesh.

That collar really brings out your blood stains.

 In this post-war world, Timmy (K'sun Ray) lives in the too-perfectly-manicured community of Willard, safe from the devastated zone of wild zombies outside the city gates. Timmy is a boy of unusual skepticism toward the virtues of the omnipresent ZomCon corporation, which manufactures every facet of life from cars to milk to head coffins for those who don't want to reanimate after death. At first, his mother Helen (Carrie-Anne Moss) doesn't know how to relate to Timmy. Like the TV mothers of the 1950s and early 1960s, she thinks that after a quick hug and some pie no one has to think of their problems anymore. Even worse, Timmy's father Bill (Dylan Baker) is completely distant and uninterested in his wife or son; he's too obsessed with golf and securing a funeral (a luxury only the rich can afford in the world of Fido). Everything changes when Helen, who is tired of keeping up with the Joneses, buys her family their very own zombie servant (Billy Connolly). After Timmy nicknames the zombie "Fido," a quirky relationship soon begins to develop where Timmy, Fido, and Helen become best friends and learn to express themselves. Unfortunately, a glitch in Fido's collar causes him to eat the next door neighbor, which sets off a series of events that brings Timmy into conflict with the head of ZomCon security: zombie war hero Mr. Bottoms (Henry Czerny).

You never want to stand next to the happiest man at a funeral

As a story, Fido is somewhat brilliant in its construction. By playing off the conventional "boy and his dog" tale set in a highly artificial world crafted to represent an idealized 1950s, the story has an automatic emotional connection to the endearing, heart-warming tales of Lassie and like films from the era. But it's also twisted. While light on the surface, it's easy to forget a lot of dark stuff happens in this movie. People get eaten during zombie attacks. There are head shots. There's some dismemberment. Mr. Theopolis (Tim Blake Nelson) has a zombie girlfriend who he clearly gets intimate with. Because the world is so artificial and clearly satirical, however, it takes the edge of the violence. By using zombies, director Andrew Currie can exploit the satirical potential of zombies and the transgressive nature of violence, gore, and humour, to poke some fun at the post 9-11 culture of fear and isolation. ("A Better Life Through Containment!"). Currie knows just what NOT to show and how to keep his satire noticeable but subtle.

Oh, you crazy, wonderful zombie!

Thankfully, every actor in this film completely embodies their peculiar parts. In particular, Billy Connolly reigns in his usual vocal energy and redirects it into a wholly physical performance as Fido that is completely lovable. Dylan Baker also strikes the right note as a man so obsessed with not becoming a zombie in death that he isn't really living. Although peculiar and funny, the movie never forgets that zombies are flesh-hungry, but it's shown that in the right conditions they can suppress their urges and become quite human. The film walks that fine line between humanizing the zombies without taking away their bite. Then again, the zombie violence is not treated too seriously. There's a fine amount of blood and some gore, but when Fido's control collar glitches and he kills the cranky old neighbor, Timmy treats the grisly scene the same as one would a dog who's slipped his chain and dug up the neighbor's prized azaleas. When the film is all said and done, it is still a good story about a boy and his family, but throughout it's designed to make you chuckle if you enjoy your zombie comedies satirical and can buy into the premise of the world in which Fido takes place.

I hope ZomCon doesn't run the mail system with the same efficiency!

Finally, this film is a beautifully designed production. Vintage vehicles and bright clothes; carefully sculpted suburban communities and lush parks; the music of yesteryear:  the town of Willard feels like it came right out of a 1950s movie. It's ideally presented and purposely contrast against the smudged, dark grey zombies who trudge through their un-lives doing all the crap work that makes the society thrive. You're not going to notice any non-Caucasian residents in Willard. The zombies are the oppressed underclass.

Even better than George A. Romero's Land of the Dead, Fido manages to entertain while at the same time embedding a potent political and class metaphor within the zombie plot. Fido is foremost a comedy with some great quotable lines, but I won't claim the humour is universal. I do think there's a lot of people out there for whom the film's intelligent, dark, and satirical comedy will taste just right. Go ahead and take a bite out of Fido. With so many low-grade, poorly produced, and cookie-cutter zombie films on the market, treat yourself to something fun and fresh (or as fresh as a zombie can get).

Zombie Guide to Comic-Con 2010

Are you going to the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con? Are you also an ardent zombie fan?

