Review: World War Z (2013)

Better than expected. A lot of CGI, and in one scene, it's horribly obvious they're intentionally not showing a dead zombie's head wound, but still, there's plenty of tension, Brad Pitt makes a good lead, they've got some nice big set pieces like the bit in Israel, and (tiny spoiler) you get a batshit crazy scene on a plane, which I loved. Plus, I've never seen hordes of zombies like this so even if the CGI was unconvincing at times, I appreciate something new. I haven't read the book, and I understand the movie doesn't really follow it at all so I'm just looking at this as its own separate thing. Of course, I would've liked some more blood (of the corn-syrup kind, not computer generated), but I knew going in there wouldn't be much since they were aiming for a wider audience. I did see the unrated version, which I guess added a little more, but it was still pretty minimal. I wish we could see the original ending since that sounds interesting, but I liked what they did instead. It really was pretty good. It's nuts how The Walking Dead can get away with so much on TV where anyone can watch it yet a film like this can't show a head wound.

She wasn't in World War Z. What a shame.

Review: Automaton Transfusion (2006)

See that quote from Bloody Disgusting? "One of the best zombie films in decades." Bullshit. This is by far one of the worst, and given the fact that anybody can make a zombie movie these days, that's saying a lot. You get a couple good special effects, but everything else is just awful. Even the look of the film itself is excruciatingly terrible with a jittery fucked-up framerate issue. The audio was obviously all recorded later so none of it sounds natural, and sometimes, the dialogue doesn't even sync up right. Forget character development or story. Continuity errors? Plot holes? Huge fuckin gaps in logic? Check, check, and check. You get completely stupid shit like zombies surrounding a house and then magically all disappearing 10 seconds later when the heroes have to flee. There's a wonderful scene of them driving in a jeep then all of a sudden, they're in a fuckin lake with no explanation or connection to the last shot. The title makes no sense. There isn't even a fuckin ending! Literally, it just stops with a "To Be Continued..." Who needs to actually bother finishing a movie? Not these guys! We shot some shit, slap a quote on it, package it (better pay that cover artist well), and you're done! The only reason to watch this movie is to be blown away at how unbelievably wretched it is. Even then you're liable to regret it.

Review: Fido (2006)

Never heard of this movie. Just stumbled on it via NetFlix Instant and decided to give it a shot. Right from the Paul-Verhoevenesque propagandist opening that perfectly establishes this fictional world and the satirical tone, you know you're in for something special. This is a completely different take on zombies that also reminds me a lot of Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands. Seemingly set in 1950s America, Fido feels like a period piece... yes, I'm sure you're dying to watch it now, but it actually allows for a lot of charm, innocence, and dark humor especially at the way it exposes the flaws in that "perfect" suburban life. Looking back at the title now, it's all too clear why it was chosen. This is the story of a boy and his zombie. Surprisingly though, it's really good.

Heck, Billy Connolly (of The Boondock Saints fame among others) plays the damn zombie! Dylan Baker (Dr. Connors in Raimi's Spider-Man) is the boy's father with Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix, Memento) in the mother role so you know the acting is brilliant. You couldn't have a better cast. Henry Czerny is another amazing actor whose name I didn't know until I looked him up, but you've seen him in tons of stuff, and he's one of my favorites in this. There's a lot of subtle but hilarious humor just playing with the conventions of this sub-genre. Such a shame then this gem only got released on two screens in the US. Way to go, Lions Gate! Good original horror? Dump it. Saw 25? Wide release with all the promotion you can buy!

I keep looking at that poster, wondering why it doesn't interest me. Maybe because it's just another zombie? If it actually tried to convey the story ie a boy and his zombie, I think I'd be more interested but probably a trailer would really have to do it. Ok, maybe this isn't an easy sell, but Lions Gate could've at least tried to market it. Again, look at Edward Scissorhands... they found a way to sell that (probably just because of Burton's success with Batman and Beetlejuice). What's funny is Eddie also opened on just two screens but grew and grew until it ended up grossing $56 million just in the US. Studios suck. It's all about minimizing risk and increasing profit... welcome to the business.

Hey, wait, why is this in here? Bad Google.