If so, let me help guide your trip to Geek Mecca with this handy list of the zombie-centric panels taking place at this year's Comic-Con

PANELS 

Thusday, July 22

12:00pm-1:00pm Dead Rising 2— Dead Rising 2, the highly anticipated sequel to Capcom's multi-million-selling zombie action video game is here! Dead Rising 2 executive producers Keiji Inafune and Shinsaku Ohara unveil development stories, provide a live demo of creating new weapons, and reveal other exclusive content. Followed by a Q&A session. Room 25ABC

9:30pm-11:45pm Night of the Living Dead: Reanimated Screening and Panel Discussion— NOTLD: R is a collection of animated and illustrated responses created by nearly 150 international artists/animators and arranged to the original 1968 film's audio track by curator Mike Schneider. Contributing artists John Chesnut and Josh Barnett (claymation and cut-out animation), Jacquelyn Bond (watercolor paintings), Grant Fuhst (mixed-media artwork), Sean Williams (hand-drawn animation), Zina Lahr (toy modification/ experimental animation), Brad Uyeda (stop-motion animation), Anthony Amos (digital animation), and Eric Schock (comic book illustration) meet to screen NOTLD: R (which comes out on DVD July 27), discuss their involvement with the project, and take questions. Moderated by Beth Accomando (KPBS film critic). Giveaways at the screening will include horror-hosted DVDs of NOTLD: R and limited-edition teaser posters. Room 5AB  

Friday, July 23

10:00am-11:00am Comedy Central: Ugly Americans— David M. Stern (showrunner and executive producer), Dan Powell (executive producer), Jeff Poliquin (supervising producer), Devin Clark (producer and series creator), Aaron Augenblick (director of animation), Matt Oberg (voice of Mark Lilly), Kurt Metzger (voice of Randall Skeffington), and Randy Pearlstein (voice of Leonard) take you behind the scenes at this animated series sensation. Featuring a sneak peek of the new season, Q&A, and more. One audience member selected will be drawn into an upcoming episode!  Room 25ABC

11:30am-12:30pm AMC's The Walking Dead— Andrew Lincoln (Love Actually), Jon Bernthal (The Pacific), Sarah Wayne Callies (Prison Break), Laurie Holden (The Mist), Emma Bell (Law & Order), series creator/director/executive producer Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption), executive producer Gale Anne Hurd (The Terminator), executive producer Robert Kirkman (creator/writer of The Walking Dead comic), makeup artist Greg Nicotero, and Joel Stillerman (AMCs senior VP) discuss the making of AMC's series The Walking Dead, based on the Image comic book series created and written by Robert Kirkman, premiering in October on AMC. Room 6BCF

3:30pm-4:30pm Building a Horror Entertainment Franchise: Dead Space 2— The sequel to 2008's award-winning horror videogame returns with its highly anticipated sequel in January 2011. Dead Space 2 unleashes a truly epic terror experience that will bring the psychological thrills of deep space to a terrifying new level beyond just video games. Executive producer Steve Papoutsis,  art director Ian Milham, and producers Rich Briggs and Chuck Beaver will be talking about how they intend to establish Dead Space 2 among the top horror entertainment franchises in the world with a novel, animated feature, graphic novel, Motion Comic game and fan merchandise. Room 3

6:00pm-7:00pm The Goon Film Panel— The Goon creator Eric Powell joins Tim Miller and Jeff Fowler from Blur Studio to discuss the animated feature film adaptation of the comic book series. Room 24ABC  

Saturday July 24

10:00pm-11:00pm Panel of the Living Dead: Surviving the Post-Apocalyptic Zombie Onslaught on Xbox 360— Xbox 360 has become the exclusive epicenter for zombies. The team behind Capcom's Dead Rising 2 joins the industry's top zombie creative minds and a special guest zombie authority for a behind-the-braaaiiinnss look at the popular zombie titles on Xbox 360. Chomp on insights into how they've developed their unique lexicon on undead lore and storytelling approaches, and get survival tips for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. Join the flesh-hungry undead for a special Dead Rising 2 surprise from Capcom and be one of the first 25 zombies attending the panel to receive a special token for Dead Rising 2: Case Zero. Room 25ABC

11:00-12:00pm Reading with Brains: The Rise and Unrelenting Stamina of Zombie Fiction— Authors and survivors include Amelia Beamer (The Loving Dead), Max Brooks (The Zombie Survival Guide), Seth Grahame-Smith (Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Slayer), Mira Grant (The Newsflesh trilogy). Walter Greatshell (Xombies: Apocalypticon), Jonathan Maberry (Rot & Ruin), Ryan Mecum (Zombie Haiku), John Skipp (Zombies: Encounters with the Hungry Dead), and Joan Frances Turner (Dust). Moderated by Maryelizabeth Hart, Mysterious Galaxy. Room 7AB

5:30-6:30pm Avatar Press and Max Brooks— Max Brooks (World War Z) leads off the Avatar panel with one of his legendary Zombie Survival talks and a Q&A session. Then editor-in-chief William Christensen fills you in on all the upcoming Avatar projects with Mike Wolfer (Gravel, Wolfskin, Lady Death) and Jacen Burrows (Crossed, Neonomicon). Room 26AB 

Office of the Dead

Okay zedheads, the trailer for this one looks really good. A diverse cast with some snappy dialog and a great setting for zombies. I can't wait for this one.



www.officeofthedead.net
http://www.facebook.com/officeofthedead

Zombie Car Accident in Portland -- Send more Paramedics!

Imagine for a moment you are a police officer or some other emergency responder in Portland. On a routine day, you arrive at the scene of an accident in which a car on I-84 swerved into the eastbound lane, flipped, and rolled. But when you get there, the driver and passenger stumble from the wreck. And they're ALL ZOMBIES.

Or, at least, people dressed up like zombies.

This was the scene police faced on July 9th according to a report from KGW.com

Police said that in their investigation they learned that the people inside the car were dressed as zombie costumes and they were headed to a party at the time of the crash.

Sgt. Greg Stewart said people who witnessed the crash initially thought the victims' injuries were much more serious, because of the zombie costumes.

"We're glad that everyone is alive, despite being 'undead'," Sgt. Stewart said, referring to the costumes.

While everyone in the car was taken to the hospital, Stewart said crews are investigating the possibility that more people were in the car at the time of the crash but fled the scene on foot.

The crash halted traffic in the eastbound lanes for about an hour, reducing travel to just one lane.  All eastbound lanes were opened at around 11 p.m.

Some of those zombies may still be on the loose. Stay frosty, folks.

Batman vs. The Undead

I went into a nearby comic store today to browse around and use a gift certificate I got for my birthday last year when I saw this on the stand.

I generally don't like it when Batman tangles with the supernatural, so I didn't pick it up, but now I'm kicking myself for not grabbing a copy after reading the synopsis online.

When Doctor Herbert Combs escapes from Arkham Asylum, he travels to New Orleans in an attempt to once again raise the dead. The only ones who can stop him are Dimeter - a vampire with a score to settle - and The Dark Knight. Can Batman join this creature of the night in order to stop Combs' mad plan?

First off, the name "Doctor Herbert Combs" is a clever combination of H.P. Lovecraft's title character from the story "Herbert West—Reanimator" and actor Jeffrey Combs who plays West in the film Re-Animator. Secondly, imagining a mad scientists who creates zombies locked up in Arkham kind of gets me a little hot.

The story also takes place in New Orleans with Batman working alongside a vampire. I kind of picture Dimeter the vampire as Bill from True Blood and Batman as Sookie Stackhouse. Makes sense, right?

For thoughts on the book by someone who has actually read it, check out Batman On Film for a review and brief explanation of some Lovecraftian connections to the world of Batman that I didn't even know about.

Brain Picking: Interview with Michael Lalonde (Orneryboy web comic)

INTERVIEW with MICHAEL LALONDE

(creator Orneryboy web comic)

What do you get when  you combine an ornery but lovable misanthrope, his vegetarian girlfriend, a free-styling zombie rapper, the necronomicon, ghostly cats, and a battle of the bands? If you guessed "madness," then you're only half right. If you guessed "genius," you're closer still. If "one of the best comics on the web" comes to mind, then, yes, now you're talking! This is Orneryboy by Michael Lalonde, a darkly whimsical web comic combining static illustration with smooth and inventive flash imagination and of course zombies. The Zed Word loves Orneryboy, and I think you will too. The Zed Word caught up with creator Michael Lalonde to talk about his web comic, his love of zombies, and whether there's a place for animation in web comics.

Our mascot Zedward goes camping with the cast of Orneryboy: 

(L-R) Brian the zombie, Orneryboy, and Dirtygirl.

Zed Word: Because Orneryboy strikes me as quite unique, I hope you won't mind if I hit you with the most hackneyed interview question in the book: what inspired your comics? 

Michael Lalonde: At first I just wanted to make something of my own that I could publish on the web, so I started with what I knew - I took characters based on myself and my girlfriend and just started making comics about them. I didn't really have a plan beyond the need for a creative outlet. But not long after, I started drawing inspiration from my other influences - zombie movies, horror stories, my musical interests, our cats... Pretty much anything is fair game these days! 

ZW: So Orneryboy and his partner Dirtygirl are based heavily on you and your partner Jen?

ML: Definitely! In the beginning though, they were a lot more like the real us than they are now. Over the years, our real life and fictional personalities have grown apart.

ZW: Zombies also play a big role in your comic. Would you consider yourself a zombie fan and, if so, why?

ML: Yeah, I'm a huge fan of zombies! Zombie books, zombie comics, zombie movies... I know a lot of people complain that zombies have been overdone, but I don't care! I've always been into them, so I don't see how having MORE zombie stories to choose from is a problem at all! And when zombies are played out and everyone moves onto the next big thing, I'll still be a zombie fan.

I think seeing Return of the Living Dead when I was a kid is what started it for me. That movie scared the crap out of me so bad, I didn't even notice the humour in it at the time. I'd lie awake in bed at night, thinking about every possible escape scenario, but to no avail... I mean, they NUKED the zombies at the end of that movie, and that didn't even stop them! And I'd always been afraid of nuclear war as a kid, so after that, zombies became the ultimate apocalypse scenario.

ZW: Your comic contains zombie but also vampires, the necronomicon, other Lovecraftian horrors, and the occasional murder, yet the comic never feels overly dark or gritty. It remains a humour series. How do you manage to have your characters do some fairly transgressive things while still maintaining a fun, light atmosphere?

ML: I honestly don't think I'm capable of creating anything truly dark. I've always been inspired by dark literature and movies, and I've always had lots of dark ideas of my own, but over the years, anytime I drew or painted anything, it came out either cute and colourful, or very forced and full of juvenile angst, which frustrated me to no end. So after years of fighting it, I just accepted it. It's my curse. :) 

ZW: Although you've been doing the comic since 2002, fairly recently you began to embed flash animation into your comics. I know a number of hardcore comics creators who would consider this sacrilegious. What reactions have you received about your combination of static art and animation?

ML: The feedback I've received from readers has been very positive, and everyone seems to really like the animated panels. But even if they didn't, I'd keep doing it because it's what I want to do. Coming from a multimedia background, it doesn't seem like a big deal to me. And in the beginning, I wanted to create Orneryboy as a series of animated shorts anyway, so the animated panels have been a good way for me to scratch that creative itch.

As for other comic creators considering it sacrilegious, that's their problem. Even if I didn't use animation, all my art is copied and pasted anyway, and I'm sure many creators take issue with that. But Orneryboy has never been about impressing those people. I'm just doing this for my own amusement, and the amusement of anyone who's willing to keep reading. If it no longer fits into other peoples' definition of a comic, then so be it!

Orneryboy updates on Mondays @ http://www.orneryboy.com/

Lalonde also designs art for Sick on Sin clothing: http://www.sickonsin.com/

Stay Dead: The Stranger & Tunnel Rats (Review)

REVIEW

Stay Dead: The Stranger
and Tunnel Rats  (2009)

Steve Wands

Apparatus Revolution / Lulu.com: 2009

RATING:
2.5 / 5 zedheads




Stay Dead is a very short collection of very short stories -- substantial snippets, really-- set during a very bleak zombie apocalypse. In "The Stranger," a distraught young woman is taken in by two elderly landlords at an apartment complex. In "Tunnel Rats," a homeless man has his hopes for improving his life dashed by the fall of the world to a zombie outbreak. Two other snippets -- "A Day with the Dead" and "The Last Broadcast" -- round out the collection. Like a mouth full of pop rocks, the stories in Stay Dead crackle and pop but are quickly gone.

In this small collection, Wands certainly shows off his talent for describing zombie gore and detailed settings, but often his descriptions feel journalistic and too by-the-numbers. In "Tunnel Rats" the tension and the atmosphere created during a scene set in a pizzeria comes to a halt as the narrative begins to describe every gory inch of a female zombie's body. It then takes a long time to get back the build of tension before the abrupt end of the story. Similarly, in "The Stranger" there is tremendous detail put into describing a woman's body and her surroundings as she dresses and scrounges for supplies, but the characters in general are painted with broad strokes.

 Perhaps because Wands writes comics he's used to a narrative style that focuses on very descriptive detail to aid the artists, but not all the details serve a written story. In longer works, these sections would not draw attention to themselves, but Stay Dead is so pithy as a collection they're hard to miss. My favorite stories are the shortest: "The Last Broadcast" and "A Day with the Dead." They are economical in their description and either end with an emotional punch or a darkly wry twist befitting their length. The "longer" works didn't do much for me. "The Stranger" felt like the beginning of an unfinished novel whereas "Tunnel Rats" felt like an intriguing idea for a novel condensed into 12 pages. They are not bad examples of writing, but they did not strike me as stories suited to their short lengths.

I look forward to more substantial works by Steve Wands that (I hope) will carry more depth of character and a longer word count. Obviously, Wands has his fingers on the pulse of what can make a zombie story work; I just don't think he gave himself the space to dig in and pull it to the surface.

If you're looking for a snappy summer read, Stay Dead offers better-than-usual zombie stories, but they don't carry much weight or punch as stories in-and-of themselves. Despite their bleak outcomes, the stories feel oddly breezy and blink-and-you'll-miss-them.

Brain Picking: Six Questions with Paco Plaza (REC 2)

6 Questions with PACO PLAZA

(director / writer: REC 2)

*SPOILERS FOLLOW*

 

I was recently afforded the opportunity to pick the brains of REC and REC 2 writers/directors Paco Plaza and Jaume Balagueró. I sent them both the same six questions about REC 2, which opens in theatres on July 9th but is already available on VOD, XBOX Marketplace, Playstation Network, VUDU and Amazon. While I've yet to receive responses from Mr. Balagueró, I thought I'd go head and post what Paco Plaza had to say about REC 2

ZED WORD: Although the cause of the apartment dwellers' madness in REC was ambiguous, REC 2 firmly establishes the cause of the infection. As a result, many horror fans are going to debate whether to label REC as a zombie series. Do you consider the violent people to be zombies?

PACO PLAZA: Not at all; zombies would be living dead, literally coming back from death; our creatures [are] infected by a demonic virus. But visually, they look really similar!

ZW: Perhaps the most interesting innovation in REC 2 is that the narrative is told from multiple cameras instead of one. How challenging was it to script and shoot a film that would contain picture-in-picture story-telling?

PP: It comes from the hours spent playing videogames; we thought it was a great way to introduce other POVs and at the same time add something dynamic to the storytelling.

ZW: It has been reported online that Filmax will produce two new REC films in the near future: is it your plan to continue with the first-person / found footage aesthetic of REC or experiment with third-person perspectives?

PP: Excuse me if I don’t say very much on this. All I can say is that we’re working really hard in making the funniest and scariest of the three.

ZW: In North America, horror based on spirituality and religion (i.e. Catholicism) has not been a substantial fixture of the media landscape for some time. Do you think that REC 2's elements of spirituality and horror will bring back something lacking in North American horror films?

PP: I don’t know. I only hope you enjoy and have a great time watching the film, and though all the Catholic references are very natural for us I don’t think they will be any problem for an American audience.
  
ZW: There is a belief that subtitled films won't succeed in North America (which I don't believe). Do you feel that people who normally don't see subtitled foreign films will still have a horrifying / fun time watching REC 2?

PP: The situation is complex because, and I’m saying this not having too much information about it, maybe subtitled films often are art house movies, and ours is a mainstream horror flick; I think anyone can enjoy it, there is a lot of action, some great scares, and a lot of fun.

ZW: If for your next project you were offered the chance to make any horror film you wanted -- no restrictions on budget and script -- what type of movie would choose to make?

PP: I’d love to do a SciFi film about men going to Mars and fighting a war with the local inhabitants.

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So there we have it. At least from Mr. Plaza's point of view, the REC series is not a zombie series. What do you think?

My review of REC 2